Identifying Risk in Daily Operations

Risk is not a vague concept; it is a calculable value:

Risk = Likelihood × Impact

• Likelihood:
  The probability that a specific threat will exploit a vulnerability.
  (e.g., The likelihood of a phishing email is High).
• Impact:
  The magnitude of harm that could result.
  (e.g., The impact of a ransomware infection is Critical).
• Risk Acceptance vs. Mitigation:
  Companies cannot eliminate all risk. They must decide which risks to accept
  (low impact / low likelihood) and which to mitigate
  (high impact / high likelihood) through controls such as
  Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) or encryption.