Risk is an unavoidable part of life as every activity involves some level of uncertainty and potential for loss. However, there are appropriate levels of risk that can be effectively managed. In investing, individuals have varying degrees of risk tolerances based on their circumstances, which guide their diversification strategies and asset allocation decisions. Insurance companies perform risk assessments to determine which policies to offer and at what price.
In cybersecurity, no amount of resources can guarantee perfect security from every cyberattack. Businesses must assess and manage risk to determine the level of risk that is reasonable to maintain protection, compliance, and legal defensibility. This shift has elevated risk assessment as a top priority for organizations to safeguard their assets, meet regulatory requirements, and show good faith to regulators or litigators after a breach.
Why are Regular Risk Assessments Important?
Just as shifting weather patterns impact insurance calculations, today’s rapidly evolving cyberthreat landscape creates an ever-changing set of risks for organizations. Attackers now leverage AI-driven automation, scaling their operations and deploying new threats faster than ever before. AI is also expanding the field of want-to-be attackers who no longer need coding and advanced skill sets to launch attacks now.
On top of the evolving threats your business must contend with, your organization’s own digital environment is in constant flux. New workloads expanded cloud usage, and the growing application of AI by end users all add fresh layers of risk and complexity. Often, the new technologies that introduce key advantages for your business will introduce fresh vulnerabilities that cyber criminals can exploit.
What are the Benefits of Regular Risk Assessments?
For organizations in some regulated industries, risk assessments are no longer optional. A growing number of laws, regulations, and standards, including HIPAA, CCPA, PCI DSS, and NIST frameworks, now mandate them. It is certain that other regulatory bodies will follow suit. However, even if your organization isn’t currently required to conduct scheduled risk assessments, the benefits of them are substantial:
- Proactively identify emerging threats before they have the chance to escalate, allowing organizations to implement targeted mitigations to reduce the likelihood of costly business disruptions
- Keeps cybersecurity posture responsive to new threat patterns
- Quantifies the likelihood of different risks and their impact on the business so that leaders can make smarter decisions about where to spend their security budget
- Supports evidence-based planning for security investments and risk mitigation
- Strengthens confidence among organizational stakeholders and regulators
- Cyber insurers often provide lower premiums or better coverage to businesses that commit to continuous risk mitigation
- They build a culture of continuous risk awareness
Real Instances where Risk Assessments May Have Made a Difference
In July of 2025, a hacker exploited a third-party cloud-based system used by Allianz Life to access personally identifiable information, including Social Security numbers, of its 1.4 million U.S. customers. A class action suit was filed on July 31, alleging that the company failed to perform its due diligence to protect the data of its customers. Ongoing risk assessments might have uncovered the third-party vendor exposure and flagged it for deeper scrutiny.
In August 2025, hackers linked to a foreign government breached the U.S. Federal Judiciary’s electronic filing system, exposing confidential court records that put litigants, informants, and witnesses at risk. The attack succeeded because of well-known security weaknesses that included weak passwords, outdated systems, and ignored security recommendations that had been flagged repeatedly for years. Even a single risk assessment would have flagged out-of-date vulnerabilities and the risk of unpatched systems being used for entry. Regular assessments would have monitored the patching process and accelerated the remediation of those known flaws
Risk is not always in the form of a cyberattack. For instance, the pain felt across the world during CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor incident. In June of 2024, CrowdStrike released a routine content configuration update that triggered blue screen of death errors across millions of Windows systems, grounding flights, halting bank operations, and disrupting countless other workloads. While not malicious in nature, the event simulated that of a global attack. Proactive risk assessments could have uncovered these single points of failure.
Start 2026 off Right
The number and severity of cyberattacks are increasing, which means 2026 will undoubtedly increase in risk. Start the year with a proactive stance by committing to regularly scheduled risk assessments to detect vulnerabilities, strengthen defenses, and minimize the potential for business disruption. HALOCK Security Labs’ security risk assessment method is based upon the Duty of Care Risk Analysis Standard (DoCRA). This method helps organizations determine whether they apply safeguards that appropriately protect others from harm while presenting a reasonable burden to themselves. Learn how our risk assessment services can help you manage and mitigate cybersecurity threats in the year ahead.
Review Your Risk & Security Posture.
