Threat & risk assessment lies at the foundation of any well developed security strategy; it is virtually impossible to design a coherent security plan without taking this analysis into consideration.
Threat assessment evaluates any potential threats a company or an individual are likely to experience due to such factors as (below are just some examples):
- Personal history
- Family relations
- Political, religious or other involvement
- Business deals and connections
- Industry related specifics, etc.
Risk assessment deals with any potential risk factors that can occur independently and any weaknesses that can be exploited by a threat. Such are:
- Natural hazards & disasters (floods, earthquakes, thunder storms, etc.)
- Weakness in location (high-risk neighbours, railway lines, gas storage, unsecured public car park etc.)
- Crime, burglary, vandalism
- Terrorism
- Commercial espionage & information leak or theft
- Information loss & IT crisis
- Kidnap, etc.
Varying on regional and strategic location, political developments, industry sectors, company size and many other factors, all companies will be vulnerable to different risks at different levels. This is why a correct threat & risk assessment and an individually designed security plan ultimately save you money.