ISO 27001 is a standard that requires all organisations to perform a risk assessment, identify their information security risks, and take action to address them. Many organisations are unsure which risk assessment methodology is the best to use to meet the requirements of ISO 27001. Let’s take a look at three options and assess which is the most appropriate.

Asset-Based Risk Assessment

An asset-based risk assessment involves first producing a register of all the information assets that an organisation holds. For each asset it is important to identify the asset owner, which is the individual or entity that controls the production, use, maintenance, and security of the asset.

The next step in an asset-based risk assessment is to identify threats facing the assets. Consider all vulnerabilities that cyber criminals could exploit to compromise the security of the asset in each case.

Event-Based Risk Management

Event-based risk management is a technique that can help to improve information security. It involves identifying risks based on security events. This is an important part of complying with ISO 27001, which requires organisations to react to security breaches and put policies in place to ensure they do not happen again.

Threat Risk Assessment

A threat risk assessment involves analysing an IT system for vulnerabilities and remove potential threats. This approach allows organisations to predict security events that could compromise the security of assets and take action to prevent them before they occur. Many experts regard this type of proactive assessment to be more appropriate than an approach that simply reacts to events as they occur.

Which Risk Assessment Methodology Is Most Suitable for ISO 27001?

The correct choice of risk assessment depends on the nature of the organisation. Many businesses choose to use asset-based risk management because it allows them to consider the security of every one of the assets that they hold. However, other organisations successfully ensure their security by identifying threats and taking action to prevent them. The most important thing is for every business to carry out a thorough risk assessment to ensure that no potential threats have been overlooked.