How can you evaluate and prioritize your network security risks using the OCTAVE method?

1 Establish objectives

The first step of the OCTAVE method is to establish your objectives for the risk assessment. What are you trying to achieve? What are your security goals and requirements? Who are your stakeholders and what are their expectations? How do you measure your success and progress? By defining your objectives, you can align your risk assessment with your business strategy and priorities, and communicate them clearly to your team and other relevant parties.

2 Profile assets

The second step of the OCTAVE method is to profile your assets, which are the resources that support your objectives and operations. Assets can be tangible, such as hardware, software, data, and networks, or intangible, such as reputation, customer trust, and intellectual property. You need to identify and categorize your assets based on their criticality, value, and sensitivity. How important are they for your organization? How much would you lose if they were compromised? How likely are they to be targeted or exposed? By profiling your assets, you can focus your risk assessment on the most significant and vulnerable ones.

3 Identify threats and vulnerabilities

The third step of the OCTAVE method is to identify the threats and vulnerabilities that affect your assets. Threats are the sources of potential harm, such as hackers, malware, natural disasters, or human errors. Vulnerabilities are the weaknesses or gaps that allow threats to exploit your assets, such as outdated software, misconfigured settings, or poor security practices. You need to analyze and document the types, sources, and likelihood of threats and vulnerabilities that pose a risk to your assets. How can they impact your objectives and operations? How often do they occur or change? How can you detect or prevent them? By identifying threats and vulnerabilities, you can understand the root causes and consequences of your risks.

4 Analyze and manage risks

The fourth and final step of the OCTAVE method is to analyze and manage your risks. Risks are the combination of threats, vulnerabilities, and assets, and their impact on your objectives and operations. You need to evaluate and prioritize your risks based on their severity, probability, and urgency. How serious are the potential damages or losses? How likely are they to happen? How soon do they need to be addressed? Based on your risk analysis, you can develop and implement a risk mitigation plan that outlines the actions, resources, and responsibilities to reduce or eliminate your risks. How can you protect or recover your assets? How can you monitor or control your threats and vulnerabilities? How can you improve your security posture and performance? By analyzing and managing your risks, you can enhance your network security and resilience.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?