If you own or work in a business, you’ve likely heard the phrase cyber security risk assessment thrown around lately as more and more businesses try to do their part to protect sensitive information from hackers, data breaches, and other cyber threats.
Your business relies on technology to operate, so why not make sure it’s protected against cyber threats? While it might seem like extra work, performing an in-depth cyber security risk assessment regularly (about once every three months) will help protect your data and prevent costly downtime that could put your business at risk of losing customers and revenue. The following guide will help you understand why it’s so important for businesses to take this kind of measure, including what exactly needs to be assessed and why the measures should be taken before it’s too late.
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Do I Need a Cyber Risk Assessment?
The short answer is yes. If you’re a large organization, you likely already have some sort of cyber risk assessment in place. But even if you’re small, it can be useful to develop a cyber risk assessment. Small businesses don’t usually have a dedicated IT or network expert on staff and so they may not have thought about all of their potential security risks or what steps they should take to manage them (e.g., preventative measures and response plans).
Just thinking through those questions can help your business develop appropriate policies and procedures to better protect your customers, data, and reputation and it will make it easier for you to answer questions from customers, insurance companies, banks, etc. that are evaluating whether or not to do business with you.
What’s Involved in a Cyber Risk Assessment?
Cyber risk assessments are an important part of your business’ security strategy. A cyber risk assessment is a valuable tool for any company that has a website, uses social media, or connects with customers via email or text message. It can help identify and mitigate threats and risks posed by cybercriminals and give you a better idea of how best to defend against them.
A good cyber risk assessment will involve both online and offline data collection as well as penetration testing—that is, hiring professional hackers to test your defenses against real-world attacks. All companies should do a thorough risk assessment at least once every two years, if not more often (for example, if there’s been a breach). It’s also crucial for companies that have suffered from a data breach in the past year.
Who Can Help Me?
The average cyber security risk assessment takes from 1 to 4 days. However, there are some important questions to consider. Before you hire an analyst: How many people have access to your network? What about physical access to your servers? Do you use cloud services like Dropbox or Google Drive?
Cyber risk assessments are an important part of your business’ security strategy. A cyber risk assessment is a valuable tool for any company that has a website. Uses social media, or connects with customers via email or text message. It can help identify and mitigate threats and risks posed by cybercriminals. And give you a better idea of how best to defend against them.
A good cyber risk assessment will involve both online and offline data collection as well as penetration testing—that is. Hiring professional hackers to test your defenses against real-world attacks. All companies should do a thorough risk assessment at least once every two years. If not more often (for example, if there’s been a breach). It’s also crucial for companies that have suffered from a data breach in the past year.