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Who should read this?
Small and Medium Business Owners, Managers and Team Leaders
Effectively managing information security risks is essential for protecting customer data, sensitive information, and more. However, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) often struggle with knowing when it is acceptable to accept a risk. They are unsure about the circumstances under which a risk can be accepted. As a result, many businesses either unnoticed risks altogether or make decisions without even checking the possibilities of compensatory measures. Eventually, it will lead to more risks.
This blog will explain different scenarios to help you understand how risk acceptance criteria can be set and help ensure that risks can be accepted appropriately.
When Can a Risk Be Accepted?
Risk acceptance is when a business evaluates a risk and decides that the potential harm or likelihood of that risk occurring is low enough that no further action is needed. The business may also determine that taking additional steps would not significantly reduce the risk or would be too costly.
1. When the Risk is Very Low
Example: A company uses a firewall and antivirus software to protect its internal network. The likelihood of an external attack is very low due to the company’s strong security measures, and there are no known vulnerabilities in their system.
Why Accept: Since the chances of an attack happening are so small, and no further actions are likely to reduce the risk significantly, the company decides to accept it. They’ve done enough to protect themselves.
Outcome: The company evaluates that the potential harm from this low-probability event is small enough to accept the risk.
2. When the Cost of Mitigation is Too High
Example: A small online store uses an older version of the software for internal inventory management, which is not connected to the internet and doesn’t store sensitive customer data. The company recognizes the risk of using outdated software but knows that upgrading to a more secure version or moving to a cloud-based solution is expensive.
Why Accept: The cost of upgrading is far greater than the potential risk of an attack, especially since the software doesn’t handle sensitive information. Since the impact of a breach would be minimal, the company accepts the risk of using outdated software.
Outcome: The company concludes that the cost to mitigate the risk is unjustifiable, and the risk is low enough to accept.
3. When Further Mitigation Won’t Significantly Reduce the Risk
Example: A small business uses a third-party email service to send out newsletters to customers. The service provider has good security practices and certifications, and the business periodically checks their email logs for unusual activity.
Why Accept: Even though there’s a small risk that the email service might be hacked, the business trusts the provider’s security and has enough monitoring in place. There’s nothing more the business can do to lower this risk significantly.
Outcome: The business decides to accept the risk because it has taken reasonable precautions, and no additional actions would reduce the risk further.
4. When the Impact of the Risk is Minimal
Example: A company uses email for communication and has tools like spam filters, phishing detection systems, and employee training to reduce the risk of phishing attacks. However, the company knows that employees could still accidentally click on a phishing link.
Why Accept: Despite the company’s best efforts to reduce the risk of phishing, they realize that human error can still occur. While the training and tools they’ve implemented have minimized the chances of an employee clicking on a phishing link, they acknowledge that the risk is not entirely eliminated.
Outcome: The company accepts the residual risk, understanding that no further measures would significantly lower the chance of an attack, or the damage caused by it.
Defining Risk Acceptance Criteria for your Small Business
Defining risk acceptance criteria is an important step in managing security risks for SMEs. While it might seem challenging, it becomes easier when you understand the risks, their potential impact, and the controls you have to reduce them.
Risk acceptance is a valid part of risk management when the potential impact of the risk is minimal or when the cost of mitigation is too high. It’s about finding the right balance between taking action and the value of that action in handling the risk.
FAQs
Risk acceptance is when a business evaluates a risk and decides that the potential harm or likelihood of that risk occurring is low enough that no further action is needed. It may also mean that additional steps would not significantly reduce the risk or would be too costly.
A company can accept the risk if the probability of it happening is very small, and the cost to prevent it is not justified. If the risk is unlikely to occur, the company may choose to accept it without taking additional steps.
A company might accept the risk if the cost to reduce it is much higher than the potential damage the risk could cause. In this case, the company may decide that spending resources on mitigation is not worth it.
If additional steps to reduce the risk would not make a significant difference, even after implementing existing security measures, the company might choose to accept the risk as further action would not have much impact.
A company may decide to accept the risk if the potential consequences are small and won’t cause significant harm, like a minor inconvenience or a small financial loss. If the impact is minimal, the company may see it as acceptable.
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