

Theft of customer information could result in loss of trust and customer attrition. Data loss - Theft of trade secrets could cause you to lose business to your competitors.It includes hard costs, like damage to hardware, and soft costs, such as lost business and consumer confidence. Cost is a measure of the total financial impact of a security incident.Vulnerability is shorthand for “the likelihood that a vulnerability will be exploited and a threat will succeed against an organization’s defenses.” What is the security environment in the organization? How quickly can disaster be mitigated if a breach does occur? How many employees are in the organization and what is the probability of any given one becoming an internal threat to security control?.For example, the threat of being struck by lightning in a given year is about 1 in 1,000,000. Threat is short for “threat frequency,” or how often an adverse event is expected to occur.This isn’t strictly a mathematical formula it’s a model for understanding the relationships among the components that feed into determining risk: However, if you have good perimeter defenses and your vulnerability is low, and even though the asset is still critical, your risk will be medium. If your network is very vulnerable (perhaps because you have no firewall and no antivirus solution), and the asset is critical, your risk is high. For example, suppose you want to assess the risk associated with the threat of hackers compromising a particular system. We can understand risk using the following equation Risk = Threat x Vulnerability x AssetĪlthough risk is represented here as a mathematical formula, it is not about numbers it is a logical construct. It is usually not a specific number but a range.


The NIST National Vulnerability Database maintains a list of specific, code-based weaknesses. Other examples of vulnerabilities include disgruntled employees and aging hardware. Having a server room in the basement is a vulnerability that increases the chances of a hurricane or flood ruining equipment and causing downtime.
#WEBSITE AUDITOR MAC SECURITY RISK SOFTWARE#
For example, outdated antivirus software is a vulnerability that can allow a malware attack to succeed. Vulnerability - A vulnerability is any potential weak point that could allow a threat to cause damage.Examples include natural disasters, website failures and corporate espionage. Threat - A threat is any event that could harm an organization’s people or assets.
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We’ll discuss how to assess each one in a moment, but here’s a brief definition of each: IT risk assessment components and formula The four key componentsĪn IT risk assessment involves four key components. However, before you spend a dollar of your budget or an hour of your time implementing a solution to reduce risk, be sure to consider which risk you are addressing, how high its priority is, and whether you are approaching it in the most cost-effective way. Once you know what you need to protect, you can begin developing strategies.

