How to do a Hazard Vulnerability Assessment?
Every business at some point or other utilizes information technology and artificial intelligence whether it be for security purposes, data security, data storage or predicting end-to-end behaviours. However, the larger the involvement of data you have the more you need to protect it from different hazards. Hence, for every business which involves IT and AI you need to have a hazard vulnerability assessment to test where your business stands.
After the hazard vulnerability test, you can take different measures to ensure that your business is backed up with high security and end-to-end encryption and that the data stored is safe. In addition to this, you can also incorporate multiple software to protect your data, such as antiviruses and endpoint detection and response tools, that suit your business.
Nevertheless, hazard vulnerability assessment itself is a complete tool which will allow you to identify weak areas and gaps and then you can formulate strategies to mitigate the errors and prevent your business from any security threats.
This article will discuss what is a hazard vulnerability assessment. Components of a hazard vulnerability assessment, and how to do a hazard vulnerability assessment?
What is Hazard Vulnerability Assessment?
Hazard vulnerability assessment also known as hazard risk assessment are defined set of approaches which are used by businesses and organizations to assess the likeliness of a risk or hazard to impact their business. Conducting a hazard vulnerability assessment is a requirement of most of the businesses in the industry.
Component of Hazard Vulnerability Assessment
There are multiple components of hazard vulnerability assessment more commonly known as an HVA. These components vary from business to business, however, the following are the generalised components which remain the same:
- Hazard Identification
The first key step in any HVA is to identify the risk. The risk can be any type of risk which can be specific to the business or can be non-specific too. Hazard identification involves the identification of phishing attacks, cyber security attacks, malware, human errors, and also supply chain errors.
- Vulnerability Assessment
Vulnerability assessment is the stage where the present weaknesses in the system are assessed this includes any IT lackings, any security gaps, compliance gaps, and also inadequate or incomplete backup systems.
- Risk Analysis
Another component of HVA is risk analysis. This includes the risks and hazards which are likely to occur and how they can impact the day-to-day operations of the business. In addition to this, it also evaluates how these hazards can decrease revenues and profits.
- Impact Evaluation, Prioritization, and Mitigation
Impact evaluation and prioritization means how the detected or identified hazards impact the defined departments in the business such as the data integrity department, compliance department, and risk department. In addition to this, based on the affected departments prioritization is done to mitigate the risks. This includes regular audits, training and awareness of the employees, and coming up with an incident plan.
How to do A Hazard Vulnerability Assessment?
Although there are multiple sequences to conduct a hazard vulnerability assessment but following is a generalised process to do so:
- Setting Objectives and Organising a Team
One of the key and initial steps for the accomplishment of any process is to set an objective. For conducting an HVA, you need to set an objective as to what is the purpose of conducting an HVA. After setting objectives, you need to identify the scope which means the HVA will include software, hardware, etc.
After doing so you need to assemble a team which includes employees who are experts in the domain such as IT specialists, operation managers, and other employees who are expert in the domain.
- Identifying Hazards and Vulnerabilities
The next step is to identify the hazards and the vulnerabilities. The hazards can be of any type and kind, these include insider threats, human errors, malware attacks, phishing attacks, and other cyberattacks too.
After assessing the hazards, vulnerabilities are assessed which include any kind of weaknesses in the business. These might be poor backup of data, insufficient access controls, outdated software etc. In addition to this, it can also be any disruptions from the past which have not been addressed properly.
- Analyzing Impact
After analyzing and assessing the risk of hazards and vulnerabilities, the next step is to analyze the impact of these risks and hazards on the system or the business. This is because such hazards indirectly affect the system uptime and downtime, data integrity, and also financial cost.
- Prioritising the Risks and Developing Strategies
One of the most important steps in hazard vulnerability assessment is to prioritise the risks according to the effects they might generate and how important is to mitigate them. After doing so, mitigation strategies are developed which include specific measures according to each hazard. Such as software updates and patching, firewalls, employee training and awareness regarding software, recovery strategies, and communication plans.
- Documentation and Update
The last step is to document the steps taken. These include creating a summary of the risks mentioned, how you have prioritised them, and the recommendations to mitigate them.
In addition to this, there should also be a reassessment plan to periodically review the risks and assess vulnerabilities. This will keep the business updated and free of hazards.
Conclusion
Conclusively, Hazard Vulnerability Assessment is an important and efficient method to assess the capabilities of any business. It provides great feedback on whether the business is in deep waters or not. Moreover, it also gives an idea about the weak or the dark areas of the business and provides insights on how changes can be made to protect data, maintain integrity, and protect the business from any kind of security threats.
