Risk-Assessment-and-Risk-Treatment-for-Acme-s-Application-Upgrade

This is a fictitious case study designed to showcase my expertise in performing risk assessments in the context of financial services. The scenario involves Acme Financial Services, a financial institution planning to upgrade its mobile banking application to enable customers to increase their daily transaction limits based on their account levels. Here, You can view the comprehensive risk assessment Open the Excel file on GitHub

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Risk Assessment and Risk Treatment Process for ISO 270001:2022 Compliance

CLASSIFICATION	REF	VERSION	DATE	OWNER	AUTHOR
INTERNAL	ACME-ISMS-DOC-OO1-RISK	0.1	18 DEC. 2024	Acme Financial Institution	Aishat Alli

CONTROL OF DOCUMENT

REVISION HISTORY

VERSION	DATE	REVISION AUTHORS	SUMMARY OF CHANGES
0.1	18 DEC. 2024	AISHAT ALLI	First draft of the Risk assessment and Risk treatment documentation based on ISO 27001, NIST 800-171, PCI DSS and GDPR
0.3
0.5

APPROVAL

NAME	TITLE	STATUS

1. Introduction

The purpose of this document is to describe the methodology and processes for conducting a risk assessment and determining risk treatment options for Acme Financial institution. This document aligns with the requirements of ISO/IEC 27001:2022 to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information assets.

2. Scope

This risk assessment and risk treatment process applies to all aspects of Acme’s mobile banking application upgrade. It includes the identification, analysis, evaluation, and mitigation of risks associated with the upgrade, ensuring alignment with the organization’s regulatory, security, and operational requirements. The scope includes:

• Application Components: The upgraded mobile banking application, including its codebase, algorithms, authentication mechanisms, and user interfaces.
• Infrastructure: The third-party cloud environment hosting the application, including its configurations, security controls, and integrations with Acme’s internal systems.
• Data: Customer data, financial transactions, and other sensitive information processed, stored, and transmitted by the application.

3. Criteria for Performing Information Security Risk Assessment

3.1 Asset Valuation Criteria

Assets are evaluated based on confidentiality, Integrity, and availability.

3.2 Risk Likelihood and Impact Criteria

Likelihood: Measures the probability of risk occurring. Impact: Measures the consequences if the risk occurs. Both likelihood and impact range from very low, low, medium, high to very high on a 5-point scale (1 being low, 5 being high).

Probability/Impact	Very Low	Low	Medium	High	Very High
Very High	Moderate	Severe	Severe	Critical	Critical
High	Sustainable	Moderate	Severe	Critical	Critical
Medium	Sustainable	Moderate	Moderate	Severe	Critical
Low	Sustainable	Sustainable	Moderate	Severe	Critical
Very Low	Sustainable	Sustainable	Sustainable	Moderate	Severe

4. Risk Management Policy

Acme is committed to maintaining an effective Information Security Risk Management System in line with ISO 27001:2022. The policy ensures a systematic and structured approach to risk management, including identification, analysis, evaluation, and treatment of risks.

4.1 Policy Objectives

• To protect the confidential, integrity, and availability of information.
• To minimize risks to an acceptable level and ensure business continuity.
• To comply with legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements.

4.2 Risk Management Principles

Risk-Based Approach: Risks will be identified, assessed, and managed in a consistent manner, focusing on reducing risks that may affect business operations.

Continual Improvement: The risk management process will be continuously reviewed and improved based on changes in the threat landscape, business processes, and external requirements.

Ownership and Accountability: All risks will be assigned owners who are responsible for managing, and monitoring risk.

4.3 Risk Appetite

Acme acknowledges that certain risks are inherent in its business activities and aims to mitigate the risks that pose a significant threat to its critical information and operations. Risk ratings from severe to critical will require immediate attention and mitigation.

4.4 Risk Reporting and Escalation

Significant risks will be reported to top management and escalated if necessary. Regular risk reports will be provided to the Information Security Officer and senior leadership.

4.5 Risk Monitoring and Review

Risks are to be continuously monitored and reviewed to ensure that mitigation measures are effective and aligned with organizational goals.

5. Risk Assessment Methodology

• Identify Assets: Catalog critical assets such as servers, applications and personnel.
• Identify Threats and Vulnerabilities: Analyse potential threats (e.g. weak access control, lack of encryption).
• Risk Analysis: Calculate the Risk Score by assessing the likelihood and impact of each threat exploiting a vulnerably.
• Risk Evaluation: Prioritize risks based on the calculated the Risk Score.
• Risk Treatment Process

6. Risk Treatment Options:

Mitigate: Reduce risk through additional controls.
Transfer: Shift risk through contracts or insurance.
Avoidance: Eliminate activities causing the risk.
Acceptance: Accept low or manageable risks.

Risk Treatment Plan: Document the selected risk treatment and assess the Residual Risk after controls have been applied.