What is a network risk assessment & how do you conduct one?

What do UnitedHealth, the International Monetary Fund, and Trello have in common? 

All three experienced major data breaches in 2024, proving that no industry is safe from cyberattacks.

Many business owners are unaware of hidden vulnerabilities that could lead to cyberattacks, resulting in financial loss and reputation damage. 

The solution? A network risk assessment helps uncover and address potential threats, ensuring your business operates smoothly and securely. 

This article will guide you through the essentials, providing the knowledge you need to protect your business and keep your network secure. We’ll discuss:

• What is a network risk assessment?
• Why conduct a network risk assessment?
• Key components of a network risk assessment
• How to conduct a network risk assessment
• Tools and technologies for network risk assessment
• Best practices for network risk assessment

What is a network risk assessment?

A network security assessment checks the overall security of a network, including how well current protections work and whether security rules are followed. 

Meanwhile, a network risk assessment looks for specific risks and weak spots in a network to stop potential threats. Its primary purpose is to: 

• Identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers through data breaches or other incidents. 
• Mitigate these risks through appropriate security measures.
• Ensure compliance with industry regulations and standards. 

This proactive approach helps organizations maintain the accuracy, privacy, and availability of their network and data.

Why conduct a network risk assessment?

Network risk assessments are a comprehensive approach to keep networks safe, efficient, and compliant. It helps identify vulnerabilities like: 

• Outdated software
• Weak passwords
• Unpatched systems
• Malware
• Misconfigured firewalls and routers
• Poor access control 

It also guides implementation measures like firewalls, software updates, and strong password policies to protect sensitive data from cyber threats. Without these, your network is open to data breaches that could lead to the theft of customer information, financial data, or intellectual property. 

Proactively managing potential threats, like malware or phishing attacks, also reduces the impact of security incidents. 

Network monitoring and immediate threat response play a major role in preventing data breaches and minimizing downtime. Ignoring these threats could lead to:

• Lengthy system outages
• Critical data loss
• Significant recovery costs
• Intellectual property theft
• Reputation damage

Another reason is compliance—ensuring the network meets industry standards and requirements keeps your company safe from legal issues and scrutiny from regulators. For example, healthcare organizations must follow HIPAA regulations to protect patient data. Non-compliance can lead to hefty fines, unsatisfied customers, and legal repercussions. 

Key components of a network risk assessment

Before we get into how to conduct a network risk assessment, let’s look at why each step is integral to the whole process:

• Planning and preparation: Defining the scope and objectives helps you form a clear strategy from the start.
• ‍Asset identification: Creating an accurate inventory list ensures no part of the network is overlooked.
• ‍Threat analysis: Helps you understand potential threats to plan relevant defenses.
• ‍Risk evaluation: Allows you to tackle the serious issues right away by prioritizing which risks are most critical.
• ‍Security controls review: Ensures your security measures evolve with emerging threats.
• ‍Compliance check: Helps you meet industry and legal requirements to avoid penalties or fines.
• ‍Reporting and recommendations: Keeps decision-makers informed about the current state of security to aid decision-making.
• ‍Implementation and follow-up: Secures your network and allows for further adjustments as needed. 

Keep in mind that this isn’t a one-time process. Regular network risk assessments help you adapt to new threats and maintain strong network security.

How to conduct a network risk assessment

Now that you know why each step of the network risk assessment is important, let’s dive into the action.

Planning and preparation

To establish a detailed plan for your risk assessment, start by setting clear objectives. 

Security is always the main priority, but your business might have additional goals that target compliance or vulnerabilities. 

Define the scope by determining which parts of the network to assess. For example, addressing vulnerabilities focuses on external-facing systems instead of internal file servers. For compliance, you would examine data storage and handling practices rather than user access policies.

Next, assemble your IT team and assign responsibilities. Make sure your team has access to relevant documents and tools like:

• Network diagrams
• Asset inventories
• Security policies
• Vulnerability scanners
• Network monitoring software
• Documentation templates 

Regularly review their progress to keep the plan on track and make adjustments as needed to address any issues that arise.

Asset identification

With clear objectives, narrow down the scope with a detailed inventory list that includes:

• Hardware: Servers, routers, switches, modems, and user devices. 
• Software: Applications, operating systems, and licenses. 
• Data assets: Databases and file systems.

This process accounts for (and protects) all assets. Once you have a comprehensive list, cross-check it with existing records for accuracy. 

Meter simplifies this step for you with insights from your dashboard. See your entire network topology in one go, with detailed information about hardware and software.

Next, classify assets based on their criticality and sensitivity to prioritize security efforts. This step helps you allocate resources efficiently and focus on high-risk areas first.

You’ll also want to regularly update the inventory to reflect changes in your network. 

Threat and vulnerability analysis

A threat and vulnerability analysis identifies potential weaknesses and threats that could compromise your network security. Get started by:

• Researching recent cybersecurity threats and trends relevant to your industry.
• Conducting brainstorming sessions with your security team to list possible internal and external threats.
• Analyzing network logs to detect unusual activities that could indicate a breach. 
• Reviewing historical data on past security incidents within your organization.

Vulnerability scanners can help you detect known vulnerabilities in your network. You can also conduct penetration testing, which simulates cyberattacks and uncovers exploitable weaknesses. 

Before proceeding to risk evaluation, create a detailed report of all identified threats and vulnerabilities, methods used, and potential mitigation strategies. 

Risk evaluation

While a threat and vulnerability analysis identifies specific issues, a risk evaluation assesses the potential impact and likelihood of the identified threats. 

It prioritizes these risks to determine which ones need immediate attention and resources. 

Start by categorizing the risks identified in the previous step based on their severity. Use a risk matrix to plot the likelihood of each threat happening against its potential impact. 

Make sure you consider critical factors like the value of affected assets and the cost of damage. To pinpoint high-priority cases, use a low-medium-high scale to assign risk ratings to each threat.

Consult with stakeholders to understand the business impact of these risks. Develop specific mitigation strategies, like changing access controls or implementing new security measures.

Prioritize the most significant issues first. Regularly review and update the risk evaluation to reflect changes in the network and threat landscape. 

Review of security controls

Now that you know where problems might lie, evaluate the effectiveness of your current security measures. This involves checking controls, determining if they are adequate, and identifying gaps for improvement. 

Start by creating an inventory of all security controls, including firewalls, antivirus software, intrusion detection systems, and encryption protocols. 

Document their configurations, versions, and deployment locations. To check effectiveness:

• Conduct penetration tests to see if controls can be bypassed.
• Run vulnerability scans to identify any weaknesses.
• Use network monitoring tools to review logs for signs of past breaches or attempted attacks.

Next, research industry standards and best practices to compare your controls against. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a great resource to get you started. Identify any gaps or weaknesses in the current setup. 

Look for specific solutions based on your findings, like updating software, reconfiguring settings, or adding new security measures.

Compliance verification

Regular compliance checks can help you avoid penalties and ensure good security practices. Compliance is also essential for legal protection and maintaining trust with stakeholders.

Start by gathering detailed requirements and standards that apply to your industry, such as:

• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS)
• Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
• Other industry-specific regulations

Next, conduct an internal audit to review policies, procedures, and security controls against these requirements. To ensure thoroughness, you may use compliance checklists and frameworks. 

Collect and organize documentation, like security policies, audit logs, and reports, that demonstrate compliance. Chances are, you might have identified some areas where current practices do not meet compliance standards. 

A third-party auditor is another option for validating compliance and providing an unbiased assessment. 

Whichever method you choose, you’ll need to implement remediation actions. Develop a clear, comprehensive plan to address identified gaps and put it into action—update policies, configure systems, and train staff as needed.

Reporting and recommendations

You’re likely overwhelmed with information, findings, assessment results, and matrices at this point. Now it’s time to organize all this data into a comprehensive report: 

• Write an executive summary highlighting key findings and their implications.
• Include detailed sections for each identified issue, describing the threat, its impact, and evidence.
• Attach supporting documents like scan results, logs, and audit trails.
• Develop actionable steps to resolve each potential threat or vulnerability. 

Share the draft report with stakeholders, like management or relevant teams, and incorporate their input. Make necessary revisions before you finalize the report.

Implementation and follow-up

Based on your report, develop an action plan to execute the recommended security measures. This step will vary depending on your network risk assessment findings, but some common ways to implement security measures are:

• Patch vulnerabilities: If a vulnerability scan identified outdated software, update to the latest version. For example, update all Windows servers to the latest security patch.
• ‍Update configurations: If a configuration review found open ports that aren't in use, close those ports on the firewall to reduce attack surfaces.
• ‍Enhance access controls: If weak access controls were identified, implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all critical systems.
• ‍Install new security measures: If the assessment recommends a new intrusion detection system (IDS), install a suitable IDS like Snort, configuring it to monitor network traffic.
• ‍Conduct training sessions: If user training on phishing threats was recommended, schedule and conduct regular security awareness training sessions for all employees.

After implementing changes, run follow-up vulnerability scans and penetration tests to test if the new controls are effective. Use monitoring tools to keep track of any signs of weakness or breaches. 

Tools and technologies for network risk assessment

The right tools and technologies can streamline and simplify your network risk assessment process and beyond. 

• Vulnerability scanners: Tools like Nessus scan the resources on a network (laptop, servers, etc) for known vulnerabilities and provide detailed reports on security flaws and offer guidance on how to fix them.
• ‍Network monitoring software: Network monitoring is built into your Meter subscription, providing proactive alerting and continuous monitoring of hardware, software, and network management.
• ‍Risk management software: Platforms like RiskWatch help manage and document the entire risk assessment process. They assist in identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing risks, as well as tracking mitigation efforts.
• ‍Penetration testing tools: Software like Metasploit simulates cyberattacks to test network defenses. It helps uncover weaknesses that could be exploited by real attackers and provides insights into improving security.
• ‍Compliance management tools: Tools like LogicGate ensure that the network complies with industry standards and regulations. They automate the process of tracking compliance requirements and generating audit reports.

Best practices for network risk assessment

Make your network risk assessments more effective by following best practices. 

Employ your best assets—stakeholders and employees. Input from different departments, including IT, management, and operations, creates a more comprehensive understanding of potential risks and impacts. 

In addition to input, regular security training for employees builds an informed workforce. Run workshops on how to recognize potential threats, like phishing scams, and properly document and report them. 

Stay on top of the latest threats and security trends by following cybersecurity news and subscribing to threat intelligence feeds. Share this knowledge with employees to help identify new vulnerabilities and risk factors.

Boost security with a multi-layered security approach, combining firewalls, antivirus software, and intrusion detection systems. This strategy provides multiple barriers to potential threats.

Finally, keep detailed records of all risk assessment activities, including methods, findings, and action steps. Documentation creates transparency and helps in future assessments and audits.

Next steps: Strengthen network security with Meter

Network security starts with a strong infrastructure. 

Meter simplifies network management with our seamless, cloud-managed infrastructure.

We provide an end-to-end solution that handles everything from design and installation to ongoing maintenance and support. We keep your network safe and secure with:

• Supercharged security: Our centralized platform monitors, manages, and enforces security policies with DNS security, malware protection, VPN capabilities, and real-time insights to prevent unauthorized access and ensure data integrity.
• ‍Complete network transparency: Monitor and control your network remotely with our intuitive dashboard, automating configurations and eliminating manual IT intervention.
• ‍Improved speed and reliability: Integrated security appliances, routing, and switching ensure seamless network interoperability, high availability with redundancy, and preventive enterprise controls.
• ‍Multi-WAN capabilities: Improves failover by spreading network traffic across all active connections using a round-robin method. This boosts network reliability, increases speed, and makes the best use of your ISP connections.
• ‍Automatic failover: We support multiple ISPs for failover. We’ll work with you to determine which configuration is best for your company.
  

Get in touch for a demo of Meter to learn how we maintain secure networks and reduce potential risks and vulnerabilities.