SECURITY RISK MANAGEMENT:
Risk assessment and management is concerned with assessing the possible losses that might ensue from attacks on the system and balancing these losses against the costs of security procedures that may reduce these losses. Risk management should be driven by an organizational security policy.
Risk management involves:
Preliminary risk assessment
The aim of this initial risk assessment is to identify generic risks that are applicable to the system and to decide if an adequate level of security can be achieved at a reasonable cost. The risk assessment should focus on the identification and analysis of high-level risks to the system. The outcomes of the risk assessment process are used to help identify security requirements.
Design risk assessment
This risk assessment takes place during the system development life cycle and is informed by the technical system design and implementation decisions. The results of the assessment may lead to changes to the security requirements and the addition of new requirements. Known and potential vulnerabilities are identified, and this knowledge is used to inform decision making about the system functionality and how it is to be implemented, tested, and deployed.
Operational risk assessment
This risk assessment process focuses on the use of the system and the possible risks that can arise from human behavior. Operational risk assessment should continue after a system has been installed to take account of how the system is used. Organizational changes may mean that the system is used in different ways from those originally planned. These changes lead to new security requirements that have to be implemented as the system evolves.
