Security Risk Management Best Practices to Cut Threats and Costs

Reduce security threats and lower breach costs with these security risk management steps and resources for proactive protection.

The average cost of a data breach hit $4.4 million in 2025, according to IBM. Strong security risk management is essential to avoid financial and operational damage. Use these practices to identify and control risks before they escalate.

Perform a detailed review of IT systems, internal networks, and critical data repositories.
Check password policies, firewall configurations, cloud storage permissions, and employee access rights.
Document every weakness found and rate its potential impact to help prioritize fixes.
Involve stakeholders from IT, HR, and operations to capture all possible vulnerabilities.

Create a clear risk management strategy

List each identified risk and assign a likelihood score based on past incidents and current exposure.
Define specific response steps for different threat levels, including who takes action and how quickly.
Set a communication plan so employees and contractors know their roles in an active threat.
Review and update the strategy at least every quarter or after significant technology changes.

Strengthen security measures

Implement two-factor or multi-factor authentication for all critical systems to prevent unauthorized access.
Enforce strong password rotation and complexity rules across all user accounts.
Introduce or revise bring-your-own-device policies to manage personal devices that connect to company networks.
Patch software, firmware, and operating systems promptly and automate updates where possible.
Deploy continuous monitoring tools to detect anomalies and potential intrusions in real time.

Key resources

Risk management policy: Provides a formal framework for identifying risks, applying controls, and guiding incident response and investigation procedures.
Security risk assessment checklist: Offers a step-by-step method to catalog critical IT and business assets, rank their importance, and document protection measures.
Cybersecurity response glossary: Educates staff on security terminology, attack types, and mitigation tactics to reduce the chance of human error during an incident.

Strong security risk management protects intellectual property, reduces breach costs, and keeps your organization resilient.