In the world of corporate business today, the risk of loss in a company can come from many different areas. While there are many concerns over cyber security for companies, the risks of loss include many areas of business operations. Aside from IT compromises, the concern over theft and company information sharing without IT transfer is still a significant corporate risk.
The best way to assure that a company’s assets are secured is through a creating a good corporate risk assessment and management plan. A comprehensive risk assessment is the first step in assuring that a company builds a proper risk protection plan against breaches, theft and other security concerns. Security risk management is designed to help organizations identify the specific threats that they may be vulnerable to.
Below are just a few of the main areas where companies are at risk from IT security lapses:
• Hacking of Sensitive Company Information
• Data Breaches
• Stolen Identification Data
• Revenue Alterations
• Theft
• Inventory Control
Because so much information that companies rely on is often stored on computers, the risk of computer hacking, and data breaches is significant. While some data theft risk can come from competitors, other lone individual or group data theft can occur for a wide variety of reasons. One of the biggest reasons for breaches and theft is financial gain. However, terrorism, employee grudges, intercompany power plays and more can all lead to potential risks within a company.
Identifying Risks and IT Security Threats
The basic process for security risk management includes the use of a security risk management consulting firm. These professional risk management companies can help businesses of all sizes implement proper protocols to protect their assets. These hired security risk consultants will usually come in and work directly with the company’s IT department. They will work with asset management departments to identify and assess all potential risk areas of concern.
Once the areas of concern are identified, the next step is analyzing the level of risk in each area. Because the risk levels are different for different types of corporate and business information, creating a plan to tackle the threats should be based on the threat level for potential loss. All risk management security plans should be developed based on how high the risk level is for each given area.
Controlling, Monitoring and Reporting Risks
Once the assessment is complete, the security risk management team creates a plan on how to control the areas of vulnerabilities that are identified. This plan includes input from top company officials in order to create a viable plan that works. The focus is on helping companies identify specific threats and vulnerabilities and then implement a cohesive plan to mitigate them.
The final part of the process includes implementing a monitoring program to ensure the controls are working and creating regular reporting. The IT department or an outside risk management company will usually be the party in control of the monitoring of the security safeguards that have been created. Regular reporting is then done to ensure the system is working. If there are any weak spots in the system for risk reduction, they can be defined and discovered while the monitoring is in place.