The best way to reduce risk is through control. Efforts to exert control over risk is known as risk management.
Risk management is a complex process that’s essential for the long-term viability of any organization. It involves the discovery, assessment and prioritization of risks as well as the coordinated use of resources to reduce, control and monitor the likelihood of adverse events and to limit their effects, if they prove to be unavoidable. Remember that there is no one-size-fits-all solution or approach for risk management, since each organization is unique and faces different threats.
Risk management in practice
Effective risk management must include measures to identify and reduce potential risk. This can take many forms, depending on the nature of the organization and any specific requirements. For example, in banking, risk management could involve an assessment of key economic and market trends to prevent financial losses and allow a bank to make prudent decisions on investments. In manufacturing, it could encompass the implementation of health and safety measures to reduce workplace accidents and ensure a stable supply chain to avoid production delays.
In the IT sector, where protecting data and systems from cyber threats is a never-ending battle, robust risk management practices are essential. Here, risk management can include routine security audits, firewall updates and training to increase employees’ awareness of the dangers of cyber threats. This is particularly important when IT is used in sectors such as healthcare, where patient safety and confidentiality are on the line and strict rules and regulations must be adhered to.
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
Risk is a natural part of societal progress and development. But for a society to function correctly, risks have to be managed in all areas, including supply chains, hospitals, housing, airport security, energy and infrastructure. The dangers we face change often and quickly, and effective risk management allows us to minimize potential dangers while taking advantage of the opportunities these risks offer.
The process of identifying, assessing and managing various risks an organization is exposed to is called Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). It can include financial, security and other types of risk. Enterprise-wide risk management encompasses a comprehensive set of measures that offer centralized visibility and oversight of threats affecting an organization and its processes.
Enterprise Risk Management vs. Traditional Risk Management
“What’s the worst that can happen?” We all know where this attitude to security will lead.
You might be familiar with the debate surrounding Enterprise Risk Management versus traditional risk management when it comes to determining which threats an organization faces. So what’s the difference between these two approaches and which one is best for you?
Organizations can control risk in one of two ways: through traditional risk management or through Enterprise Risk Management (ERM).
Traditional risk management: This strategy covers risks in specific areas such as operations or finance. It’s a targeted approach whereby each department assesses the risks relevant to their work and systems. It’s usually a reactive strategy (meaning a threat occurs and the organization reacts accordingly). The main goals of this approach are dealing with known risks in defined areas and avoiding any losses they may cause.
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM): ERM looks at the bigger picture, covering all types of risk in the entire organization. It is a proactive approach where the main aim is to detect threats early on and get them under control, before they become problematic. ERM aligns with the organization’s overarching business plan and focuses not only on avoiding risks, but also on identifying any opportunities these risks offer that could aid the expansion of the organization.
Risk Management in IT
There are two potential definitions of IT risk management. First, it can mean the application of conventional risk management to an IT organization, tailoring it to the specific requirements of the sector. Second, IT risk management can refer to the technology, policies and practices deployed by any organization to reduce risks, vulnerabilities and potential negative consequences associated with unprotected data.
Every step on your digital transformation journey increases your risk, as does the openness of your organization. Organizations are frequently exposed to the risk of cyber attacks, malware attacks and data breaches. To protect themselves, maintain business continuity and stability and successfully navigate the complexities of the digital world, it is important to implement appropriate strategies and tools. Rubrik plays a key role in the field of IT risk management and can help you better protect your organization from digital threats. Here are some of the main elements we cover:
The security of your business data is paramount. As ransomware attacks and data breaches are on the rise, you need solutions that will help to prevent the loss of income and data as well as the reputational damage they cause. Make sure your backup processes are fast and reliable and that you can find confidential information hidden in any unstructured backup data.
Rubrik stores all data natively in an immutable format secured by access controls and encryption, to ensure that they are always readily accessible to you.
n case of an attack, Rubrik provides a clear overview of the affected data and their location and automatically assesses the blast radius of the attack. This enables you to determine whether any personal identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI) has been exposed – this is especially important, since modern hackers will use ransomware to steal your data and threaten to publish it.
Risk management process
The term “risk management process” refers to the basic actions taken within the context of risk management, starting with risk identification and moving through risk assessment to risk control.
Risk identification: The first stage of the risk management process is to determine all the events that could have a positive effect on project goals (opportunities) or a negative effect (risks). Organizational risks can be identified through internal or external research, guidance from industry experts or experience and precedent.
Risk assessment: Now that potential risks have been defined, we’ll go one step further and ask questions such as “How likely is it that these dangers will actually come to pass?” and “Which consequences would this have?” So to prioritize effectively, it’s important to determine the likelihood and consequences of each risk before deciding on appropriate response strategies. How risk is analyzed and assessed is determined by a range of factors, such as the recovery time, severity of the consequences and any potential financial losses for the organization.
Risk control: Risk management is not a project that can be completed and forgotten about. It’s a process that must be checked on a regular basis, since the organization, its environment and the threats it faces are constantly changing. It’s important to constantly assess the efficacy of any security measures and determine whether they need updating or changing. In certain cases, where a plan has been unsuccessful, the risk management team may have to start again with a different approach.
Losing control can be extremely challenging, especially when it concerns your own organization. Both day-to-day workflows and long-term strategic goals can be affected by a whole host of unforeseen problems. Loss of control often follows when an organization fails to anticipate or effectively manage risks, which is precisely why a solid risk management process is so important for stable and reliable business operations.
Risk Management with Rubrik
It is common knowledge that inadequate risk management leads to low adoption among users and other organizations, as well as to unrealized gains. Poor risk management can have a multitude of negative consequences such as overspending, missed deadlines, dissatisfied customers, complete project failures and reputational damage.
To help you achieve the best possible results from your risk management investments, we focus on practical solutions that will increase management’s trust in your project dates and reports and reduce any risks.
To offer our clients the best possible service, Rubrik has set stringent standards for providing highly qualified risk management teams and services.
Our extensive portfolio of risk management solutions is designed to address a whole host of queries and issues around cyber security and data management.
We offer solutions that help organizations and their leadership teams successfully align risk management, governance and compliance and support the achievement of their short- and long-term strategic goals. Whether you require assistance with data backups, cloud management or other areas of data security, Rubrik can help you overcome operational and strategic challenges and secure your organization. Here’s a closer look at some of our advanced solutions:
Data risk mitigation: Organizations can stay one step ahead of cyber threats and data breaches by using Rubrik Data Security Command Center to quickly identify and reduce data risks.
SIEM: Maintaining a comprehensive overview over your data and monitoring them in real time – these are the main benefits offered by our Security Information and Event Management solution.
Threat detection: With Rubrik, you can analyze your data history for signs of risk, identify the source, scope and date of compromise to prevent a repeat malware infection.
Ransomware: Ransomware is a devious form of malware that can affect every industry. Rubrik can give you the timely data recovery capabilities that you need after a ransomware attack.
Zero Trust: There are various industry interpretations of what exactly “Zero Trust” means. Rubrik follows the guidance laid out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in its “NIST SP 800-207 Zero Trust Architecture Specification”.
Cloud data management: Rubrik offers solutions for every implementation. Discover the key features that make our cloud data management solutions stand out from the crowd.
API integration: Automating routine data backup and recovery processes can help you streamline and optimize your data management and support the smooth integration of different technologies into your IT infrastructure.
Future Risk Management Trends
What does the future hold? One thing is clear: our lives are becoming completely digitized. So how will we manage data risk in the years to come? With the metaverse, VR headsets and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in robots and self-driving vehicles on the rise, we are increasingly living in a virtual reality and must ask ourselves: are we about to lose control?
Let’s analyze three key features of future-proof risk management:
Automation: Automation has become deeply entrenched in our daily lives, a trend that is set to continue for the foreseeable future. When it comes to risk management, automations can help us identify and mitigate risks by highlighting vulnerabilities in your organization and routes a hacker may have taken into your infrastructure.
Risk analytics: Data-led risk analysis is one of the latest trends in risk management and encompasses in-depth data analysis and advanced techniques to improve existing risk management strategies. In this vein, many modern organizations are focusing on pulling as much useful information from their data as possible to better control the risks they face.
AI and ML: Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) are enablers of key innovations for risk management, as they allow the analysis of vast databases, the identification of trends and data-based decision making. Risk assessments are becoming increasingly accurate and efficient thanks to AI and ML.
What's Next?
It's in our nature to want to avoid risk. Just as we intuitively take steps in our daily lives to protect ourselves from danger, organizations should also implement systematic strategies to identify, assess and mitigate risks. These parallels between personal and professional behavior highlight just how deeply entrenched this need for security and stability is, reflected in the structured risk management approaches taken by organizations.
How do you approach risk? The main goal of Enterprise Risk Management is to help your organization achieve its strategic goals so you can continuously improve its performance. Start by deciding on your key objectives. Then consider which threats could prevent you from achieving them. Finally, think about implementing efficient ERM processes to help you achieve your key objectives, ensuring that you distribute resources effectively, control risks and identify opportunities that align with your strategic goals.
In other words, consider using the powerhouse services of a solution that can manage the entire spectrum and consequences of all combined risks in your organization by every possible threat you could face in detail.