The volume and sophistication of cyber-attacks faced by businesses today are at an all-time high, and the challenge is growing all the time. Although no business can confidently claim total security, it is still important to understand risks and mitigate breach attempts wherever possible. A critical step in this process is conducting cyber-security risk assessments.

A cyber-security risk assessment evaluates your organisations assets, the threats they may face, and the level of impact a cyber-attack on those assets could be. This process requires you to determine cyber-security scenarios to classify their risk levels. For example, if your assets are vulnerable to SQL injection attacks, it would be classified as a high and likely threat.

Performing this assessment updates key stakeholders on the status of your organisation’s security stance and informs an appropriate response to potential threats. The results of a cyber-security risk assessment positions you to implement the right security controls within specific applications to target the threats that pose the greatest risk to your business and assets.

Cyber-security risk assessments offer a new vantage point on your organisation’s defences, equipping you to view the business from the perspective of an attacker. This valuable insight prevents you from wasting resources, time, and effort, which may be spent in bolstering parts of the organisation that are less vulnerable than others. They enable you to double down on the attack surfaces and weak points that could result in a costly data breach and service downtime.

To find out how to conduct a cyber-security risk assessment for your business and the reasons for performing them, click here.