Cybersecurity Risk Assessment

FAQ's

Why You Should Complete a Cybersecurity Assessment?

Cybersecurity protection teams within organizations might lack the specialized knowledge or the bandwidth to constantly track security threats around the clock. Typically, such teams prioritize maintaining operational support and advancing revenue-generating initiatives.

Cybersecurity is a collective responsibility that extends to everyone in the company, from top executives to administrative staff and even those working part-time. Regrettably, any staff member could inadvertently become a conduit for security breaches. Attackers are increasingly adept at circumventing established security barriers. Despite implementing standard cybersecurity safeguards, the simple act of an employee responding to a deceptive email can trigger a security crisis.

Grasping the sophistication level of your organization's digital defense, pinpointing vulnerabilities, and rectifying them is crucial. Adopting measures to proactively diminish security risks is often what separates a major data compromise from maintaining normal operations.

The National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed a framework to help businesses of all sizes better understand, manage, and reduce their cybersecurity risk and protect their networks and data. The Framework gives your business an outline of best practices to help perform a risk analysis and decide where to focus your time and money for cybersecurity protection.

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework covers these five areas: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover from cybersecurity threats.

It is recommended that organizations perform a cybersecurity risk assessment through a 3rd party at least annually.

The Cloud9 Data Cybersecurity Assessment offers an analysis of your organization's digital defense maturity, resilience, and robustness according to NIST standards. Upon completion, you will receive a detailed report that identifies any top risk areas. It also includes customized recommendations to remediate the issues.

You can also schedule a no-cost discussion with our skilled solution architects to go over your security evaluation findings.

Our team of solution architects are prepared to analyze your security maturity assessment report and explore methods to enhance your organization's security framework.

How Much Does a Cyber Security Risk Assessment Cost?

For a limited time, Cloud9 Data Solutions is offering a NIST Cybersecurity Assessment at no cost as a way of introducing ourselves.

The typical cost of a cybersecurity risk assessment can vary widely. Factors include the size and complexity of your organization, the scope of the assessment, the depth of the analysis required, and the expertise of the professionals conducting the assessment. For small to medium-sized businesses, the cost a few thousand dollars. Larger enterprises or organizations with more complex networks and higher security needs, such as those in finance or healthcare, might see costs ranging tens of thousands of dollars.

Several key elements influence the cost. First, the size of the organization matters. A larger number of assets, like servers, workstations, and applications, naturally increases the complexity and time required for a thorough assessment. Second, the specific industry and regulatory environment can impact cost. For example, organizations that must comply with stringent regulations (like GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS) often require more in-depth assessments. This ensures compliance and increases the cost. Additionally, the level of detail and depth of the risk assessment also plays a role. A NIST assessment is a good starting point. Clients often use a detailed, in-depth analysis that includes a penetration testing and detailed vulnerability assessments. These dig beyond policies and procedures to actually test your current cyber defenses.

Is NIST a Risk Assessment?

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed a cybersecurity framework. It helps businesses of all sizes better understand, manage, and reduce their cybersecurity risk. It also helps protect their networks and data. The Framework gives your business an outline of best practices. It helps you decide where to focus your time and money for cybersecurity protection.

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework covers five areas: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover.

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework is not a risk assessment tool per se. Instead, it offers a structured approach for organizations to assess and improve their ability to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber incidents. It includes standards, guidelines, and best practices to manage cybersecurity-related risk. The Framework's core functions are Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover. These functions help organizations improve the security and resilience of their critical infrastructure by applying risk management principles and best practices.

In conducting a risk assessment, many organizations use NIST's guidelines as a benchmark. For example, NIST Special Publication 800-30 provides guidance on conducting risk assessments. It helps organizations understand and implement a risk management process. They use it to identify, prioritize, and manage cybersecurity risk.

NIST provides the framework and guidelines, but the assessment is an activity that organizations perform to understand and mitigate their unique risks.

Download the NIST Cybersecurity Framework Assessment Tool.