cybersecurity risk assessment framework, variety of controls

Cybersecurity Risk Assessment: What It Is, Why You Need One, and What Happens After

A cybersecurity risk assessment gives you a full picture of where your business is vulnerable. Most businesses assume they have the coverage and protection they need…which is true until it’s suddenly not. Unfortunately, a security breach is usually when cybersecurity becomes a priority, and by then it’s too late.

Attackers only have to be right once, but your defenses have to hold up through any and every attempt. That’s why a formal risk assessment flips the script, helping you find vulnerabilities before someone else does.

Key Takeaways:

  • A cybersecurity risk assessment gives you a prioritized, ranked action plan to help you know exactly what to fix first.
  • Third-party assessments from credentialed experts can often catch blind spots that internal teams may normalize or miss.
  • A risk assessment is a starting point. Ongoing monitoring will keep you safe as threats evolve.
  • Manufacturers need operational technology (OT) security along with IT controls to protect production floor systems from threats.

What a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment Actually Evaluates

A cybersecurity risk assessment doesn’t just look at whether or not you have antivirus protection in place. A real assessment is systematic and comprehensive.

At Chortek, our cybersecurity risk assessment framework is part of our robust network assessment, which includes a continuously curated list of approximately 115 controls. No matter what your business does, we’ll examine the policies, tools, processes, and configurations that reduce risk.

The categories typically evaluated in a cybersecurity risk assessment include:

  • Network security
  • Access controls
  • Data protection
  • Endpoint security
  • Employee practices
  • Backup & recovery
  • Vendor and third-party risk

The risk assessment will also evaluate your business’s risk tolerance. What level of risk is your company willing to accept as compared to the present? The goal of a risk assessment isn’t to get a perfect score, but rather to paint an honest picture of where you stand and what areas need attention.

Internal vs. Third-Party Assessments: Pros and Cons

There are pros and cons to having an internal cybersecurity risk assessment.

Keeping the process internal means that it will generally be faster and cheaper. The limit of an internal risk assessment is what your team knows (and doesn’t know). The biggest problems are blind spots.

Similarly, there are self-assessment tools which can help guide your team, but it can be difficult to remain objective. The assessments are limited by the expertise of the person filling them out. Even if they have very strong knowledge of your internal IT, they may not be aware of some of the broader and ever-evolving risks that target most industries.

A third-party assessment gives you an independent, credentialed perspective. Cybersecurity expertise makes a big difference, and it can help with items your internal teams might normalize, overlook, or miss.

What does the credentialing mean? There are CISSP and CISA designations that indicate your assessor has been specially trained to detect some of the hardest-to-find threats. At Chortek, we have credentialed members of our team who can give you fresh insight that is otherwise hard to come by.

The other benefit of third-party assessments is that they generally carry more weight with insurers, regulators, and boards. This can be a valuable step for businesses with stakeholders who are requesting extra security measures and insight.

The Cybersecurity Risk Matrix: How Threats Are Scored and Prioritized

A cybersecurity risk matrix may sound like something from a science fiction movie, but in reality, it is a simple way to determine how much risk your company is holding. Generally, the formula is:

Likelihood of a security breach x impact of a breach = risk level

But of course, not all security breaches and vulnerabilities are equal. It can depend on the situation and industry. A misconfigured firewall at a financial firm is a much higher risk than one at a three-person landscaping company. These considerations are also factored into the assessment.

Threats are evaluated on the probability of exploitation and the potential damage to your business that the risk could present. In the output, you get a prioritized list of cybersecurity issues, ranked critical, high, medium, or low. This takes remediation from a general item on your to-do list to a concrete, ranked action plan.

No company can fix every risk at once. Some risks might be less threatening to your industry or your individual operation. The value of a cybersecurity risk assessment is that it helps you know what to fix first and how to organize your approach. You get technical findings translated into a clear, business language that a CFO, CEO, or owner can confidently act on.

What Happens After an Assessment: Translating Findings into a Roadmap

The goal of a cybersecurity risk assessment isn’t to get a report—that’s not your finish line, but rather your starting point.

From this credible roadmap of your security picture, you can start with remediation. You’ll have prioritized action items, timelines, responsible parties, and cost estimates to help you plan.

A risk assessment from Chortek will help you compare the “quick wins” to “long-term projects.” You’ll know what you can fix right away and what issues are going to require a more in-depth approach.

After your assessment, ongoing monitoring is crucial. A cybersecurity risk assessment gives you a set point-in-time, but that can go stale quickly (especially with the rate of cyber threats these days). It’s best to pair it with managed vulnerability scanning so you can stay current and aware of your situation.

At Chortek, our approach is to include an annual network risk assessment as part of our managed IT service. Assessment becomes a recurring process, not a one-and-done event. This ensures that you are prepared for the long haul.

Remediation is the key. If a provider gives you a report and then just walks away, you’re stuck with a document that will age fast. Instead, a good MSP will tell you what you need to fix and give you a very clear path.

SOC for Cybersecurity: What It Is and Who Needs It

SOC stands for System and Organization Controls framework. The framework can be applied to your cybersecurity risk management program. In plain terms, a SOC is a formal, audited attestation that your cybersecurity meets a recognized standard.

Not everyone needs the SOC framework, but it can be a necessity for businesses with significant regulatory exposure. It’s also very useful for businesses that handle sensitive client data. It gives your company proof of security to share with customers.

SOC for Cybersecurity is different from a typical risk assessment. The risk assessment finds gaps and identifies areas to shore up. SOC for Cybersecurity certifies that your program has addressed those risks at a standard level.

Not every small or medium-sized business needs SOC for Cybersecurity, but it’s important to be aware of it, especially if your business is growing, changing, or if industry regulations are tightening.

OT Security for Manufacturers is a Different Threat Landscape

Operational Technology, or OT, refers to the systems that run physical equipment, production floors, and industrial controls in manufacturing. Why is this important for those in the manufacturing sector?

Most cybersecurity frameworks are designed for IT. They look at the risks associated with computers, networks, and data. OT looks at your automation and industrial controls for different vulnerabilities.

Compromises in cybersecurity can look a little different for manufacturing. There are other vulnerabilities and consequences. Some of the risks include production shutdown, safety systems compromise, or supply chain disruption, all of which present a high cost for businesses in the industry.

IT/OT convergence is steadily increasing at a fast pace. As factory floors become better automated and more connected, the attack surface also widens.

If your business has a production floor, then your cybersecurity assessment should include OT as well. In manufacturing, a generic IT assessment won’t cover all your bases. It can be helpful to work with an MSP familiar with the latest advances in your industry.

How Chortek’s IT Security Team Approaches Risk Assessment for SMBs

At Chortek, we approach risk assessment as an essential part of IT support. SMBs might not have enterprise-level budgets or extra IT staff, so risks can pose a significant threat to the business’s well-being as a whole. The assessment and approach should reflect your business’s size and needs.

Our network risk assessment framework consists of an ever-evolving curated list of approximately 115 controls. The framework evolves to meet the needs of new business risks. Our framework is comprehensive, but it’s also scaled for businesses that are small-to-medium sized—those that aren’t on the Fortune 500.

Michael Senkbeil, our Cybersecurity expert, is CISSP and CISA-credentialed. He’s accessible to you and your business and can give you a no-cost initial conversation to see if he and Chortek are the right fit.

The assessment connects to our managed IT services. Findings don’t just sit there in a report. They feed directly into the remediation process and help with ongoing monitoring. The annual assessment cadence is built right into our managed IT relationships.

We’re a partner that can help you understand and manage real risk to your business technology. You shouldn’t wait for a breach to take cybersecurity seriously. An honest assessment will give you a clear understanding of where your business stands.

Start with a conversation with Michael or another member of our IT team to begin to reduce cybersecurity risks and give you the peace of mind that your business, operations, and customers are safe and protected.