You're reading from Certified Information Security Manager Exam Prep Guide - Second Edition

Product typeBook

Published inDec 2022

PublisherPackt

ISBN-139781804610633

Edition2nd Edition

Concepts

Information Security

Author (1)

Hemang Doshi

Information Risk Response

In this chapter, you will learn about the practical aspects of information risk management and explore risk management tools and techniques along with other important concepts from the perspective of the CISM exam.

This chapter will cover the following topics:

Risk Treatment/Risk Response Options
Risk Ownership and Accountability
Risk Monitoring and Communication
Implementing Risk Management
Change Management
Patch Management
Operational Risk Management
Risk Management Integration with Life Cycle

Risk Treatment/Risk Response Options

The treatment of risk is one of the most important aspects of risk management. Risk treatment is also sometimes referred to as risk response

The following are the four options for responding to risk.

Risk Mitigation

In this approach, efforts are made to reduce the probability of risk or impact resulting from the risk event by designing appropriate controls.
The objective of risk mitigation is to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.

Risk Sharing/Transferring

In this approach, risk is shared with partners or transferred via insurance coverage, contractual agreement, or other means.

For example, natural disasters have a very low probability of occurring but have a high impact if they do. The response to such a risk should be risk transfer.

Risk Avoidance

In this approach, projects or activities that cause risk are avoided.
Risk avoidance is the last choice when no other response is adequate...

Risk Ownership and Accountability

The following are some important aspects with respect to risk ownership and accountability:

For successful risk management, each risk should have assigned ownership and accountability.
Risk should be owned by a senior official who has the necessary authority and experience to select the appropriate risk response based on an analysis and any guidance provided by the risk practitioner.
Risk owners should also own the associated controls and ensure the effectiveness and adequacy of those controls.
Risk should be assigned to an individual employee rather than a group or a department. Allocating accountability to a department will circumvent ownership.
Accountability for risk management lies with senior management and the board.
Risk ownership is best established by mapping the risk to specific business process owners.
Details of the risk owner should be documented in the risk register.
The results of risk...

Risk Monitoring and Communication

Risk monitoring and communication are important elements of risk management. Risk monitoring is an ongoing process that helps to ensure continuous control effectiveness. There should be a structured communication channel for employees to report a risk to management. At the same time, management should provide relevant risk-related information to concerned employees.

Risk Reporting

The results of risk monitoring should be presented to management at regular intervals. These results should be meaningful to the recipient and be presented in a simple manner without the excessive use of technical terms. Red (high-risk), amber (medium-risk), and green (low-risk) reporting help management understand the risk posture of the organization.

A risk analysis should also include details about potential impact as it will help determine the extent of the risk mitigation measures required.

Key Risk Indicators

A risk indicator is a measure used by...

Implementing Risk Management

The implementation of a risk management program is important for ensuring effective and efficient governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC). A security manager should identify the existing risk management activities and try to integrate them for optimum utilization of resources. The integration of risk management activities helps to prevent duplication of efforts and minimize gaps in assurance functions.

Risk Management Process

The implementation of a risk management program in a structured manner helps to achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness with minimum effort. It is recommended to implement the program as per the following sequence:

Step 1: Determine the scope and boundaries of the program.

Step 2: Determine the assets and processes that need to be protected.

Step 3: Conduct a risk assessment by identifying risk, analyzing the level of risk based on impact, and evaluating whether the risk meets the criteria for acceptance...

Change Management

A change management process is used to change hardware, install software, and configure various network devices. This process includes approval, testing, scheduling, and rollback arrangements.

Any changes to the system or the process are likely to introduce new vulnerabilities. Hence, it is critical for a security manager to identify and address new risks.

Objectives of Change Management

The main objective of change management is to support the processing and traceability of changes made to a system. Change management ensures that any modification or updating of the system is carried out in a controlled manner.

Approval from the System Owner

A security manager should also ensure a structured change management process. While implementing a change, all relevant personnel should be kept informed, and specific approval should be obtained from the relevant information asset owners.

Regression Testing

Regression testing is a part of change management...

Patch Management

Patch management is the process of updating operating systems and other software to correct errors or enhance performance.

A well-defined and structured patch management process helps to address new vulnerabilities related to operating systems. The timely update of patches helps to secure operating systems and applications.

Patches are generally applied to operating systems, applications, and network software. They help fix vulnerabilities in the system.

Patches should be applied through a structured change management process that includes approval, testing, user acceptance testing, and proper documentation. The testing of a patch prior to implementation is of utmost importance. Deploying untested patches may cause the system to fail. Furthermore, appropriate rollback procedures should be in place in case of unexpected failure.

Key Aspects from the CISM Exam Perspective

The following are some key aspects from the exam perspective:

...

Operational Risk Management

Operational risk means risk related to processes and systems that can interrupt business operations. Managing operational risk is one of the key roles of an information security manager. Some of the key aspects of operational risk that an information security manager must understand are as follows:

Recovery time objective (RTO)
Recovery point objective (RPO)
Service delivery objective (SDO)
Maximum tolerable outage (MTO)
Allowable interruption window (AIW)

Recovery Time Objective

The Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is a measure of the user's tolerance to system downtime. In other words, the RTO is the extent of acceptable system downtime. For example, an RTO of 2 hours indicates that an organization will not be overly impacted if its system is down for up to 2 hours.

Recovery Point Objective

The Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is a measure of the user's tolerance to data loss. In other words, the RPO is the...

Risk Management Integration with Life Cycle

A security manager should understand that risk management activities are not one-time events. Risk management is a continuous process. For effective risk management, the related activities should be integrated with the process life cycle.

System Development Life Cycle

A security manager should be aware of the following system development life cycle (SDLC) phases:

Summary

In this chapter, you explored the practical aspects of risk management. This chapter helps you, the CISM candidate, to classify assets and manage the operational risks of your organization. This chapter also helps you integrate risk management with the asset life cycle.

The next chapter will cover the procedural aspects of information risk management.

Revision Questions

What is the primary objective of a risk management program?
1. To protect the IT assets
2. To implement preventive controls
3. To achieve the stated objectives
4. To ensure the availability of IT systems
Which of the following vulnerabilities will allow attackers to access data through a web application?
1. Validation checks are missing in data input fields
2. The password history rule is not implemented
3. Application logs are not monitored at frequent intervals
4. Two-factor authentication is not implemented
The best way to understand the evolving nature of attacks is:
1. To place a honeypot
2. A rogue access point
3. Industry tracking groups
4. Penetration test
A previously accepted risk:
1. Should be reassessed on a periodic basis as risks change over time
2. Does not need to be assessed again in the future
3. Should be removed from the risk register
4. Should be mitigated in the next assessment
A security manager notes an incident though none of the controls have failed. What is the most likely cause...

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Author (1)

Hemang Doshi

Hemang Doshi has more than 15 years of experience in the field of system audit, IT risk and compliance, internal audit, risk management, information security audit, third-party risk management, and operational risk management. He has authored several books for certification such as CISA, CRISC, CISM, DISA, and enterprise risk management.
Read more about Hemang Doshi

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Phase	Description
Phase 1: Initiation/Feasibility	The Objective, purpose, and scope of the system are discussed, finalized, and documented. In this phase, the system design is finalized and approved. Internal controls should also be incorporated during the initial design stage. During the feasibility phase (planning or initiation), the process for change management should be defined. It is very important to prevent scope creep...

Phase

Description

Phase 1: Initiation/Feasibility

The Objective, purpose, and scope of the system are discussed, finalized, and documented.

In this phase, the system design is finalized and approved. Internal controls should also be incorporated during the initial design stage.

During the feasibility phase (planning or initiation), the process for change management should be defined. It is very important to prevent scope creep...