Evaluating cybersecurity risks is an important task, and there are several ways to do it. Let's break down the key methods:

1. Risk Assessment Frameworks:

   • There are helpful guides, like NIST SP 800-30 and ISO/IEC 27005.
   • These frameworks help organizations find, assess, and prioritize their risks.

2. Qualitative Analysis:

   • This method uses expert opinions and interviews.
   • It helps in grouping risks and figuring out how likely they are and what impact they might have, without using complicated numbers.

3. Quantitative Analysis:

   • This approach gives risks numerical values.
   • It often uses specific numbers, like:
     • Annualized Loss Expectancy (ALE), which can be calculated like this: $ALE = SLE \times ARO$
     • Here, SLE stands for Single Loss Expectancy, which is how much one event might cost, and ARO stands for Annual Rate of Occurrence, which tells us how often we expect that event to happen in a year.

4. Scenario Analysis:

   • This method looks at different threat situations.
   • By simulating these scenarios, organizations can understand their potential effects and decide how to respond based on their risk tolerance.

5. Risk Prioritization:

   • Risks are ranked based on factors such as:
     • How likely they are to happen (for example, 30% of breaches come from insider threats).
     • The possible damage they could cause (in 2020, the average cost of a data breach was $3.86 million).

Using these methods together helps organizations manage and reduce risks more effectively.