You hear the term risk analysis often enough. But what exactly does it mean? And why should you perform a risk analysis?
What is a risk analysis?
Every company has to deal with risks to a greater or lesser extent.
By being aware of risks as an organization, you can take advantage of opportunities that entail the relevant risks or limit the threats resulting from the risks.
With a risk analysis you map out all possible threats and consequences. A risk is not immediately a danger, but may become one in the future. Control measures are then added to anticipate these risks.
Methods
ISO standards state that a risk assessment must be carried out, but do not mention the method to use to perform the assessment. There are various methods to carry out a risk analysis, some examples of methods are;
FMEA – This method is based on an approach in which risks are linked to the resources required for the execution of critical business processes. With specific attention to risks that threaten the continuity of services and/or lead to the loss of (confidential) information/data.
NIST – The risk analysis from NIST is based on risks that arise from threats and vulnerabilities. This method is therefore common for information security purposes. Specific attention is paid to the values of the information and the consequences of the possible loss or reliability of the information.
COSO – The risk analysis from COSO is based on an approximation of the impact of all possible consequences of risks and the likelihood that they will occur. This probability can be determined based on the frequency that a risk may occur.
Which method you choose depends on what suits your organization best.
Advantages and disadvantages of a risk analysis
Carrying out a risk analysis has both advantages and disadvantages. A major advantage is of course gaining insight into the threats, vulnerabilities and their consequences for the organization. In addition, consideration is being given to possible control measures to be taken and to be improved. Furthermore, a conscious assessment is made (costs versus benefits).
On the other hand, conducting a thorough risk analysis takes time. There are at least a number of steps that are followed during a thorough risk analysis:
Identify risks
Assess risks
Evaluate risks
Drawing up risk treatment plans
In addition, performing a risk analysis often requires the necessary expertise. In our view, however, this does not outweigh the advantages. After all, your business continuity is the most important.
For whom
Conducting a risk analysis is often an integral part of the process towards obtaining an ISO 27001 certificate. But a risk analysis is also relevant if your organization wants to gain insight into possible risks and wants to proactively respond to them. It does not matter whether you have a sole proprietorship or are (part of) a multinational company.
How can Profify help you?
Carrying out a risk analysis can take a lot of time. Protify can take a large part of the work out off your hands. Protify uses the FMEA method, in which all risks are mapped through a systematic approach. We do this by providing insight into which resources are important for your organization to provide your services or develop products. Here we look at any vulnerabilities in processes and then identify the risks.
A risk score (RPN) is assigned to all identified risks. The RPN provides insight into the risks that your organization has based on priority. We then link control measures to the risks and immediately provide your organization with insight into which control measures need to be implemented so that you can get started with them.
ProActive Compliance Tool
Protify uses the ProActive Compliance Tool (PCT). This online tool makes it easy to identify risks and link control measures to them. Within the PCT, all possible risks are systematically divided into categories, and predefined as much as possible so that nothing can be overlooked. Dashboards give you an overview of the real-time status of risks and control measures at a glance. Read more about the PCT.
More information
Would you like to know whether a risk analysis could be interesting for your company? And how can Protify support you? Please contact us, we will be happy to tell you more.