Lab Assignment: Defining the Scope and Structure for an IT
Risk Management Plan
Introduction
Every company needs to take risks to thrive, but not too much risk which could be catastrophic. Finding the balanced amount of risk requires identifying what opportunities (or threats) are present, understanding how significant each of them is, recognizing what action to take to smartly handle both opportunities and risks, and lastly, monitoring all of the above, including discovering more prospects and threats. All told, this is called risk management. Specific to the seven domains of the IT infrastructure, this lab will cover IT risk management.
In this lab, you will define the purpose of an IT risk management plan, you will define the scope for an IT risk management plan that encompasses the seven domains of a typical IT infrastructure, you will relate the risks, threats, and vulnerabilities to the plan, and you will create an IT risk management plan outline that incorporates the five major parts of an IT risk management process.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this lab, you will be able to:
Define the purpose and objectives of an IT risk management plan.
Define the scope and boundary for an IT risk management plan to encompass the seven domains of a typical IT infrastructure.
Relate identified risks, threats, and vulnerabilities to an IT risk management plan and risk areas.
Incorporate the five major parts of an IT risk management process into a risk management plan's outline.
Craft an outline for an IT risk management plan, which includes the seven domains of a typical IT infrastructure and the five major parts of risk management and risk areas.
Defining the Scope and Structure for an IT Risk Management Plan
Hands-On Steps
Note: This is a paper-based lab. To successfully complete the deliverables for this lab, you will need access to Microsoft® Word or another compatible word processor. For some labs, you may also need access to a graphics line drawing application, such as Visio or PowerPoint. Refer to the Preface of this manual for information on creating the lab deliverable files.
1. On your local computer, create the lab deliverable files.
2. Review the Lab Assessment Worksheet. You will find answers to these questions as you proceed through the lab steps.
3. On your local computer, open a new Internet browser window.
4. Using your favorite search engine, search for information on the IT risk management process.
5. Briefly review at least five of the first page results.
6. In the address box of your Internet browser, type the URL and press Enter to open the Web site.
7. Review the PDF titled "Guide to Risk Assessment & Response."
Note: Take special note of the University of Vermont's "Guide to Risk Assessment & Response" document and the insightful sections titled "Things to Keep in Mind" and "Steps to Follow" for each of the assessment steps.
8. In the address box of your Internet browser, type the URL and press Enter to open the Web site.
9. Review the PowerPoint slide deck titled "The Risk Management Process."
10. In your Lab Report file, describe in what ways the risk management process in both IT and non-IT environments are similar. Briefly describe in your own words the five major steps of risk management: plan, identify, assess, respond, and monitor.
11. In your Lab Report file, describe the plan.
12. Review the seven domains of a typical IT infrastructure (see Figure 1).
13. Using the following table of risks, threats, and vulnerabilities that were found in a health care IT infrastructure servicing patients with life-threatening conditions, review the risks in the following table. Consider how you might manage each risk and which of the seven domains each one affects:
Risks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities
Unauthorized access from public Internet
Hacker penetrates IT infrastructure
Communication circuit outages
Workstations
Workstation operating system (OS) has a known software vulnerability
Denial of service attack on organization's e-mail
Remote communications from home office
Workstation browser has software vulnerability
Weak ingress/egress traffic-filtering degrades performance
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access points are needed for Local Area Network (LAN) connectivity within a warehouse
Need to prevent rogue users from unauthorized WLAN access
User destroys data in application, deletes all files, and gains access to internal network
Fire destroys primary data center
Intraoffice employee romance gone bad
Loss of production data server
Unauthorized access to organization-owned workstations
LAN server OS has a known software vulnerability
User downloads an unknown e-mail attachment
Service provider has a major network outage
User inserts CDs and USB hard drives with personal photos, music, and videos on organization- owned computers
Virtual Private Network (VPN) tunneling between the remote computer and ingress/egress router
14. In your Lab Report file, for each of the domains, create an outline in the scope of your risk management plan. Include the following topics-the five major parts of an IT risk management process-for each domain:
• Risk planning
• Risk identification
• Risk assessment
• Risk response
• Risk monitoring
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also Include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.