PROJECT 02 / RISK MANAGEMENT

Cybersecurity Risk Register

A simulated enterprise cybersecurity risk register demonstrating how identified risks can be documented, prioritized, assigned to accountable owners, mapped to controls, treated, monitored, and communicated to stakeholders.

ARTIFACT Risk Register

METHODOLOGY 5 × 5 Risk Scoring

RISKS TRACKED 12

STATUS Active

01 / PURPOSE

Turning findings into accountable risk.

Identifying a cybersecurity weakness is only the beginning of risk management. Organizations also need a repeatable process for documenting the risk, assigning accountability, selecting treatment actions, and monitoring remediation.

This simulated risk register demonstrates how cybersecurity risks can be maintained throughout their lifecycle rather than treated as isolated technical findings.

Each entry includes a risk scenario, accountable owner, likelihood, impact, inherent risk, existing controls, control effectiveness, residual risk, treatment decision, target date, and remediation status.

All organizations, systems, risk scenarios, ownership assignments, and dates in this portfolio project are simulated.

02 / RISK LIFECYCLE

From identification to closure.

The register supports a repeatable lifecycle for managing cybersecurity risk from initial identification through remediation and ongoing monitoring.

Identify

Document the asset, threat, vulnerability, and business consequence.

Assess

Evaluate likelihood and impact to determine inherent risk.

Assign

Assign an accountable risk owner and responsible remediation team.

Treat

Select mitigation, acceptance, transfer, or avoidance.

Monitor

Track control effectiveness, milestones, KRIs, and target dates.

Close

Validate remediation and formally document remaining residual risk.

03 / EXECUTIVE DASHBOARD

Current risk posture.

A concise view allows leadership to understand risk exposure, remediation progress, and areas requiring attention without reviewing every technical detail.

Total Risks 12

Critical 1

High 3

Open 8

In Progress 3

Closed 1

04 / RISK REGISTER

Enterprise cybersecurity risks.

The following sample entries show how cybersecurity risks can be prioritized and tracked using consistent fields.

ID	Risk Scenario	Owner	Inherent	Controls	Residual	Treatment	Status
R-001	Privileged account compromise could provide unauthorized administrative access to critical systems.	IAM Manager	Critical	MFA, RBAC, PAM, authentication logging	Medium	Mitigate	In Progress
R-002	Critical vulnerabilities on internet-facing systems could be exploited before remediation.	Infrastructure Manager	Critical	Vulnerability scanning, patch management, configuration management	Medium	Mitigate	In Progress
R-003	Phishing could result in credential theft and unauthorized account access.	Security Operations	Critical	Email filtering, MFA, awareness training, EDR	Medium	Mitigate	Open
R-004	Third-party compromise could expose sensitive organizational information.	Vendor Risk Manager	Critical	Due diligence, contracts, security reviews, vendor monitoring	High	Mitigate / Transfer	Open
R-005	Excessive employee access could enable unauthorized access to sensitive systems.	IAM Manager	High	RBAC, access reviews, least privilege	Medium	Mitigate	Open
R-006	Insufficient security logging could delay detection and investigation of malicious activity.	SOC Manager	High	SIEM, centralized logging, alerting	Medium	Mitigate	In Progress
R-007	Incomplete backup validation could increase recovery time following ransomware or system failure.	Infrastructure Manager	High	Backups, recovery testing, offline copies	Medium	Mitigate	Open
R-008	Unsupported software could expose systems to vulnerabilities without vendor security updates.	IT Operations	Medium	Asset inventory, lifecycle management	Low	Mitigate	Open
R-009	Weak security requirements during vendor onboarding could introduce unmanaged third-party risk.	Procurement	Medium	Security questionnaire, contract review	Low	Mitigate	Open
R-010	Inconsistent incident response exercises could reduce readiness during a significant cyber event.	Security Manager	Medium	Incident response plan, tabletop exercises	Low	Mitigate	Open
R-011	Delayed account termination could leave former users with active organizational access.	IAM Manager	Medium	HR integration, termination workflow, access review	Low	Mitigate	Closed
R-012	Incomplete security awareness participation could increase employee susceptibility to social engineering.	Security Awareness Lead	Medium	Annual training, phishing simulations	Low	Mitigate	Open

05 / PRIORITY RISK

Risk requiring leadership attention.

R-004

Third-Party Data Compromise

HIGH RESIDUAL RISK

RISK OWNER

Vendor Risk Manager

TREATMENT

Mitigate / Transfer

INHERENT RISK

Critical

RESIDUAL RISK

High

CONTROL EFFECTIVENESS

Partially Effective

REMEDIATION STATUS

Open

PLANNED RISK TREATMENT

Require security due diligence before onboarding high-risk vendors.
Classify vendors according to data access, connectivity, and business criticality.
Establish contractual cybersecurity and incident notification requirements.
Require evidence of applicable security controls for high-risk vendors.
Perform recurring reassessments based on vendor risk tier.
Establish escalation requirements when significant vendor control deficiencies remain unresolved.

MANAGEMENT DECISION CONTINUE TREATMENT

Residual exposure remains above the organization's simulated target risk level. Additional controls and vendor assurance activities are therefore tracked until the risk reaches an acceptable level or receives documented risk acceptance from appropriate leadership.

06 / MONITORING

Key Risk Indicators.

Risk registers become more useful when risks are connected to measurable indicators that can show whether exposure is increasing or decreasing.

KRI Critical Vulnerabilities

Number of critical vulnerabilities exceeding the remediation SLA.

KRI Privileged Accounts

Percentage of privileged accounts without required strong authentication or current access review.

KRI Vendor Reviews

Percentage of high-risk vendors with overdue cybersecurity reassessments.

KRI Remediation Aging

Number of high and critical risks that remain open beyond their target remediation date.

07 / GOVERNANCE

Risk ownership & accountability.

Risk Owner

Accountable for understanding the business risk and ensuring an appropriate treatment decision.

Control Owner

Responsible for implementing, maintaining, and providing evidence for assigned controls.

GRC

Facilitates assessment, maintains the register, challenges risk assumptions, and tracks remediation.

Security

Provides technical analysis, threat context, findings, and recommended safeguards.

Leadership

Reviews material risks and makes decisions when residual exposure exceeds established tolerance.

Internal Audit

May independently evaluate whether governance processes and controls operate as intended.

PROJECT CONCLUSION

Risks need owners, not just scores.

This project demonstrates how a risk register supports governance by connecting cybersecurity issues to accountable owners, controls, treatment decisions, remediation activities, measurable indicators, and management oversight.

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