It’s incredibly risky for any business not to perform a regular risk assessment of its IT infrastructure, as a minor neglect in the system can lead to a major shutdown that can cost the company huge losses. Hence, being at least a step ahead can minimize potential problems for your business later on.
Most established companies have their own IT team that executes regular monitoring of their companies’ day-to-day system of operations as well as regular monitoring of their day-to-day information security operations. However, it’s better to employ a third-party that can provide a non-biased approach in determining information security risks to conduct a more thorough inspection of the entire information systems infrastructure to their entire business operations. Also, this is to ensure the alignment of all divisions to the security standards to keep the company protected from virtual break-ins and theft.
To give you a clearer picture of what processes are needed to make your business secure, here’s a risk assessment checklist that you can use as reference:
Review the company’s compliance in information security.
Information Technology does not only refer to the software that your company is using. It also refers to how the software and data is being used, the people using it, the procedures being followed, the monitoring and management process and implementation of the standards set, and all things related in the operations.
Affected areas that must be inspected include the servers, databases, applications, network infrastructure, access to information, data process procedures, and physical sites.
Non-IT related procedures like asset disposal, risk management, HR programs, communication process, contingency procedures, and Information Security Management Systems must also be reviewed.
Weak areas must be identified and remediation processes must be applied immediately to minimize effects or completely eliminate risks.
Your management team and stakeholders must be educated on the relevance of the procedures and be aware of the internal and external risks involved—if even a single member does not follow the standard protocols and procedures.
Provide the company an ISO-based Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) list of policies and procedures.
An ISO certification or any other compliance certifications is a validation given to a company as proof that it adheres and complies with the policies and standards set by the proper regulatory and government bodies.
Your management must be provided with a hard copy of the guide on the policies and procedures set by the governing body on information handling and access, and ensure that these are implemented by all users from all departments accordingly.
Provide the Information Security awareness sessions or training to the staff to ensure proper literacy and compliance.
Do not assume that all the members of your staff understand the list of policies provided for them and know how to follow them through.
Make sure that your staff receives proper training that informs them of all the risks involved in every activity within and outside work hours. They should also be aware on the use of applications, programs and data within the company.
Provide the company solutions on how to address patching requirements and data loss protection requirements.
After a thorough systems, operations and business assessment, your IT staff must be provided with a complete list of patching requirements and tools. This would include updates and fixes needed on the codes and programs of the software being used and adjustments required in the procedural aspects of the operations.
Essentially, this can minimize possible leaks and minimize threats to the security of the system and data.
The level of security your business has dictates the security level of your services. It’s important that the information security team that you partner with is reputable and have a strong track record in handling both the conceptual and technical aspects of accessing information and delivering them.
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