Security Risk Assessment
Have you conducted a site security Risk Assessment (SRA)?
What is a Security Risk Assessment?
A security risk assessment is a systematic process used to identify, evaluate, and prioritise potential security risks to an organisation’s assets, data, and systems. It is a critical component of an organisation’s overall risk management strategy, helping to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive information and assets. By conducting a thorough examination of an organisation’s security posture, including its policies, procedures, and technical controls, a security risk assessment identifies vulnerabilities and threats that could potentially compromise its security. This process is essential for developing effective risk management strategies and implementing appropriate security controls to protect against potential security risks.
What Is Our Goal?
Improve your security posture
The primary purpose of our security risk assessment is to enhance your organisation’s overall security posture, ensure compliance with relevant regulations, and support informed decision-making regarding risk management strategies.
A security risk assessment is applicable across various sectors, including corporate, government, healthcare, and education, as it helps organisations to identify security risks, safeguard their resources and maintain operational integrity.
The following video demonstrates a lack of physcial security measures and procedures in place to prevent trespass. Considering not only risk from trespass but reputational damage and liabilty upon any accident.
Why Choose Airvis?
Airvis professional security and risk management consultants, and auditors have over a decade of experience in security risk management. Threat assessment and risk mitigation is at the core of our service delivery.
We have experience in delivering national and international security operations for commercial and private clients and have a comprehensive understanding of the threats and risks that our clients are exposed to.
We are also uniquely experienced and qualifed to advise on drone threat assessment, and any likely impact on your company’s operations, offering expert advice on implementing drone technology as part of your organisations physical security controls and risk management processes should it be considered.
Why is it Important to Conduct a Security Risk Assessment?
A security assessment is crucial for numerous reasons that affect different sectors and organisations. They identify vulnerabilities, threat actors, and potential threats. Cyber security risk management involves establishing context and assessing vulnerabilities as key components of an effective strategy. Whilst risk ranking/risk rating critical assets, creating security policies, supporting risk management decisions, and ensuring safety compliance.
Risk assessments are vital for the overall health and sustainability of an organisation. Regular risk assessment not only helps in identifying and mitigating risks via the use of a risk register and enforce security controls, but also contribute to achieving long-term goals, enhancing decision-making capabilities, and maintaining a safe working environment for security officers and staff.
When it comes to expenses and costs, security risk assessments help organisations develop and prioritise their security budget. Proactive risk assessments are more cost-effective than addressing breaches after they occur.
What problems does a security risk assessment solve?
Security risk assessments can significantly reduce potential damage and offer risk mitigation in various real-life scenarios. Security risk assessments focus on a broader range of threats beyond just electronic assets, emphasising the importance of considering physical threats and human risks. We have identified four key issues that can be effectively addressed through this process.
Improved security posture
A risk assessment enhances an organisation's resilience to threats by identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities.
Better decision making
Risk assessments enable organisations to enhance their decision-making regarding resource distribution and security initiatives.
Compliance
Many industries require organisations to conduct risk assessments to comply with regulations.
Cost savings
Addressing risks proactively can help organisations save money on breaches, legal fees, and reputational damage.
Security Risk Assessment Options
Aspects of protection
It is important to understand what our clients requirements are from a security risk assessment. Many clients feel they are exposed to higher physical security risks, and would prefer to concentrate on a physcial assesment only, excluding process, operations, and cyber (IT) security risk management.
We provide options and tailored costs depending on your objectives and budget. Clients can choose to include or exclude the following within our reports. Security risk assessment can include and identify:
Physical security risk assessment
Procedural security risk assessment
Relational security risk assessment
Information security – cyber security risk assessment
Our Security Risk Assessment Process
Determine the scope of the risk assessment
The initial phase involves defining the scope of the risk assessment, which may cover the entire organisation or focus on specific business units, locations, or particular elements of operations. After establishing the scope, it is crucial to engage all relevant stakeholders and decision makers, especially those whose business processes are included in the assessment. Their contributions are vital for identifying pertinent processes and assets, pinpointing risks, evaluating impacts, and setting risk tolerance levels.
Threat and vulnerabilty indentification
A threat refers to any occurrence that has the potential to harm an organisation’s resources or operations. These threats may originate from within the organisation or from external sources and can be either intentional or unintentional.
A vulnerability is a weakness that makes an organisation susceptible to threats. Various techniques can be employed to identify these vulnerabilities, such as automated scanning, auditing, penetration testing, vendor security advisories, and application security testing (AST) methods.
Analyse risks and determine potential impact
The subsequent phase involves assessing the potential effects of the identified risk scenarios on the organisation.
Prioritise risks
A risk matrix can be used to classify each risk scenario. It is important to define a risk tolerance ratio and specify which threat scenarios exceed this threshold. Based on the risk matrix you can determine one of three actions:
- Avoid—if the risk is low and it is not worthwhile to mitigate it, it might be best to take no action.
- Transfer—if the risk is significant but difficult to address, it is possible to share the risk by transferring responsibility to a third party.
- Mitigate—risks that are significant and within the operational scope of the internal team should be mitigated. You can do this by deploying security controls and other measures to reduce their occurrence and potential impact.
Document all risks
Documenting all identified risk scenarios is crucial. This information must be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure visibility into the current risk portfolio.
Risk Management
Risk is the Likelihood (probability) of a Threat (danger)
exploiting a Vulnerability (weakness) and the potential Impact
(loss, damage or destruction) on an Asset.
Identify – Assess – Control – Monitor
Risk management process can be a complex concept – but it can also be simplified by considering the following four factors.
Every organisation requires risk management. It is implemented at the operational and strategic side of the business, usually directed toward health & safety, business continuity and economic factors rather than low-tier security issues. A thorough risk analysis of security threats even at the base level ensures that assets are protected from financial, legal or reputational loss.
Some risks, depending on the organisations Risk Attitude are tolerable – but it is best to minimise tolerance levels due to the direct and indirect benefits the organisation receives from the uplift in morale, safety and loss prevention.
What our clients say
