Risk Management
Introduction
Risk management is an important part of planning for businesses. The process is designed to reduce or eliminate the risk of certain events happening or having an impact on the business. It is a process of identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks attached to business processes. There are a number of risk management strategies available, depending on the type of risk and the type of business. There are also several risk management standards available for reference and guidance, including those developed by the Project Management Institute, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the National Institute of Science and Technology, and Actuarial Societies.
Risk management is a constructive way of categorising potential risks to a business, estimating the probabilities of these risks occurring, and then developing strategies to manage these risks. An effective risk management plan can be put in place by utilising three main processes: assessment, implementation and monitoring.
Assessment
Risk assessment is the process by which potential risks are identified and assessed, and appropriate mitigating responses to these risks are developed. It is a combination of the uncertainties involved along with the likelihood of these uncertainties occurring and the relative impact they could have, which determines the risk factor. A risk factor is the likelihood of resources being attacked.
Risk = Threat X Vulnerability
Implementation
Once all of the responses to be used for each risk have been decided upon, the planned methods for dealing with the effects of the risks need to be put in place. A catalogue of risks needs to be documented in a risk register.
The risk register is an effective tool which allows project members to record the identified risks, analyse their severity, and outline a response to be taken should they occur. This helps with identifying and documenting the incident response plan. The fields that the risk register should contain are:
- Unique ID
- Description
- Probability
- Impact
- Timescale
- Cost
- Owner
- Response
- Expected level of risk once mitigating actions complete
Monitoring
Identifying, analysing and planning for risk is an important process for anybusiness. However, risk management does not stop once the risks have been identified. Risk identification and analysis must be an ongoing process with periodic reviews. It is important to keep a record of identified risks and revisit the risk assessment to monitor the effectiveness of the chosen responses. This will ensure that when a risk does occur the chosen response is appropriate.
How we can help you
SecureData has developed a comprehensive in-house risk management methodology based on our experience and industry best practices. It is a proven tool to be used in any industry sector. We can help businessesd throughout their Risk Management programme lifecycle and assist them with the following:
- Risk Assessment
- Risk Analysis
- Risk identification
- Risk description
- Risk estimation
- Risk profile
- Risk Evaluation
- Risk reporting and communication plan
- Risk treatment plan
- Monitoring and review of risk management process
We have a team of consultants who have a proven track record in risk management. We can help customers understand and manage the following risk management areas:
- Strategic
- Operational
- Third Party
- Technology
- Natural and Environmental
- Compliance
IT Security
Potential risk treatments
Once risks have been identified and assessed, all techniques to manage the risk fall into one or more of these four major categories:
- Avoidance (redesign to remove the risk completely)
- Reduction (deploy appropriate measure to minimise the threat)
- Sharing (Pass the risk to somebody else i.e. Insurance)
- Retention (accept and budget accordingly)