IT Examiner School eBook May 2025

Why have a Risk Assessment?

Compliance: Ensures alignment with regulatory requirements (GLBA, NYDFS 23 NYCRR 500, HIPAA). Prevents Loss: Identifies potential risks that could lead to data breaches or critical information loss.

Business Alignment: Aligns the protection of information assets with business objectives. Trust and Reputation: Protects the trust between financial institutions and their customers.

A Risk Assessment is a foundational component of any robust Information Security Program. Its primary purpose is to identify, evaluate, and prioritize risks to information assets, business operations, and overall organizational stability. By understanding these risks, organizations can implement targeted controls to mitigate vulnerabilities, prevent data breaches, and ensure regulatory compliance.

Operational Stability: Reinforces the safety and soundness of the institution.

What Are Risk Assessments

What it is...

What it is not….

A process to identify, analyze, and prioritize risks to business operations and information assets.

A one-time project; it is an ongoing process that evolves with the threat landscape.

A way to understand the potential impact of risks and determine the necessary controls to mitigate them.

A replacement for regular security controls or monitoring; it highlights risks but doesn’t fix them.

A mechanism to align security investments with business risk.

A guarantee of security; it’s an analysis tool, not a security solution.

A compliance requirement for many regulatory bodies, and basis for any Security framework.

Solely a checklist exercise; it requires analysis, strategy, and action.

A driver for improved risk communication across teams and stakeholders.

Independent of business objectives; it is directly tied to business continuity and data protection.

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