CyberSaint Blog | Expert Thought

Empowering Cyber Risk Modeling with Risk Remediation

Written by Maahnoor Siddiqui | March 20, 2024

The practice of cyber risk management is cyclical. You start by assessing your cyber risk environment. That step includes identifying risks and classifying them in buckets. Then, you take the identified risks and measure the potential impact. This means quantifying them financially using risk assessment methodologies, like the FAIR model. Lastly, you come to risk treatment, which includes risk mitigation and remediation. 

Think of this cycle: "You have an identified risk and must do something to it. And to do something about it, you must get buy-in, and to get buy-in, you must socialize the risk. Then, to socialize the risk properly, you must have straightforward ways of presenting it.” 

This process becomes cyclical as you continuously assess your cybersecurity posture and work through these steps to manage and remediate risks as they emanate. 

In this blog, we’ll focus on the last aspect of the cycle, risk remediation, and how CyberStrong can empower security and risk teams to manage and mitigate cyber risks efficiently. 

Addressing the Challenge of Cyber Risk Remediation

Once we’ve identified risks and started to quantify them, how do we prioritize those risks and the projects associated with them? Now that you know my risks, how do you move forward with them? And, if you’ve developed a remediation plan, how do you quantify and convey the impact of this plan? 

These crucial questions created the basis of the Risk Remediation Suite in CyberStrong. More than a project management tool, the Risk Remediation Suite empowers users to decide which risks to focus on for remediation, to compare the dollar value of each identified risk, and to communicate how potential loss value will be reduced. While several project management tools are in the market, none have cybersecurity at their crux. CISOs and security professionals can use them to track and manage initiatives, but they fall short in board discussions where leaders have to sift through Gantt charts and project timelines. These metrics are essential but not in cybersecurity Board reports. 

CISOs must communicate the dollar value of identified risks and how they buy down risk with the listed initiatives with predictive cyber risk modeling. In the context of a resource-strapped team and the SEC Cyber Regulations, how a company manages its cyber risk is a part of the equity of that company. Security leaders are learning that data-backed Board reporting is critical for gaining executive buy-in and alignment with business strategy. 

Advantages of Cyber Risk Modeling 

One of the critical facets of risk remediation is cyber risk modeling. This process consists of several components: cyber risk quantification, risk analysis, vulnerability assessments, threat identification, and more.

Cyber risk modeling provides organizations with valuable insights into their security posture, enabling them to make informed decisions with stakeholders about allocating resources, prioritizing security investments, and improving their overall cyber resilience.

One of the main pain points of cybersecurity reporting is identifying risk and explaining its relevance and impact. CISOs must find a transparent way of communicating the risk, the exposure to the risk, and what can be done to treat the risk with associated costs. By taking this approach, security leaders can frame cyber strategy in a business argument and cement how cyber can be a growth driver for the company. 

To have the actual security baked in and rationalized in terms of the investment and the impact of the risk is good business. As the dynamics between business and cyber mature, organization leaders are beginning to understand the value of cyber as a pillar of business and how critical it is to assert the connection between security and business success.

With CyberStrong’s Risk Remediation Suite, CISOs will be empowered to make solid arguments based on investment that get them the resources they need and demonstrate their wins concerning buying down risk. Security leaders can leverage this tool as a CISO dashboard for executive reporting. 

Breaking Down the Risk Remediation Suite

CyberStrong’s Remediation Suite enables users to address risk and control remediation in financial terms, with cost simulation, RoSI analysis, and project timelines around the buydown of cyber risk and loss exposures. The Remediation Suite is crucial for any team responsible for socializing and reporting on their practice to senior stakeholders. This set of tools is also beneficial in tracking ROI across all security initiatives.

This Cyber Risk Remediation Software is a centralized hub for the entire risk remediation lifecycle. It enables teams to optimize and streamline remediation efforts' quantification, prioritization, and communication.

Improve cyber communication with the Board, the CEO, and the CFO with quantified financial impacts based on gold-standard risk models and one of the most extensive cyber loss data sets, customizable reporting, and data-driven recommendations to empower informed decisions on resource allocation.

Improving Cyber Risk Management Operations 

Cyber risk management is an iterative and cyclical process involving cyber risk assessment, risk analysis, and risk treatment. As organizations navigate this cycle, effective risk remediation becomes paramount. CyberStrong's Risk Remediation Suite offers a comprehensive solution to this challenge, empowering security and risk teams to manage and mitigate cyber risks.

CyberStrong enables organizations to make informed decisions and effectively convey the impact of their cybersecurity initiatives by providing tools for prioritization, financial quantification, and communication of remediation efforts. This suite facilitates transparent communication with stakeholders, including boards, CEOs, and CFOs, by presenting quantified financial impacts and data-driven recommendations.

Schedule a demo to learn more about the Risk Remediation Suite and how it can empower top-down cyber risk management.