Risk and Threat Assessment

Risk and Threat Assessment

Introduction

Risk is any threat to your business data, critical systems, and business processes. A threat and risk assessment analyze a system for potential threats and evaluate the imminent security risks. A vulnerability is any weakness in the system security procedures or internal controls that could result in a security breach. The risk assessment focuses on both the possibility of a threat occurring and the repercussion on the system and the organization should it happen. An effective strategy can be formulated for each risk depending on its gravity, for example, the adoption of a mitigation strategy, or adoption of an avoidance strategy.

Risks and Threats Identified

Email spams and phishing is a risk that poses great danger to many organizations in this modern-day technology. The email phishing is whereby an unsolicited email fools’ people into revealing personal details or buying fraudulent goods by tricking you into believing you’re on a legitimate website (Meloy, 2014). Phishing emails are designed to appear like they are coming from a known organization and asks for your personal data such as credit card information, social security information, account details, or password. Phishing attempts appear to be generated from sites and organizations with which you do not even have an account registered with them.

Distributed denial of service attack is a potent weapon used by hackers to disrupt the normal functions of servers and systems. Distributed denial of service attack happens when the traffic of a server, service, or network is flooded with internet traffic. Distributed denial of service attack exploits infected machines, for example, desktops, laptops, and network resources to achieve effectiveness. When the computers are infected, they are turned into a bot. The attacker then gains remote control over the group of bots, which are now called botnets. When the botnet is established, the attacker can send updated instructions to each bot.

Malwares are malicious software designed to disrupt computer operation. Malwares are malicious programs that secretly integrate themselves into programs or data files (Thompson, 2017). They spread by finding their way into more files each time the host program is used. There are different types of malwares they include, net worm, email worm, and backdoors. Net–Worm a worm that spreads by sending complete independent clones of itself over a network. Email-Worm a worm that spreads via email, usually in infected executable email file attachments. Backdoor is a remote administration program that bypasses standard security measures to control a computer or network secretly.

Spyware is a software that negatively affects a user’s control of their computing device, usually without their consent or knowledge. The various types of malwares include trackware, adware, riskware, and hack tool. Trackware is a program covertly monitors user habits or collects private information. It may also forward data to an external party (Venkatakrishnan, 2012). Adware is a program that conveys advertising content to the user. It is usually irritating but innocuous unless it is combined with spyware or trackware. Riskware monitoring-Tool is a program that monitors and keeps track of all actions on a computer, including keystrokes entered. Hack-Tool is a licit utility created to access remote machines with malicious intent.

Controls Techniques to Mitigate

The ultimate purpose of risk identification and analysis is to prepare for risk mitigation or elimination. Mitigation entails a reduction in the likelihood that a risk will happen. The threats to security in systems include interception, interruption, modification, and fabrication. Controls available to eliminate these threats are encryption, administrative controls, operating systems, network controls, and programming controls. There are designed general controls to ensure that the overall computer system is stable and well managed. The General controls are as follows, developing an effective security plan, data storage controls, and antivirus installation.

Developing a security plan and continuously updating an extensive security strategy is essential for an organization. System owners and stakeholders are actively involved in the development of a security plan so that all their requirements and suggestions are put into consideration. Functions within the systems function that are performed by separate individuals are combined to enable efficiency in their execution. Consolidating tasks to one or a few persons means there is controlled restriction to the access of computer data and resources, thus minimizing the tampering of sensitive information in the network.

       Data storage controls involve securing storage resources and data. Data security is what gives an organization an upper hand and makes it viable. An organization should point out the types of data maintained and the level of protection required for each. A company must also note the measures taken to protect data. A well-supervised file library is one effective means of preventing loss of data. A storage area should also be secured against deliberate damage, fire, dust, excess heat, humidity, and unauthorized users. The use of file labels to secure data files from exploitation is essential. The file labels include external labels and internal labels.

The installation of antivirus protection software is an excellent line of defense to an organization’s system. Computer viruses slows down electronic devices, can cause frequent computer crashes and can also lead to data loss thus affecting the smooth running of daily activities (Meloy, 2014). Antivirus software protects the organization’s system and computers from viruses, spyware, and other online cyber threats. An antivirus eliminates viruses that have already penetrated the computer or server and also prevents the viruses from infecting again in the future. There are various antivirus softwares in the market. The features for a good antivirus include easy detection for malwares, a low impact on system resources, easy to use interface, and the affordability since some are not free.

Conclusion

The proposed control techniques to mitigate the risks and threats identified were user authentication issues, network loopholes, system backups, malicious access attempts, and data access constraints. Security access procedures with frequent data backup to the system were proposed to maintain system integrity. The mitigation of these security threats incorporated recommendations for proper testing of data integrity, auspicious administrative access, proper maintenance, and training of staff. The assessment helps management to spot possible threats and risks and how to eliminate them now and in the future. Identification of these risks ensures business continuity, thus creating a conducive environment for the organization to prosper.

References

Meloy, J. R., & Hoffmann, J. (2014). International handbook of threat assessment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Thompson, E. E. (2017). The insider threat: Assessment and mitigation of risks.

Venkatakrishnan, V., & Goswami, D. (2012). Information Systems Security: 8th International Conference, ICISS 2012,