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Many organizations depend critically on their information and communication systems development. In general, such systems exist to help the corporation’s evolutionary process by ensuring that automated operations and strategic measures are taken when necessary.
Yet, even technologies so beneficial to the organization must be used wisely and with caution. The rampant adoption and mismanagement of technologies already in use can lead the company to truly chaotic scenarios, as pointed out by Ekinci, Sharma, and Stone (2009).
Thus, considering that IT risk management is a vast field of study, with this article I want to present, even if in a summarized and simplified way, five steps to reduce IT risks in enterprise environments.
What are IT risks?
IT risks can essentially be seen by the formula Risk = vulnerability * threat. In other words, risk can be assessed according to the fragility/vulnerability of the system in question in relation to the level of threats it faces.
Therefore, when the number of vulnerabilities or the number of threats is sufficiently small (approaching 0), the risk will be reduced and tend to be lower. Translating, if there are no threats to a system, then the number of vulnerabilities does not change the risk involved and vice versa.
Still, in business environments, we also talk about risk levels, since risk alone does not show us the need for investments in IT security and management. The risk level is obtained by evaluating the losses involved if the risk occurs. For simplicity, we have the formula: Risk Level= risk * asset value * consequences, where consequences are the negative points of the occurrence of the risk. This indicator is very important for organizations to better distribute investments in information security since it is possible to “weigh” the risks and losses involved, and thus focus on points of greater interest.
Among IT risks are software/hardware failure, human error, viruses, malicious attacks, and natural causes such as fire, for example. In addition, the theft of confidential information can cause huge losses, which has become one of the biggest reasons for major investments in IT management and information security. When it comes to risks with the use of IT, the idea is to minimize them as much as possible so that they do not occur and, still, know and prepare for the various scenarios.
How to reduce IT risks?
The following are five of the seven steps cited by Blood-Rojas (2017) in his article on technology risk reduction.
- Identify key risks and assess their likelihood and impact
It is common to hire IT specialists in this process. Companies seek to identify areas of greatest concern, in addition to assessing the probability of a risk’s occurrence, as well as its possible impacts. This stage includes risks whose impact, should they occur, is very high and critically influences the organization’s survival. The objective here is to identify the chances of a risk occurring, minimize them, and create action plans, both to avoid the risk and to deal with a pessimistic scenario.
- Analyze information security threats
The organization must identify security vulnerabilities, whether they are related to external attacks or even from within the company itself. In addition, the minimum security requirements should be reviewed in some areas, such as access and control of the systems used, transaction authorization, and data integrity. Finally, a sequence of tests is also important, in order to pinpoint possible vulnerabilities and verify the functioning of backup systems.
- Analyze the risk of software or hardware failure
Organizations must consider the risk of hardware and/or software failure in order to identify the consequences and procedures in cases where failure occurs. From time to time it is important to check how stable the equipment and technologies used are.
- Check the risks of hiring third parties
Hiring third parties is a very common process in organizations, and it is important to be very cautious when hiring outsourced companies. Thus, it is recommended to evaluate the service provision, as well as the principles of the contracted company, so that the organization’s security and risk reduction policies are not compromised.
- Measuring Impact
If your organization had sensitive information stolen, for example, what kind of impact would it suffer? The impact calculation can be seen as the damage caused by the occurrence of a risk. Furthermore, it helps in the decision of implementing IT management policies. According to the losses involved, you can choose IT security and management policies that best fit your scenarios.
In conclusion
Fusion Platform can be an important ally in IT management, especially for its Analytics module, which can accurately represent both the risk and the risk level involved in its analysis.
Thus, it is possible for those responsible to have greater precision when distributing investments in information security and managing to reduce the IT risk scenario. In addition, Fusion can also be used as a tool by the IT manager, since it will be possible to open support calls, for example.
To learn more about the Fusion Platform, visit our website.
References
Trade Ready, Springe
