5 Ways IT Security Risk Assessment Can Go Wrong
Conducting regular information technology (IT) risk assessments is no longer an optional part of business operations for companies today. However, risk assessments are only as valuable as the processes used to conduct them. In this post, learn five ways your IT security risk assessment can go wrong and what to do to remedy each.
Only Looking Back to Assess for Risk
Past risk assessment protocols dictated looking primarily to historical data and trends to identify risks and analyze probabilities. But in today’s rapidly evolving tech-heavy marketplace, each new day brings with it new emerging risks.
How to remedy it: Since you cannot predict what precisely those future risks will be, the next best step is to translate website security risks into practical plans to quickly implement emergency response protocols in the event a breach is suspected.
Failing to See Known Security Risks
There are a number of reasons why even IT companies often hire an IT consulting service to conduct their company’s risk assessment. If you have ever tried to proof-read your own document, you know how easy it is to see only what you think you wrote and not what is really there (typos included!).
In the same way, an independent and unaffiliated risk assessment consultant will be able to take a look at your company’s current IT infrastructure with fresh and objective eyes – eyes that can spot the obvious known risks as well as those which may be better hidden.
How to remedy it: If possible, choose to hire an outside consultant to conduct at least your annual risk assessment to be sure you are not overlooking obvious vulnerabilities and risks.
Failing to See Camouflaged Risks
When the BYOD (bring your own device) program first began to gather steam, many companies jumped on board. They saw only the opportunity to lower their technology expenses and make employees happy. What they didn’t see was the risk involved when an independently-owned device might leave with its owner post-employment, get stolen or misplaced or simply become compromised.
It can be all too easy to miss well-camouflaged risks that are masquerading as great cost-saving ideas.
How to remedy it: Look closely. Do not rush through your risk assessment. Put it down for a few days and then return to look again. Think twice about newly adopted IT programs – once about the cost savings and again to analyze for risk.
Failing to Train Employees
Even the most ironclad risk management assessment will fall flat in the face of an untrained workforce who readily exposes sensitive company data for public consumption. The goal of risk assessment itself is not to identify risk but to prevent breaches. This requires frequent reminders and ongoing training to keep staff continually mindful of the dangers of data falling into the wrong hands.
How to remedy it: Training by IT consulting services should be simple enough that even less IT-savvy employees can easily comply, yet comprehensive enough that employees do not develop tunnel vision regarding how breaches can occur.
Forgetting to Lock Up
It is not uncommon to read stories in the news about companies who spend thousands or millions of dollars on complex risk assessment and security measures, only to have their most sensitive data retrieved through a physical site break-in while the safety supervisor was on break!
How to remedy it: Don’t forget to secure your on-site facilities – the whole building and not just the internal data centers and rooms where the servers are kept.
By taking the time to conduct a thorough, comprehensive IT risk assessment, sidestepping these five common assessment mistakes as you do, your risks of a data breach are reduced and you are also better equipped to notice future risks before they manifest. | Images via Shutterstock
