As we now live in the digital age, the importance of effective risk management cannot be overstated, and this is even more vital when it comes to IT risk management strategies and solutions. Cyber threats are constantly changing and evolving as cybercriminals get even smarter. Couple this with even more stringent regulatory requirements and companies now need robust solutions to protect their digital assets and ensure business continuity.
This article explores some of the top IT risk management solutions that businesses all across Australia should consider to both recognise and mitigate risk in the realm of IT.
Risk assessment tools are essential
Assessing and recognising risk is the first step in effective IT risk management, and this process will be aided immensely with the help of dedicated risk management software. Risk assessment tools help you to spot potential risks and identify weak spots in your organisation’s processes or workflows.
Tools also help you to prioritise potential risks, from their likelihood of happening, to the impact they would have on your business if they did eventuate. These tools use a combination of methods to provide you with a comprehensive view of your company’s risk landscape. This enables you to prioritise your risk mitigation efforts and use resources more effectively.
Security Information and Event Management systems
Also known simply as SIEM, these systems collect and analyse security data from across your organisation’s IT infrastructure. This enables you to detect and respond to incidents in real-time by correlating relevant information and identifying patterns that may indicate a potential threat. SIEM systems reduce the risk of data breaches and cyber security threats.
Vulnerability management solutions
With vulnerability management solutions in play, you are able to identify, assess and mitigate known vulnerabilities in your IT systems, applications and digital infrastructure. Typical of these solutions are vulnerability scanning, the management of security patches, as well as configuration management capabilities.
When you deploy vulnerability management solutions, you are empowered to vastly reduce the risk of cyber attacks and data breaches. This is achieved by addressing security vulnerabilities before they develop into major problems, or by being exploited by cyber criminals.
Identify and Access Management solutions
Also referred to as IAM, these solutions enable organisations to better manage user identities and also to control access to their IT systems, applications and programs. This helps guarantee that only individuals with authorisation can gain access to company resources and sensitive data, thus reducing the risk of unauthorised access and data breaches.
In addition, the deployment of IAM solutions also helps your company remain compliant with regulations related to access control and the protection of sensitive data, such as privacy laws.
Data Loss Prevention solutions
Data loss prevention solutions (DLP) are there to help you protect vital information and sensitive data from being lost, stolen or misused in any way. DLP typically includes data encryption, access controls and data masking capabilities that ensure sensitive information is cloaked and protected at all times.
When you make full use of data loss prevention solutions, you are able to reduce the risk of data breaches and also more readily comply with rules and regulations that govern data security and privacy concerns.
Use incident response platforms
What is an incident response platform? It’s software that helps you to detect, respond to and recover from a variety of security incidents. There are also detection and analysis tools, along with incident response capabilities to streamline the process. This minimises the impact of security threats, breaches and incidents, which in turn reduces downtime and ensures business continuity.
Compliance management solutions
This software helps you to comply with regulatory bodies. These platforms enable compliance monitoring and also allow you to report workplace incidents with ease. Compliance management solutions also make it easy for regulators to access reports and audit your systems and processes. This helps your company to avoid costly penalties such as hefty fines or even business closure in a worst case scenario. Being compliant at all times also builds trust in the organisation.
Wrapping up
Adopting effective IT risk management strategies is vital for organisations to protect sensitive information and to avoid cyber security breaches. IT risk management solutions ensure business continuity and also help to avoid penalties from regulators.
Lynn Martelli is an editor at Readability. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and has worked as an editor for over 10 years. Lynn has edited a wide variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and more. In her free time, Lynn enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family and friends.
