Security risk assessment: Identifying and mitigating risks
Every business faces potential security threats. These can include data breaches, theft, damage to facilities, or harm to employees or patrons. Appropriate security measures can reduce such risks and improve threat readiness.
A security risk assessment identifies and prioritizes risks to determine the level of security needed to protect an organization. Gleaning critical information from a risk assessment is an important first step, allowing you to increase surveillance, hire security guards, or institute loss-prevention practices accordingly.
Working with an experienced and innovative partner in a rapidly evolving security landscape results in solutions tailored to your specific needs.
What is a security risk assessment?
A security risk assessment identifies potential threats and assesses risk levels to mitigate harm. This service can protect your business assets from threats like data breaches, unauthorized access to facilities, theft, and workplace violence.
“Tailored risk assessments provide a detailed and accurate understanding of the unique threats within a given environment,” says Eduart Caka, Paladin Security’s Program Development Coordinator. “By addressing risks particular to their sector, organizations can implement tailored control measures that are more effective and relevant.”
Although all industries benefit from a customized risk assessment, those that would gain the most include financial institutions, mining, and critical energy infrastructure like nuclear power plants and oil refineries.
Why conduct a security risk assessment?
A security risk assessment helps ensure your mitigation strategies are effective and cost-efficient. By assessing potential risks before implementing security measures, you can be sure your resources are being appropriately allocated and target areas that need them most.
Proactive risk management
As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Reacting to a threat that has already occurred can be costly and do considerable harm to your business operations—and your reputation.
By contrast, proactive measures that prevent threats from occurring could spare you avoidable downtime, expenses, and immeasurable harm. A risk assessment can help you to diagnose sensitive data, protect critical infrastructure, avoid interruptions to operations, and keep your business on track to reach set goals.
Legal and regulatory compliance
Businesses must comply with numerous legal and regulatory standards, and risk mitigation is a crucial part of the equation. Compliance is particularly important for organizations in healthcare, banking and finance, education, and other fields that handle sensitive consumer information.
However, even retail, hospitality, and event-planning organizations have a duty to protect employees, customers, and facilities from harm. Companies can protect themselves and ensure compliance with essential rules and regulations by assessing and addressing risks.
Cost savings
Proper risk management protects your business and your bottom line. It starts with security risk assessments, which provide key insights into the most effective ways to allocate funds for security purposes.
With the right security measures in place, you can avoid costly incidents and the consequences that follow. In the wake of theft, for instance, you might face steep costs for investigation, recovery, legal penalties, and even restitution, depending on what’s stolen.
Similarly, a violent attack could result in costs related to facility damage and harm to bystanders, not to mention lawsuits and reputational damage. Mitigating risks entails some upfront expense, but you stand to save much when you consider the potential consequences of a threat being carried out.
What are the five steps of a security risk assessment?
Assessing risks can be complex, depending on your business's size, scope, and industry. Generally, there are five main steps involved:
- Identifying assets and threats
- Analyzing vulnerabilities
- Evaluating risk levels
- Implementing controls
- Monitoring and reviewing
Here’s more on what each step entails and why it’s important.
Step 1: Identifying assets and threats
The assessment process starts with identifying critical assets. These include tangible items like cash, inventory, and property and intangible items like sensitive data. Anything that someone might find valuable enough to steal or attack could be considered an asset, including the people within your organization.
The next step is identifying potential threats. These might come from business rivals, criminal elements like thieves or vandals, violent individuals, or even disgruntled employees or dissatisfied customers.
Once you have a comprehensive list of targets and threats, you can begin to assess individual risks.
Step 2: Analyzing vulnerabilities
Installing a badge system and implementing data security measures may not be enough to protect your business in today’s world. You need to pinpoint potential vulnerabilities in facilities, systems, and processes so you can adequately address security risks.
Caka outlines a recent example of this principle at work: “A comprehensive risk assessment conducted by a financial institution identified a critical vulnerability within its online banking platform—the utilization of outdated encryption protocols—which posed a significant threat to customer data security.”
“In response, the financial institution upgraded to advanced encryption standards and established regular security audits to ensure ongoing protection against emerging threats.”
A risk assessment conducted in a retail shopping centre identified the vulnerability of the property and retail units to unauthorized access/break and enter after hours. In response, the property conducted a perimeter door audit that included numbering all perimeter doors and auditing specific characteristics of each door; function, integrity, and securability. This process identified a number of doors that failed one or more of the three characteristics. Repairing or replacing the deficiencies dramatically mitigated the risk by reducing vulnerability to after-hours ingress.
Step 3: Evaluating risk levels
Calculating risk levels is an important part of the risk assessment process, as it allows companies to prioritize implementing various security measures. Two primary factors are associated with evaluating risk levels: likelihood and impact.
The likelihood of a threat materializing could be based on asset values, the scope of the vulnerability, and similar attacks on competitors or the business itself. Potential impact can be hard to predict but may involve quantifiable factors like monetary losses and lawsuits, as well as qualitative factors like loss of reputation and low employee morale.
By considering these factors in tandem, you can set escalating risk levels and create an order of magnitude and priority for your mitigation efforts.
Step 4: Implementing controls
Mitigating identified risks may involve a number of strategies, such as mandatory training, implementing the latest security technologies, hiring security officers, and revamping policies and procedures. Comprehensive security controls include both physical measures and modern technologies, including advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) for predictive insights.
“Technology plays a vital role in modern risk management, offering advanced tools to identify, evaluate, and mitigate potential threats,” Caka says.
Step 5: Monitoring and reviewing
Key factors to decreasing risk include installing and enforcing access-control systems and establishing a security presence. However, security isn’t a one-and-done proposition. Monitoring, reviewing, and conducting periodic assessments allows businesses to stay ahead of emerging threats.
Common security risks uncovered
The most common potential risk factors businesses face are a lack of security awareness, insider threats, and third-party risks from partners, vendors, and contractors associated with the organization.
These hazards could manifest as physical breaches, cyber threats, or vulnerabilities related to employees or customers. Risk assessments are critical for identifying, analyzing, and mitigating such threats.
Benefits of partnering with Paladin for security risk assessments
Paladin takes a holistic approach to assessment based on security industry references and best practices. Our team identifies potential vulnerabilities by assessing threats, organizational structure, and physical security measures. We then analyze and prioritize these vulnerabilities with tailored recommendations for your organization to mitigate risk while enhancing operational efficiency.
Security threats won’t wait
It’s never too early to conduct a security risk assessment. Under the guidance of experienced security professionals, you can identify, assess, prioritize, and mitigate risks to protect your business from harm.
Paladin has the expertise and resources to help you implement the safety measures that make sense for your business. Contact us today to discuss your security program.
FAQs
What are the five steps of security risk assessment?
The five steps of a security risk assessment are identifying assets and threats, analyzing vulnerabilities, evaluating risk levels, implementing controls, and monitoring and reviewing.
What is a security risk assessment checklist?
A security risk assessment checklist is a tool that provides criteria for systematically identifying and analyzing threats. This helps organizations prioritize risk levels and guides the process of developing mitigation solutions.
Are there any considerations around who is using the environment when conducting a risk assessment?
Yes, an often overlooked element in risk assessment is the innate biases in the risk assessor’s perspective. It is imperative that the assessor take an empathetic approach and consider the perspective of all users of the environment when assessing risk. An environment that is perceived as safe to one person may be perceived as unsafe to another person due to their personal perspective, experiences, or ability.
