Published · By the Aesparrow Security Research Team
Short answer
A cybersecurity risk assessment identifies your important information assets, the threats and vulnerabilities that affect them, and the likelihood and business impact of each risk. The result is a ranked risk register and treatment plan that tells you which security controls to prioritise.
Risk assessment vs security assessment: what is the difference?
A risk assessment is a business decision tool: it estimates likelihood and impact to decide what to protect first. A security assessment — or penetration test — evaluates the technical security of specific systems. Security assessment findings are valuable inputs to the risk assessment.
Why perform cybersecurity risk assessments?
- Prioritise spend: invest where risk is highest.
- Meet requirements: ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR expect documented risk assessment.
- Inform leadership: risk in business terms supports better decisions.
How to perform a cybersecurity risk assessment
- 1Identify assetsList the data, systems and processes that matter to the business.
- 2Identify threats and vulnerabilitiesConsider attackers, errors and failures, informed by VAPT and incident history.
- 3Analyse likelihood and impactRate each risk using a consistent scale.
- 4Evaluate and prioritiseCompare against risk appetite to decide which risks need treatment.
- 5Treat the risksMitigate, transfer, avoid or accept, with owners and deadlines.
- 6Monitor and reviewRefresh the assessment at least annually and after major change.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Clear answers about what we do — and what we don’t. If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out to our team.
Which methodology should we use?
ISO/IEC 27005 and NIST SP 800-30 are widely used; the key is applying one consistently.