NIST has released NIST Internal
Report (IR) 8286C, Staging Cybersecurity Risks for Enterprise Risk Management and
Governance Oversight. This report completes the
cybersecurity risk management (CSRM) and enterprise risk management (ERM)
integration cycle described throughout the NIST IR 8286 series.
NIST IR 8286C describes methods for combining risk information
from across the enterprise, including notional examples for aggregating and
normalizing the results from cybersecurity risk registers (CSRRs) while considering
risk parameters, criteria, and business impacts. The resulting integration and
normalization of risk information informs enterprise-level risk decision-making
and monitoring, which helps create a comprehensive picture of the overarching
cyber risk. The report describes the creation of an enterprise risk profile
(ERP) that supports the comparison and management of cyber risks along with
other risk types.
NIST IR 8286C pairs with several other reports:
- NIST IR
8286, Integrating Cybersecurity and Enterprise Risk Management
(ERM) – foundational document that describes
high-level processes - NIST IR
8286A, Identifying and Estimating Cybersecurity Risk for
Enterprise Risk Management – describes risk
identification and analysis - NIST IR
8286B, Prioritizing Cybersecurity Risk for Enterprise Risk
Management – describes methods for applying
enterprise objectives to prioritize the identified risks and,
subsequently, to select and apply the appropriate responses - NIST IR
8286D, Using Business Impact Analysis to Inform Risk
Prioritization and Response – describes how business
impact analysis (BIA) can help review impact on enterprise assets,
including expansion of BIA aspects to include confidentiality and
integrity, in addition to existing availability considerations.
The NIST IR 8286 series enables risk practitioners to integrate
CSRM activities more fully into the broader enterprise risk processes. Because
information and technology comprise some of the enterprise’s most valuable
resources, it is vital that directors and senior leaders have a clear
understanding of cybersecurity risk posture at all times. It is similarly vital
that those identifying, assessing, and treating cybersecurity risk understand
enterprise strategic objectives when making risk decisions.
The authors of the NIST IR 8286 series hope that these
publications will spark further industry discussion. As NIST continues to
develop frameworks and guidance to support the application and integration of
information and technology, many of the series’ concepts will be considered for
inclusion.