Perform a Threat Assessment first

Did you know why completing a threat assessment before a risk assessment is good practice?

Firstly a threat assessment provides a comprehensive understanding of the potential threats that could target your organization. This intelligence is crucial for accurately identifying the most relevant threats, without this information it is not practical to start a risk assessment as you do not have a foundation to start from.

A well-conducted threat assessment allows organizations to make informed decisions about which threats are most likely to occur and which could have the most significant impact. This ensures that the focus of threat modeling and risk assessment is on the most pertinent threats, rather than on hypothetical or irrelevant scenarios. Focusing on irrelevant scenarios is waste of time and resources.

By understanding the specific tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that threat actors are likely to use, a threat assessment helps you design more targeted and effective security controls. This ensures that the measures implemented during risk assessment are proportionate to the actual threats faced by the organization, rather than being generic or misaligned with the real risk landscape.

Threat assessments help prioritize threats based on their likelihood and potential impact. This prioritization is crucial for resource allocation during risk assessment, ensuring that the most critical threats are addressed first, and resources are not wasted on low-probability or low-impact threats.

Understanding the threat landscape early allows organizations to proactively manage risks rather than reactively responding to incidents. This proactive approach can significantly reduce the likelihood of successful attacks and minimize the potential damage if an attack occurs.

A threat assessment ensures that the security efforts are aligned with the organization’s business objectives and risk appetite. This alignment is essential for ensuring that security measures do not unnecessarily hinder business operations while still providing adequate protection against real threats.