National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-30, Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments , September 17, , 2012
National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-30, Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments , September 17, , 2012
Organizations in the public and private sectors depend on information technology and information systems to successfully carry out their missions and business functions. Information systems can include very diverse entities ranging from office networks, financial and personnel systems to very specialized systems (e.g., industrial/process control systems, weapons systems, telecommunications systems, and environmental control systems). Information systems are subject to serious threats that can have adverse effects on organizational operations and assets, individuals, other organizations, and the Nation by exploiting both known and unknown vulnerabilities to compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the information being processed, stored, or transmitted by those systems. Threats to information systems can include purposeful attacks, environmental disruptions, human/machine errors, and structural failures, and can result in harm to the national and economic security interests of the United States. Therefore, it is imperative that leaders and managers at all levels understand their responsibilities and are held accountable for managing information security risk—that is, the risk associated with the operation and use of information systems that support the missions and business functions of their organizations.
Risk assessment is one of the fundamental components of an organizational risk management process as described in NIST Special Publication 800-39. Risk assessments are used to identify, estimate, and prioritize risk to organizational operations (i.e., mission, functions, image, and reputation), organizational assets, individuals, other organizations, and the Nation, resulting from the operation and use of information systems. The purpose of risk assessments is to inform decision makers and support risk responses by identifying: (i) relevant threats to organizations or threats directed through organizations against other organizations; (ii) vulnerabilities both internal and external to organizations; (iii) impact (i.e., harm) to organizations that may occur given the potential for threats exploiting vulnerabilities; and (iv) likelihood that harm will occur. The end result is a determination of risk (i.e., typically a function of the degree of harm and likelihood of harm occurring). Risk assessments can be conducted at all three tiers in the risk management hierarchy—including Tier 1 (organization level), Tier 2 (mission/business process level), and Tier 3 (information system level). At Tiers 1 and 2, organizations use risk assessments to evaluate, for example, systemic information security-related risks associated with organizational governance and management activities, mission/business processes, enterprise architecture, or the funding of information security programs. At Tier 3, organizations use risk assessments to more effectively support the implementation of the Risk Management Framework (i.e., security categorization; security control selection, implementation, and assessment; information system and common control authorization; and security control monitoring).
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