Scenario: You are the information security officer of a medium-sized company.

Your task is to conduct a

risk assessment for the company's information security systems and identify potential risks that could
compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of sensitive data. The company's IT
infrastructure includes servers, network devices, and databases containing customer information,
financial data, and intellectual property.

Problem: Perform a risk assessment for the company's information security systems and identify
potential risks, along with their likelihood and potential impact.

Steps in making Risk Assessment

1. Identify Assets: List the critical information assets within the company's IT infrastructure that
require protection, such as customer data, financial records, and intellectual property.

2. Identify Threats: Identify potential threats that could exploit vulnerabilities in the company's
information security systems. These may include external threats like hacking, malware, or
physical theft, as well as internal threats like unauthorized access by employees.

3. Assess Vulnerabilities: Evaluate the vulnerabilities or weaknesses in the company's information

security systems that could be exploited by the identified threats. This may include outdated
software, weak passwords, lack of access controls, or inadequate encryption protocols.

4. Likelihood Assessment: Determine the likelihood of each identified threat occurring,

considering factors such as historical data, industry trends, and the company's security
measures. Assign a likelihood rating (e.g., low, medium, high) to each threat.

5. Impact Assessment: Assess the potential impact or consequences of each identified threat
materializing. Consider the potential loss of sensitive data, financial implications, damage to the
company's reputation, and legal or regulatory consequences. Assign an impact rating (e.g., low,
medium, high) to each threat.

6. Risk Evaluation: Combine the likelihood and impact ratings to determine the overall risk level
for each identified threat. This can be done using a risk matrix that assigns risk levels based on
the combination of likelihood and impact ratings (e.g., low, medium, high).

7. Prioritize Risks: Prioritize the identified risks based on their risk levels. Focus on addressing high-
risk threats first, followed by medium-risk ones, while low-risk threats may receive less
immediate attention.

8. Mitigation Strategies: Develop and propose appropriate mitigation strategies for each high and
medium-risk threat. These strategies may include implementing security controls, conducting
employee training, regularly updating software and systems, performing security audits, and
establishing incident response procedures.
Example

Scenario: You work for a small software development company that handles sensitive customer data
and intellectual property. Your task is to perform a risk assessment for the company's information
security systems and identify potential risks that could impact the confidentiality, integrity, and
availability of data and systems.

Problem: Perform a risk assessment for the company's information security systems and identify
potential risks, along with their likelihood, potential impact, and recommended mitigation measures.

Steps:

1. Identify Assets: Customer data, intellectual property, software systems, and hardware
infrastructure.

2. Identify Threats: Unauthorized access, malware attacks, physical theft, insider threats, and
natural disasters.

3. Assess Vulnerabilities: Weak passwords, unpatched software, lack of encryption, inadequate

access controls, physical security weaknesses.

4. Likelihood Assessment: Based on historical data, industry trends, and security measures:

 Unauthorized access: Medium likelihood

 Malware attacks: High likelihood

 Physical theft: Low likelihood

 Insider threats: Low likelihood

 Natural disasters: Low likelihood

5. Impact Assessment:

 Unauthorized access: Moderate impact (potential data breach)

 Malware attacks: High impact (potential loss of data, system disruption)

 Physical theft: Low impact (limited impact on data and systems)

 Insider threats: Low impact (limited access to sensitive information)

 Natural disasters: High impact (potential damage to infrastructure)

 6. Risk Evaluation:

 Unauthorized access: Medium risk (medium likelihood, moderate impact)

 Malware attacks: High risk (high likelihood, high impact)

 Physical theft: Low risk (low likelihood, low impact)

 Insider threats: Low risk (low likelihood, low impact)

 Natural disasters: Medium risk (low likelihood, high impact)

7. Prioritize Risks:

1. Malware attacks (high risk)

2. Unauthorized access (medium risk)

3. Natural disasters (medium risk)

4. Insider threats (low risk)

5. Physical theft (low risk)

8. Mitigation Strategies:

 Malware attacks: Install and update antivirus software, conduct regular security
patches, and educate employees about safe browsing habits.

 Unauthorized access: Enforce strong password policies, implement two-factor

authentication, and regularly review and update access controls.

 Natural disasters: Implement offsite backups, invest in disaster recovery solutions, and
establish emergency response plans.

 Insider threats: Implement access controls, conduct background checks on employees,

and monitor system logs for unusual activities.

 Physical theft: Implement physical access controls, use security cameras, and secure
hardware devices in locked cabinets.