Risk-Based Security

What is Risk-Based Security

Risk-based security approach addresses security risks by first identifying and evaluating threats facing the organization. A risk-based approach is unique to each organization and addresses the individual set of needs, risks, and vulnerabilities that comprise the risk landscape of the company. A risk based approach stands in stark contrast to a compliance-driven approach, where security teams scramble to meet regulatory requirements and check off the boxes on industry-related standards.

How To Approach Cyber Risk?

Today, everybody recognizes that cyber risk is an essential topic that deserves attention in business planning. How exactly organizations approach this topic is a big debate.

Some organizations enter the security discussion with a focus on meeting a compliance obligation, while others begin a renewed security effort in the wake of a breach or after interest from a senior executive. These ad hoc approaches to cybersecurity often work in the short term to fill gaps and meet an immediate need, but they often fail to take a long-term strategic approach that leaves the organization well-positioned to handle future threats. 

The problem is that organizations adopting these approaches to security often fail to follow any type of coherent strategy, leaving themselves unaware of the risk that is present in their environments. 

Examples of Compliance-Driven Security

Obligations under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other regulations often leave an organization implementing security controls in “check-the-box” mode. While this approach may lead to improved security, it fails to look at the operation in a comprehensive manner. Regulatory bodies have narrow scopes of interest, designing regulations specifically to protect the confidentiality of certain pieces of regulated information. While compliance with these regulations may be mandatory, it is usually not sufficient to protect an organization against cybersecurity risks.

Risk Assessments

A more effective option for organizations is to adopt a risk-based approach to security that performs a holistic assessment of the threats facing an organization and the vulnerabilities in its current operating environment. Risks occur when there is an intersection of an existing (or potential) vulnerability and an identified (or possible) threat. When performing a thorough cybersecurity risk assessment, organizations evaluate each possible risk and then assign it a risk score. 

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Cyber Risk Scores

Cyber risk scores are based on a combination of the likelihood that a risk will materialize and the impact on the organization should the risk come to pass. This risk-based approach allows the organization to focus its efforts on the risks that are more significant to its operations. A risk-based approach to security recognizes that risks do not fit into neat buckets of high and low. Instead, they fit along a spectrum ranging from risks that are so low that the organization may accept the risk without adverse impact, to those that are so severe they must be avoided at all costs. 

The vast majority of risks facing an organization lie somewhere between those two extremes, and the goal of a risk-based security program is to appropriately prioritize and mitigate those risks to an acceptable level.

Benefits of a Risk-Based Strategy

Risk-based security strategies bring several important benefits to organizations. 

1. With a risk-based approach, organizations can calculate the ROI of their security efforts and understand the value achieved from their investments. 
2. A risk-based approach provides a comprehensive view of risk, including third-party risk. 
3. A risk-based approach identifies gaps in an organization’s security strategy, and encourages  a robust, in-depth approach to fill in those holes.
4. A security risk-based approach helps organizations adopt a broader risk-based approach to business in general. The concepts of risk management discussed in cybersecurity conversations apply equally to many other areas of an organization. These include other technology matters, such as disaster recovery and fault tolerance, as well as issues that do not involve technology, such as media relations and industrial compliance. 
5. With a risk-based approach, organizations develop a robust set of security controls that are designed to meet the unique business needs of the organization. Rather than blindly adopting a regulatory framework or industry standard, organizations can customize a set of controls to their unique technical and operational environment, ensuring optimal security.

Centraleyes Takes a Risk-Based Approach

Centraleyes takes a comprehensive approach to identifying and meeting the risk and compliance needs of every customer. Each engagement includes several phases designed to help you achieve your security objectives in an efficient, effective manner. From an initial discovery session, to a comprehensive risk assessment, procurement, configuration and deployment, the Centraleyes Team takes on risk and compliance management using a risk-based analytical approach.