Risk mitigation is the process of identifying, assessing, and reducing potential risks that could impact a company’s data security. Using this strategy, you can protect your company’s sensitive information from cyberattacks. This can include implementing strategies such as encryption, security audits, and employee training, organizations can strengthen their defenses and reduce the likelihood of data breaches.
Now, let’s look at risk mitigation in greater detail, including its definition, implementation steps, and several key tools.
What is risk mitigation?
In the context of cybersecurity, risk mitigation refers to the process of identifying, assessing, and implementing strategies to reduce the likelihood and impact of cyber threats. The goal is to protect an organisation’s IT infrastructure, data, and reputation from potential cyberattacks.
Effective cybersecurity risk mitigation strategies can help protect a company’s investments and resources, reduce the severity of losses in the event of an unexpected occurrence, improve security and safety, and maintain a good reputation for trust and data security.
Before we go deeper into the topic of risk mitigation, you might want to explore more concepts in the field of cybersecurity. One of the important ones is security clearance.
Security clearance is a status granted to individuals that allows them access to classified information or restricted areas.
Learn more about it in our previous post, ‘Security Clearance: What It Is, How to Get It, and the Different Types‘.
5 Steps of a Risk Mitigation Strategy
Risk management is a complex process. Every cybersecurity risk that a company faces on a daily basis requires a unique strategy to address. While the strategy varies depending on the risk, the process of developing one is practically similar.
According to SafetyCulture, there are at least 5 steps you can take to develop a successful risk mitigation strategy. These steps include identifying and assessing risks, prioritising certain risks, monitoring the risks, and implementing & adjusting them.
1. Risk identification
Knowing which risks exist in the first place is the first step towards mitigating them. It’s important to consider every possibility when determining risks. That is why organisations must take into account mechanical risks, natural disaster risks, and all process-related risks in addition to data risks and breaches.
The needs and safety of the employees must also be considered in all risk mitigation strategies. Organisations must first identify risks before developing a plan to mitigate them.
2. Risk assessment
After the risks have been outlined, the team needs to evaluate them. It’s necessary to calculate the risks and determine each threat’s relative risk during this phase. As part of this process, the controls and safeguards put in place to lessen the impact of specific threats are also examined.
3. Set Priority
The team can determine which risks to prioritise after they have been appropriately levelled and measured.
Setting priorities for particular risks is essential to risk mitigation because businesses need to focus especially on the risks that could have the biggest negative impact on their operations, personnel, and organisation.
The organisation can quickly identify which risks to prioritise and what steps need to be taken to mitigate the risks when the risk levels are accurately assessed.
4. Monitoring Risks
A number of variables may impact risks and risk levels. It is crucial to monitor and track the risks across the entire organisation for this reason.
In this manner, the group can decide when to modify safety precautions and when the risks become more serious. It also helps them comply with various regulations that are in place to lower risk.
5. Implementation and Adjustments
The next stage after creating a suitable risk mitigation plan is to roll it out across the entire organisation. This involves setting in place all necessary safeguards, educating and training staff, and—above all—adjusting the plan of action as needed.
After reviewing the risk mitigation plan, it’s possible that some adjustments are needed. As the team acquires new knowledge, it becomes especially important to make modifications to ensure the security of all personnel and procedures, as well as the compliance of the organisation to legal requirements.
Risk Mitigation Strategies
Similar to the risk mitigation process, there is no one strategy that works for all situations. Instead, there are several strategies that work well together. There are numerous strategies that are available based on the potential level of risk.
However, there are some risk mitigation techniques that are used across companies. The 4 risk mitigation strategies are: avoidance, reduction, transference, and acceptance.
Risk avoidance
Taking precautions to stop a risk from happening is known as the risk avoidance strategy.
The organisation may have to give up on other plans or resources in order to implement this strategy. These activities include not starting a product line or making an investment because they minimise the chance of losing money.
Risk reduction
After an organisation has finished its risk mitigation analysis and is determined to take action to lessen the likelihood of a risk occurring or its impact, the risk reduction strategy would be used.
It takes on the risk, accepts it, and concentrates on limiting losses and taking all reasonable precautions to keep them from getting worse. Health insurance, which pays for preventative care, is one instance of this in the healthcare sector.
Risk transference
Transferring a risk to a third party, such as by getting an insurance policy to protect against specific risks like injury or property damage, is known as risk transfer. In doing so, the organisation transfers the risk to another party, frequently an insurance provider.
Risk acceptance
Risk acceptance tactic means letting go of the chance that the benefit will exceed the risk.
While not always the case, it might be the wisest course of action to give other risks and threats less of a priority for a while. It’s known as residual risk, or “left over,” because it’s impossible to completely eliminate all risks.
Risk Mitigation Tools
In risk mitigation, there are such tools as the risk assessment framework (RAF)
A risk assessment framework (RAF) is a systematic approach to identifying, evaluating, and prioritising risks to an organisation’s IT infrastructure, data, and operations. The framework helps organisations understand and manage risks by providing a structured methodology for risk assessment.
RAF can be created by a third-party organisation like Fair institute which creates Factor Analysis of Information Risk (FAIR). Or, it can be made by government agents, such as the risk management framework developed by US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Other examples of RAF include Operationally Critical Threat, Asset, and Vulnerability Evaluation (OCTAVE), the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) Risk Management Framework, ISO 31000, Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT), and Threat Agent Risk Assessment (TARA).
Aside from the organisation’s or government’s risk mitigation framework, you can still mitigate risk using a general analysis method such as.
- A probability and impact matrix.
- A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis — commonly called a SWOT analysis.
- A root cause analysis.
Root cause analysis can be one of the methods you use to develop a risk mitigation strategy. This systematic process aims to identify the fundamental causes of problems or issues. The primary goal of RCA is to dig deeper and discover the underlying issues that caused the problem.
More information on the concept can be found in our article, ‘Root Cause Analysis: Definitions, Types, Methods‘, and 5 Steps for Implementation.
Conclusion
Risk mitigation becomes a crucial factor in determining the resilience and success of an organisation in the ever-changing field of information technology.
Organisations can confidently seize opportunities and effectively navigate challenges by implementing a proactive and methodical approach to risk identification, assessment, and management.
Looking for experts to help protect your company from cyberattacks?
Nexa Lab security hardening services provide a wide range of cyber security services, including vulnerability assessments, application security enhancements, incident response planning, custom security strategies, access control and authentication, and security awareness training.
Nexa Lab was founded and established in Australia, with over 30 years of experience in the MSP and IT industries. With a commitment to cybersecurity, we prioritise protecting Australian businesses’ digital assets and sensitive data.
