With more processes moving online and more cyber incidents happening every day, it’s becoming critical for businesses to invest in protection for their technology and prepare for unexpected events. As we close out the year, it’s the perfect time to make goals and work towards safer, more effective cyber risk management. This guide will walk you through the basics of managing technology threats and how you can be more secure and prepared heading into the new year.

What Is Cyber Risk Management?

Cyber risk management refers to the processes, procedures, and tools that organizations use to identify, analyze, and mitigate risks to their technology systems. These risks can include cyber attacks, server outages, natural disasters, etc. It includes monitoring their vulnerabilities and developing strategies for strengthening them and speeding up the recovery process after an incident.

Why Do I Need It?

As businesses become more reliant on technology, it becomes increasingly important to be prepared for disruptions. By performing a thorough risk assessment, organizations can better understand their vulnerabilities, allowing them to make the appropriate preparations or security adjustments to protect against them. This boost means they’re less likely to experience an incident, and when they do, they’ll be ready to resolve it quickly and effectively. This improves business continuity, minimizes losses, and protects your reputation as a reliable, secure company. As a bonus, staying on top of risk management streamlines many compliance processes, simplifying an often tedious task.

Implementing Cyber Risk Management: Key Steps

These basic steps will help you get started on your cyber threat management. To make the most of your efforts and get specific ideas for implementation in your business, consider partnering with a professional IT company that specializes in risk management.

Identify Potential Vulnerabilities

A risk assessment is the foundation of meaningful risk management. In this evaluation, identify weak spots in your cybersecurity or general operations, such as outdated software or hardware. This step also includes considering the current threat landscape and what cyber attacks are trending.

Assess Their Interaction with Your Systems

Next, determine how these threats and vulnerabilities will interact with the rest of your systems. For example, if a certain ransomware tactic is going around, how would that look in your business? Where could hackers sneak in? What assets might they target? Try to think of as many angles as possible so you can be fully prepared.

Analyze Associated Losses

Then, clearly line out the possible consequences of each threat. Would customer information be compromised? How much would it cost to recover data? How would you compensate employees and clients after an incident like this? What systems would need to be rebooted or replaced? Be specific and try to capture the complete effect incidents could have on operations.

Rank Risks from Most to Least Dangerous

Once you have all the necessary information about each threat, rank them from most to least dangerous. This should include how common it is, how likely you are to experience it, and how extreme its consequences are. Prioritize the most dangerous threats in your cyber risk management strategies.

Develop a Strategy

Now it’s time to make a plan. Implement robust security controls and basic best practices for detecting, preventing, and defending against different attacks. Prepare recovery measures like data backup schedules to speed up recovery times and minimize potential damages. Train your employees on the new efforts so they can do their part to protect assets and continuity.

Continue Monitoring

Once your new measures are in place, continue to monitor both your systems and trends in cybersecurity and the industry. Refresh your plans regularly to compensate for new threats or vulnerabilities that may have emerged.

Start the New Year with Confidence with iTology

Developing a healthy cyber risk management strategy begins with a thorough, accurate risk assessment. When you do it alone, you risk not addressing the full scope of vulnerabilities. At iTology, we’ll study your systems and use our advanced expertise and tools to help you get meaningful, precise insights that will guide you into the new year. You can count on us for a proactive approach to your risk management and cybersecurity.  Fill out our form to get started on your strategy today.