Free Risk Management Plan Builder

1. Purpose

This standard establishes requirements for identifying, analyzing, treating, and monitoring risks that could affect the achievement of organizational objectives. The goal is to implement a systematic, repeatable approach to risk management that enables informed decision-making, prioritizes resource allocation, proactively identifies emerging risks, and meets SOC 2 compliance requirements for risk management practices.

2. Scope

Applies to all risks related to information systems, technology infrastructure, business operations, third-party vendors, security threats, and business continuity that could impact the organization's ability to achieve its objectives. Covers the entire risk lifecycle from identification through treatment, monitoring, and reporting. Includes all personnel with responsibilities for identifying, assessing, or mitigating risks.

3. Roles and Responsibilities

• Executive Leadership / Board – owns overall risk management program, approves annual risk assessment results, provides resources for risk treatment
• Chief Security Officer (CSO) or Risk Owner – facilitates risk assessment process, maintains risk register, tracks risk treatment plans to completion
• Risk Owners – individuals closest to the work who identify and rate risks for their area, develop risk treatment plans, implement mitigation activities
• Security Champion – coordinates risk assessment workshops, keeps risk register up to date, follows up on overdue risk treatment items
• All Team Members – proactively flag new or changing risks when identified, follow documented risk treatment plans, participate in risk assessment activities
• Management – review risk assessment results, approve risk acceptance decisions for high-severity risks, allocate resources for risk mitigation

4. Guiding Principles

• Focus on real risks – risk management addresses genuine threats to objectives, not paperwork for compliance sake
• Risk ownership with the work – risk decisions are made by people closest to the risk who understand context and impact
• Transparency over surprises – risks are documented, communicated openly, and tracked visibly across the organization
• Proportional response – risk treatment effort is proportional to risk severity and likelihood
• Continuous awareness – risk identification is ongoing, not just an annual exercise

5. Risk Methodology

Risk Scoring Approach

Organization uses a simple 1-5 scale for both Likelihood (probability of occurrence) and Impact (severity of consequences).

Likelihood Scale (1-5)

• 1 - Rare: Unlikely to occur in normal circumstances (less than 10% chance per year)
• 2 - Unlikely: Could occur occasionally (10-30% chance per year)
• 3 - Possible: Might occur at some time (30-50% chance per year)
• 4 - Likely: Will probably occur in most circumstances (50-75% chance per year)
• 5 - Almost Certain: Expected to occur in most circumstances (more than 75% chance per year)

Impact Scale (1-5)

• 1 - Insignificant: Minimal impact on operations, negligible financial impact (less than $5K), no customer impact
• 2 - Minor: Small operational disruption, minor financial impact ($5K-$25K), limited customer impact
• 3 - Moderate: Noticeable operational impact, moderate financial loss ($25K-$100K), moderate customer impact
• 4 - Major: Significant operational disruption, major financial loss ($100K-$500K), significant customer impact or data breach
• 5 - Catastrophic: Severe operational failure, critical financial loss (over $500K), widespread customer impact, regulatory fines, reputational damage

Risk Score Calculation

Risk Score = Likelihood × Impact (resulting in score from 1 to 25)

Risk Severity Levels

• High Risk (15-25): Red - Requires immediate attention. Must be treated or formally accepted within 30 days. Executive approval required for acceptance.
• Medium Risk (6-14): Yellow - Requires treatment plan. Must be addressed within 90 days. Management approval required for acceptance.
• Low Risk (1-5): Green - Monitor and review in next assessment cycle. Can be accepted at operational level.

6. Annual Risk Assessment (RM-01)

Assessment Timing

Organization conducts a comprehensive risk assessment at least once per fiscal year. Additional assessments may be triggered by:

• Major organizational changes (new product launch, significant growth, restructuring)
• Significant security incidents or near-misses
• Material changes to technology infrastructure
• New regulatory requirements
• Executive management request

Assessment Process

Step 1: Preparation (Week 1-2)

• Security Champion schedules risk assessment workshop with all team members or key stakeholders
• Gather inputs: previous year's risk register, incident logs, vendor changes, infrastructure changes, audit findings
• Prepare risk assessment template or spreadsheet
• Communicate workshop date, agenda, and pre-reading materials to participants

Step 2: Risk Identification Workshop (Week 3)

• Facilitate collaborative brainstorming session with team members
• Review last year's risks: Are they still relevant? Have circumstances changed?
• Identify new risks across key categories:
• Technology & Infrastructure (cloud services, system failures, data loss)
• Security Threats (cyberattacks, data breaches, malware, phishing)
• Third-Party & Vendors (vendor failures, supply chain issues, vendor security gaps)
• People & Human Factors (key person dependency, skills gaps, insider threats)
• Business Operations (process failures, capacity constraints, business continuity)
• Compliance & Regulatory (regulatory changes, audit findings, contractual obligations)
• Strategic & Business Goals (market changes, competitive threats, business model risks)
• Document each identified risk with clear description and potential consequences

Step 3: Risk Analysis and Scoring (Week 3-4)

• For each identified risk, assign Likelihood (1-5) and Impact (1-5)
• Calculate Risk Score (Likelihood × Impact)
• Determine Risk Severity Level (High, Medium, Low) based on risk score
• Assign Risk Owner for each risk (person closest to the work who can drive treatment)
• Document current controls (if any) that are already mitigating the risk
• Record all analysis in the Risk Register (shared spreadsheet or risk management tool)

Step 4: Management Review and Approval (Week 5-6)

• Security Champion prepares summary report of risk assessment results
• Report includes: total risks identified, breakdown by severity, comparison to prior year, top risks requiring attention
• Present results to Executive Leadership or Management Team
• Leadership reviews and approves risk assessment results within two weeks
• Leadership provides direction on risk treatment priorities and resource allocation
• Document leadership approval with signature and date

7. Ongoing Risk Identification

Continuous Risk Awareness

Risk identification is not limited to annual assessments. All team members are expected to flag new or changing risks when identified.

Change-Based Risk Reviews

For major changes, Risk Owner conducts a quick risk assessment (10-minute template):

• Trigger Events: New vendor onboarding, major infrastructure changes, new product features, significant code deployments, organizational restructuring
• Quick Assessment: What could go wrong? What is the likelihood and impact? Is this a new risk or change to existing risk?
• Documentation: Log any new risk or change to existing risk score in Risk Register within 3 working days
• Treatment Decision: If risk is High, immediate treatment plan required. If Medium or Low, address in quarterly review cycle.

Incident-Based Risk Reviews

After significant incidents or near-misses:

• Conduct post-incident review to identify root causes
• Assess whether incident represents a new risk or underestimated existing risk
• Update Risk Register to reflect new understanding of likelihood or impact
• Develop treatment plan to prevent recurrence

8. Risk Treatment and Tracking

Risk Treatment Options

For each identified risk, Risk Owner selects appropriate treatment strategy:

• Mitigate (Reduce): Implement controls to reduce likelihood or impact. Most common approach for High and Medium risks.
• Accept: Acknowledge risk but take no action. Appropriate for Low risks or when mitigation cost exceeds potential impact. High risks require executive approval for acceptance.
• Transfer: Shift risk to third party (insurance, vendor contract terms, service level agreements).
• Avoid: Eliminate risk by not performing activity or changing approach. Used when risk is too high and cannot be adequately mitigated.

Risk Treatment Plans

Every High or Medium risk requires a documented Risk Treatment Plan:

• Treatment Strategy: Mitigate, Accept, Transfer, or Avoid
• Mitigation Steps: Specific actions to be taken (if mitigating)
• Risk Owner: Person responsible for executing treatment plan
• Target Completion Date: Deadline for completing treatment actions
• Required Resources: Budget, tools, personnel needed for treatment
• Success Criteria: How will you know treatment was effective? What is target risk score after treatment?
• Status Updates: Current status (Not Started, In Progress, Completed, Blocked)

Treatment Timelines

• High Risk (Score 15-25): Treatment plan developed within 7 days. Treatment completed or formally accepted within 30 days.
• Medium Risk (Score 6-14): Treatment plan developed within 30 days. Treatment completed or accepted within 90 days.
• Low Risk (Score 1-5): Monitor and review in next quarterly or annual assessment cycle.

Tracking and Accountability

• Risk Treatment Plans tracked in project management tool (Jira, Asana, Monday.com) or Risk Register
• Progress reviewed in weekly stand-ups or risk review meetings until completed
• Risk Owner provides status updates on treatment progress
• Overdue treatment items escalated to management for resolution or re-assessment
• Completed treatment items remain in Risk Register for audit history and continuous monitoring

9. Risk Register

Purpose and Maintenance

Organization maintains a centralized Risk Register (shared spreadsheet or risk management system) documenting all identified risks.

Risk Register Contents

For each risk, the Risk Register captures:

• Risk ID: Unique identifier (e.g., RISK-2025-001)
• Risk Description: Clear statement of risk and potential consequences
• Risk Category: Technology, Security, Vendor, People, Operations, Compliance, Strategic
• Risk Owner: Person accountable for the risk
• Date Identified: When risk was first identified
• Likelihood: Score 1-5
• Impact: Score 1-5
• Risk Score: Likelihood × Impact
• Risk Severity: High, Medium, or Low
• Current Controls: Existing controls that mitigate the risk
• Treatment Strategy: Mitigate, Accept, Transfer, or Avoid
• Treatment Plan: Link to detailed treatment plan or summary of mitigation actions
• Target Completion Date: When treatment will be completed
• Status: Open, In Progress, Mitigated, Accepted, Closed
• Residual Risk Score: Expected risk score after treatment (if applicable)
• Last Review Date: When risk was last reviewed
• Comments/Notes: Additional context, updates, or decisions

Risk Register Access

• Risk Register is accessible to all team members with appropriate permissions
• Executive leadership has view access to monitor overall risk posture
• Risk Owners have edit access to update their assigned risks
• Security Champion maintains overall integrity and consistency of Risk Register

10. Monitoring and Review

Quarterly Risk Reviews

Security Champion conducts quarterly risk review meetings:

• Review status of open risk treatment plans
• Follow up on overdue treatment items
• Re-assess risks where circumstances may have changed
• Identify any new risks that emerged since last review
• Update Risk Register with current status
• Escalate blockers or resource needs to management

Risk Dashboards and Reporting

Organization maintains risk dashboards showing:

• Total number of risks by severity (High, Medium, Low)
• Open risks by category (Technology, Security, Vendor, etc.)
• Risk treatment plan status (Not Started, In Progress, Completed)
• Overdue risk treatment items
• Trend analysis: Are risks increasing or decreasing over time?
• Top 10 risks requiring immediate attention

Management Reporting

Risk metrics reported to Executive Leadership on a quarterly basis:

• Summary of risk assessment results
• Status of risk treatment plans
• New or emerging risks identified
• Risks closed or mitigated since last report
• Any High risks requiring executive decision or resource allocation
• Overall risk posture trend (improving, stable, deteriorating)

Continuous Monitoring (RM-04)

Organization continuously evaluates the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls against the established Common Controls Framework:

• Regular control testing and validation
• Monitoring of control performance metrics
• Identification of control deficiencies or gaps
• Corrective actions tracked to resolution in Risk Register
• Control effectiveness results inform risk re-assessment

11. Risk Acceptance and Exception Handling

Risk Acceptance Criteria

Risk acceptance is appropriate when:

• Cost of mitigation exceeds potential impact of risk
• Mitigation is technically not feasible with current resources
• Risk likelihood or impact is very low and within acceptable tolerance
• Compensating controls adequately reduce risk to acceptable level

Risk Acceptance Approval Authority

• Low Risk (Score 1-5): Risk Owner can accept at operational level
• Medium Risk (Score 6-14): Requires management approval (Director or VP level)
• High Risk (Score 15-25): Requires executive leadership approval (C-level or Board)

Risk Acceptance Documentation

All risk acceptances documented in Risk Register with:

• Business justification for accepting the risk
• Approver name and title
• Approval date
• Review date (when risk will be re-evaluated)
• Compensating controls (if any) that reduce risk severity
• Conditions under which risk acceptance would be revoked

Exception Handling

If a risk cannot be treated within required timelines:

• Risk Owner must raise an exception with justification for delay
• Management may grant temporary acceptance with extended deadline
• Exception documented in Risk Register with new target date and approver
• Exception reviewed monthly until resolved
• Repeated exceptions for same risk escalated to executive leadership

12. Risk Categories and Examples

Technology & Infrastructure Risks

• Cloud service provider outages or failures
• Database corruption or data loss
• Application performance degradation
• Infrastructure capacity constraints
• Technology obsolescence or end-of-life systems

Security Risks

• Cyberattacks (DDoS, ransomware, malware)
• Data breaches or unauthorized data access
• Phishing or social engineering attacks
• Insider threats or malicious insiders
• Inadequate access controls or privilege escalation
• Unpatched vulnerabilities in systems or applications

Third-Party & Vendor Risks

• Vendor security incidents affecting organization
• Vendor service outages or performance issues
• Vendor bankruptcy or business closure
• Vendor contract or pricing changes
• Lack of vendor SOC 2 or security certifications
• Vendor access to sensitive organization data

People & Human Factors

• Key person dependency (single point of failure)
• Skills gaps or insufficient expertise
• Employee turnover impacting operations
• Lack of security awareness training
• Human error causing configuration mistakes or incidents

Business Operations Risks

• Business process failures or inefficiencies
• Capacity constraints limiting growth
• Inadequate business continuity or disaster recovery plans
• Dependencies on single systems or processes
• Customer data handling errors

Compliance & Regulatory Risks

• Changes to regulatory requirements (GDPR, CCPA, SOC 2)
• Audit findings or control deficiencies
• Contractual obligations not met
• Privacy compliance gaps
• Non-compliance fines or penalties

Strategic & Business Risks

• Market changes affecting business model
• Competitive threats
• Product-market fit risks
• Funding or cash flow constraints
• Reputational damage from incidents or negative publicity

13. Integration with Other Processes

Risk Management and Incident Response

• Significant incidents trigger risk re-assessment
• Incident root causes inform new risk identification
• Incident trends highlight areas of elevated risk
• Risk treatment plans may include incident response improvements

Risk Management and Vendor Management

• New vendor onboarding includes vendor risk assessment
• Third-party risks tracked in Risk Register
• Vendor assurance reviews inform risk assessment of vendor dependencies
• High-risk vendors require additional due diligence or treatment plans

Risk Management and Change Management

• Major changes trigger mini risk assessments
• Change approval considers risk implications
• High-risk changes require additional approval or controls
• Change-related risks tracked in Risk Register

Risk Management and Business Continuity

• Business impact analysis informs risk assessment
• High-impact risks inform business continuity planning priorities
• Business continuity testing validates risk mitigation effectiveness
• Disaster recovery plans address risks identified in risk assessment

14. Risk Communication

Internal Communication

• Risk assessment results communicated to all team members after approval
• High and Medium risks communicated broadly with treatment plans
• Risk treatment progress updates shared in team meetings
• Risk dashboards accessible to team members for transparency
• Emerging risks flagged immediately to relevant stakeholders

Management Communication

• Quarterly risk reports to executive leadership
• High risks escalated immediately for executive awareness
• Risk acceptance decisions communicated with business justification
• Resource needs for risk treatment communicated to management for prioritization

External Communication

• Customer-facing risks communicated through status pages or customer notifications
• Security incidents that pose risk to customers communicated per Incident Response Plan
• Risk management approach described in SOC 2 reports and security questionnaires
• Vendor risks communicated to affected vendors for joint mitigation

15. Enforcement

Failure to comply with this standard is grounds for disciplinary action up to and including termination. Ignoring identified risks, failing to develop treatment plans for High risks, or failing to escalate emerging risks is a serious violation of this standard.

16. Related Documents

• Vendor Information Security Policy
• Incident Management Policy
• Change Management Policy
• Business Continuity Policy
• Information Security Management Standard
• Secure Development Lifecycle Policy

17. Revision History

Date	Version	Author	Description
[Date]	1.0	Chief Security Officer	Initial release