In information security, risk factor is a collective name for circumstances affecting the likelihood or impact of a security risk.
Factor Analysis of Information Risk (FAIR) is devoted to the analysis of different factors influencing IT risk. It decompose at various levels, starting from the first level Loss Event Frequency and Probable Loss Magnitude, going on examining the asset, the threat agent capability compared to the vulnerability (computing) and the security control (also called countermeasure) strength, the probability that the agent get in contact and actually act against the asset, the organization capability to react to the event and the impact on stakeholders.
Risk factors are those factors that influence the frequency and/or business impact of risk scenarios; they can be of different natures, and can be classified in two major categories: [1]
An IT risk risk scenario is a description of an IT related event that can lead to a business impact, when and if it should occur.
Risk factors can also be interpreted as causal factors of the scenario that is materialising, or as vulnerabilities or weaknesses. These are terms often used in risk management frameworks. [1]
Risk scenario is characterized by: [1]
The risk scenario structure differentiates between loss events (events generating the negative impact), vulnerabilities or vulnerability events (events contributing to the magnitude or frequency of loss events occurring), and threat events (circumstances or events that can trigger loss events). It is important not to confuse these risks or throw them into one large risk list. [2]
Risk management is the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities.
Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm. Beneficiaries of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or phenomenon vulnerable to unwanted change.
Risk assessment determines possible mishaps, their likelihood and consequences, and the tolerances for such events. The results of this process may be expressed in a quantitative or qualitative fashion. Risk assessment is an inherent part of a broader risk management strategy to help reduce any potential risk-related consequences.
A vulnerability assessment is the process of identifying, quantifying, and prioritizing the vulnerabilities in a system. Examples of systems for which vulnerability assessments are performed include, but are not limited to, information technology systems, energy supply systems, water supply systems, transportation systems, and communication systems. Such assessments may be conducted on behalf of a range of different organizations, from small businesses up to large regional infrastructures. Vulnerability from the perspective of disaster management means assessing the threats from potential hazards to the population and to infrastructure. It may be conducted in the political, social, economic or environmental fields.
ISACA is an international professional association focused on IT governance. On its IRS filings, it is known as the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, although ISACA now goes by its acronym only. ISACA currently offers 8 certification programs, as well as other micro-certificates.
In the U.S., critical infrastructure protection (CIP) is a concept that relates to the preparedness and response to serious incidents that involve the critical infrastructure of a region or the nation. The American Presidential directive PDD-63 of May 1998 set up a national program of "Critical Infrastructure Protection". In 2014 the NIST Cybersecurity Framework was published after further presidential directives.
Threat modeling is a process by which potential threats, such as structural vulnerabilities or the absence of appropriate safeguards, can be identified and enumerated, and countermeasures prioritized. The purpose of threat modeling is to provide defenders with a systematic analysis of what controls or defenses need to be included, given the nature of the system, the probable attacker's profile, the most likely attack vectors, and the assets most desired by an attacker. Threat modeling answers questions like "Where am I most vulnerable to attack?", "What are the most relevant threats?", and "What do I need to do to safeguard against these threats?".
Information assurance (IA) is the practice of assuring information and managing risks related to the use, processing, storage, and transmission of information. Information assurance includes protection of the integrity, availability, authenticity, non-repudiation and confidentiality of user data. IA encompasses both digital protections and physical techniques. These methods apply to data in transit, both physical and electronic forms, as well as data at rest. IA is best thought of as a superset of information security, and as the business outcome of information risk management.
Security controls are safeguards or countermeasures to avoid, detect, counteract, or minimize security risks to physical property, information, computer systems, or other assets. In the field of information security, such controls protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.
Information security management (ISM) defines and manages controls that an organization needs to implement to ensure that it is sensibly protecting the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of assets from threats and vulnerabilities. The core of ISM includes information risk management, a process that involves the assessment of the risks an organization must deal with in the management and protection of assets, as well as the dissemination of the risks to all appropriate stakeholders. This requires proper asset identification and valuation steps, including evaluating the value of confidentiality, integrity, availability, and replacement of assets. As part of information security management, an organization may implement an information security management system and other best practices found in the ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27002, and ISO/IEC 27035 standards on information security.
Capability management is a high-level management function, with particular application in the context of defense.
MEHARI is a free, open-source information risk analysis assessment and risk management method, for the use of information security professionals.
Information technology risk, IT risk, IT-related risk, or cyber risk is any risk relating to information technology. While information has long been appreciated as a valuable and important asset, the rise of the knowledge economy and the Digital Revolution has led to organizations becoming increasingly dependent on information, information processing and especially IT. Various events or incidents that compromise IT in some way can therefore cause adverse impacts on the organization's business processes or mission, ranging from inconsequential to catastrophic in scale.
Security information and event management (SIEM) is a field within the field of computer security, where software products and services combine security information management (SIM) and security event management (SEM). SIEM is the core component of any typical Security Operations Center (SOC), which is the centralized response team addressing security issues within an organization.
In computer security, a threat is a potential negative action or event facilitated by a vulnerability that results in an unwanted impact to a computer system or application.
Factor analysis of information risk (FAIR) is a taxonomy of the factors that contribute to risk and how they affect each other. It is primarily concerned with establishing accurate probabilities for the frequency and magnitude of data loss events. It is not a methodology for performing an enterprise risk assessment.
In information security, computer security and network security, an asset is any data, device, or other component of the environment that supports information-related activities. Assets generally include hardware, software and confidential information. Assets should be protected from illicit access, use, disclosure, alteration, destruction, and/or theft, resulting in loss to the organization.
Risk IT Framework, published in 2009 by ISACA, provides an end-to-end, comprehensive view of all risks related to the use of information technology (IT) and a similarly thorough treatment of risk management, from the tone and culture at the top to operational issues. It is the result of a work group composed of industry experts and academics from different nations, from organizations such as Ernst & Young, IBM, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Risk Management Insight, Swiss Life, and KPMG.
IT risk management is the application of risk management methods to information technology in order to manage IT risk, i.e.:
A Master of Science in Information Assurance is a type of postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree is typically studied for in information assurance.