Technology Xantrion

Cybersecurity: The 5 Critical Elements of Risk Assessment


Sponsored by Xantrion

Given the challenging cybersecurity environment, learn how to protect yourself with an effective cyber-risk assessment.

Lost or compromised data could potentially bankrupt your company. A risk assessment gives you the information you need to create a risk management plan. A risk management plan, in turn, ensures that the measures you put in place to protect your data are both appropriate and cost-effective.

An effective risk assessment addresses all of these questions:

  • What threats are most likely to occur?
  • Which of these threats are likely to have a significant impact on your company if they do occur?
  • What strategies should you use to prevent and mitigate threats?
  • Which strategies offer the best combination of cost and effectiveness–neither leaving you exposed to risks you aren’t aware of, nor wasting money on solutions that guard against risks that you may not actually face?
In addition to protecting your business, performing a cybersecurity risk assessment makes you a more desir­able business partner. Just as your partners and customers want to see proof that your company is insured or has audited financial controls, being able to show them that your cybersecurity risk management plan is in order will reassure them that working with you doesn’t endanger their own data. In highly regulated industries, a risk assessment and management plan may even be required by law.

As persuasive as some sales presentations might be, companies must be careful not to invest in expensive data protection solutions that don’t align with their actual risks. They should also avoid preventive measures that cost more than the risk they’re designed to protect against.

For small and midsize businesses, this particularly applies to intrusion detection and employee activity logging systems, which are so costly and complex that the company is unlikely to realize a full return on investment.

Although unforeseen disasters are, by definition, impossible to predict, the point of cybersecurity risk assess­ment is not to spot every possible risk and guard against it. Cybersecurity risk assessment determines which of all possible risks are both most likely to happen and most likely to do significant business damage. That allows your company to invest in solutions that do not, in themselves, threaten your company’s fiscal stability.

Download the white paper today.