What is a Dynamic Risk Assessment?
Risk assessments, as we know them, are a one-time evaluation of potential risks inherent in a project, institution, or situation. The goal is to identify the risks, evaluate the likelihood and severity of them happening, and implement controls to eliminate or mitigate the risk.
But what if new hazards crop up while the assessment is going on? If your job involves dealing with rapidly developing or unpredictable situations, how can a risk assessment be completed?
That’s where dynamic risk assessments step in. They handle unknown risks and maintain control at times of uncertainty. They allow for:
- Flexibility and adaptability
- Ongoing assessment
- Transforming events
A dynamic risk assessment shares many similarities with a static risk assessment, but the key difference is that with dynamic, automated assessments, you will not necessarily have identified the risks and hazards you’re dealing with at the onset of the evaluation.
In-Depth Definition of Dynamic Risk Assessment
The phrase “Dynamic Risk Assessment” is frequently used to refer to a risk assessment procedure carried out in a dynamic environment, where the object of the assessment changes as the assessment is carried out. In dynamic risk management, actions must sometimes be taken and exposures must be minimized as a temporary measure, even before a full understanding of all relevant data is attained.
In high-risk scenarios where the situation is constantly changing and risks need to be continually reevaluated, such as construction sites, emergency response situations, or military operations, dynamic risk assessment systems are frequently used. In these situations with dynamic risk factors, a static risk assessment may not be sufficient to account for changing conditions and unexpected events.
Dynamic risk assessment can be broken down into a dynamic flowchart:
- Identification of hazards and risks
- Determining the likelihood and potential consequences of the identified risks
- Implementation of risk mitigation controls
- Monitoring and assessing the current system
- Introducing additional control measures as new risks are identified
- Rinse and repeat
By continuously evaluating and adapting risk management measures, a dynamic risk assessment can help to ensure that risks are effectively managed and controlled in a changing environment.
Dynamic Risk Assessment Vs. Static Risk Assessment
A dynamic risk assessment, unlike a standard or static risk assessment, is an ongoing process of identifying, evaluating, and managing risks in a changing environment. The objective of a dynamic risk assessment is different from a static risk assessment in that its goal is to continuously evaluate changing risks and adjust risk controls accordingly.
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See for yourself how the Centraleyes platform exceeds anything an old GRC
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Dynamic Risk Assessments in Cyber Security
In the age of digital technology, a huge amount of our daily interactions are supported by the exchange or transfer of data, which is the fodder that cybercriminals feed on. Everchanging cyber threats are increasingly affecting global industries, especially among intellectual property-intensive organizations.
Experts have established that a dynamic, systematic review and assessment of cyber risk exposures that automatically identifies emerging threats and suggests new mitigation measures, can be extremely effective. Without the need to start from scratch each time something changes, dynamic risk assessments facilitate risk management and prioritization processes.
Many risk management frameworks fail at adapting to changes that happen in shifting environments and keep organizations in the dark about newly emerging threats. There is, therefore, a need for automated dynamic assessment tools that can be used to advise enterprises on when and how their risk assessment methods and processes should be adjusted in order to stay relevant in a rapidly changing environment.
When it comes to cyber security, there are several factors that are subject to randomness and change. A dynamic risk assessment would ideally reassess the risk as soon as there is a change in one of these four areas:
- Changes in information systems: This included modification, deletion, or introduction of digital assets.
- Changes to risk exposure of third-party vendors and the expanded supply chain.
- Zero-day vulnerabilities that have just been uncovered or that are already being exploited in the wild
- New threat intelligence on already-known risks
- The efficiency of current mitigating controls and new opportunities to apply patches or implement new security measures
When any of the above components in the information systems or their environment undergoes a change, the risk analysis entries should be updated to reflect that state, yielding new results that help assess the overall security risks in the organization.
Dynamically Assess Risk with Centraleyes
Centraleyes’ automated risk management platform pulls together the entire cyber risk management process dynamically, giving you updated insight into the next steps you need to take toward governance, risk, and compliance based on real-time data. With a granular approach to dynamic risk governance processes, we make it easy to continuously assess your risks, delegate responsibility for tasks, and achieve cyber resilience in an evolving landscape.
Start Getting Value With
Centraleyes for Free
See for yourself how the Centraleyes platform exceeds anything an old GRC
system does and eliminates the need for manual processes and spreadsheets
to give you immediate value and run a full risk assessment in less than 30 days
