Comprehensive Risk Assessments

Whether you're exploring a new business opportunity, or you're in the midst of a complex legal battle, a comprehensive risk assessment can help your organization identify blind spots, close gaps in your security, and provide certainty during your most challenging events.

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Assessing Risk

We've all seen the news. Another major brand has fallen victim to a security breach they could have been prepared for. Whether it be a lack of foresight, or an unwillingness to recognize the bitter truth; 9 out of 10 crises are avoidable. Whether that risk is physical or digital, the hazards of running a business are myriad and complex. With so many opportunities for things to go wrong, how can a business owner avoid becoming a headline while keeping their team and business safe?

Whether a company is exploring an opportunity to expand or transform its business, navigating a complex, high-stakes dispute, or facing threats from an adversary; actionable intelligence and a trusted advisor can mean the difference between success and failure.

Chesley Brown routinely advises corporations, governments, schools, and other organizations on how to manage and mitigate risk. Our global team has diverse cultural, geographic, industry and functional know-how and the ability to immerse themselves in the most challenging regions, situations, and industries. We leverage the investigative craft that has been developed through decades of experience, the latest in data analysis technologies and artificial intelligence, as well as a vast network of resources including law enforcement agencies, subject matter experts, industry leaders and other cross-sections of society to gather information for our clients. We utilize that expertise and experience to develop strategies which reduce risk and enhance physical security. Our experts then help our clients implement, manage, and optimize those strategies.

Our team is relentless about optimizing your risk management approach. Regardless of your organization's size or industry, a comprehensive security risk assessment can help you identify a wide variety of weaknesses while safeguarding your employees, property, organization, and intellectual property (IP). We apply battle-tested tools and methods that includes:

A review of current exposures and previous security incidents as part of a security risk assessment in order to identify immediate and present risks. You can't plan for what you don't know, so by looking at the historical record, our risk analysis team can prioritize the most likely threats to your organization.
Interviews with managers, employees and other key individuals for behind-the-scenes insights and information about common issues, policies, countermeasures and procedures.
Provide a comparative analysis to isolate areas where your security program and processes may fall short, or do not meet industry best practices.
Make timely, relevant recommendations and assist you in implementing and managing any new countermeasures or physical protection systems, in order to reduce or eliminate any areas of vulnerability. We then fine-tune those procedures to optimize performance and cost.

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Professional Risk Assessments

At Chesley Brown we believe that no business leader should lose sleep at night worrying "what if." Complete security begins with a comprehensive risk assessment. Businesses can no longer afford a simple vulnerability scan. A physical vulnerability assessment does nothing to combat the rising threat of cyber espionage, and even the best trained law enforcement professionals aren't public health experts.

Our cross-functional approach to risk analysis and risk mitigation takes decades of business, security, and law enforcement experience to gain an intimate understanding of your risk landscape. Our goal is to understand your safety and security posture from every angle, chart each hazard your organization faces, and map a clear path forward that saves lives, protects property, and enables you to continue growing. We then distill this information down into a comprehensive security risk report called a Chesley Brown Report, where we outline a detailed action plan to address your unique challenges. Our experts will then review each section with your stakeholders and make any changes before implementation.

An in-depth risk assessment will usually include any combination of the following items:

Vulnerability assessments
Threat assessments
Physical security assessments
Student Threat Assessment (if applicable)
Cybersecurity assessments
Penetration testing
A full security assessment (audit)
Red Team Exercise Results
Health risk assessment

We leverage decades of security and law enforcement experience to conduct an in-depth assessment of your security from every angle to prevent any disruption or attack. This information is organized into an assessment report, and we create an action plan to address the vulnerabilities described in the report.

Chesley Brown's unique approach looks at risk from a variety of strategic points to better understand your situation. We look at everything from natural disasters to cybersecurity. Our Risk analysis looks at over 2,000 risk factors that may affect or disrupt your organization in order to improve physical security. Our highly skilled threat assessment team will comb your organization looking for any vulnerabilities within the 6 Pillars of Risk Management:

Hazard and event risk
Operational risk
Technology and information risk (Cybersecurity)
Economic risk
Environmental risk
Emergency preparedness and training

What is a vulnerability assessment?

A vulnerability assessment is the process of identifying the security vulnerabilities and risk factors in your organization or region, and taking active steps toward remediation. The information and tools gathered via vulnerability testing can be leveraged by security teams to assess and improve your threat mitigation and prevention processes whether that be physical or digital.

High and medium vulnerabilities should have a detailed mitigation report which may include:

The name of each vulnerability
The date of discovery
The score based on Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) databases
A detailed description of the vulnerability
Details regarding the affected systems
Details regarding the process and tools used to correct the vulnerability
A proof of concept (PoC) of the vulnerability for the system (if possible)
A blank field for the owner of the vulnerability,
- The time it took to correct
- The next revision
- Any countermeasures between the ultimate solution

Armed with this basic list as art of any broader risk assessment, the recommendations phase should reflect a complete analysis and understanding of an organization's weaknesses and overall security posture in all aspects of the risk mitigation process.

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What is a Threat Assessment?

A threat assessment is the evaluation of the intentions and capabilities of anyone or anything which may pose a threat to an organization, how they might cause harm, and their ability or motivation to carry out the task. To fully understand the nature of threat is to also identify the source of threat, which includes man and mother nature. Therefore, threat assessments are another tool in a risk manager's broader risk management toolkit.

Why are Risk Assessments so Important?

Producing regular risk assessment reports can put you one step ahead of the bad guys by helping identify holes in your security defenses yourself rather than waiting for a breach to expose them. Active scans and ongoing monitoring for incoming or developing threats can help you plug holes in your own security net before threat actors discover them. You can't fix the flaws you can't see, and the clearer the sense of your overall security posture, the better situated you are to improve it.

Ultimately, a vulnerability assessment helps you shift from a reactive approach to a proactive one, with an increased awareness of the risks your organization faces and an ability to prioritize the flaws that most need attention through strategies like penetration testing (pen testing), red teaming, tabletop exercises, security audits, and ultimately vulnerability management. Vulnerability analysis, on the other hand, focuses both on consequences for the event itself and on primary and secondary consequences for the surrounding environment. A vulnerability analysis serves to "categorize key assets and drive the risk management process," according to the US Department of Energy.

Our risk management process involves identifying and prioritizing the locations, people, systems, networks, processes, and assets most likely to come under attack by identifying, documenting, and scoring any vulnerabilities found. We may use threat assessments, security assessments, a more generalized risk assessment or a physical vulnerability assessment as part of our broader risk mitigation strategy. We then prioritize the remediation process to focus on the higher risk/impact vulnerabilities that affect your most critical systems. Ultimately, a risk assessment helps you shift from a reactive security approach to a proactive one with an increased awareness of the risks your organization faces and an ability to prioritize the threats that most need attention.

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Expert Risk Analysis

By working directly with your stakeholders, law enforcement, cybersecurity professionals and industry experts our risk analysis team can determine the likelihood of any particular threat, prioritize action plans, recommend appropriate security measures implement solutions, and when necessary, conduct penetration testing to ensure resiliency. Data and facts should be your be your source of truth when implementing or improving new security systems or frameworks, that's why we've made it so easy to get started. Here's how:

01

Schedule a Strategy Call

Our first job is to gather as much information as possible about your organization's unique challenges and concerns.

02

Create a plan

After studying the problem, our team of experts will get to work crafting a bespoke strategy that protects all aspects of your business, and enables continued growth.

03

Let’s execute that plan together

We’ll work directly with you and your stakeholders to implement and manage your new strategy, helping you navigate any pitfalls along the way.

What are you waiting for?

Let's Talk!

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Is your organization prepared for a crisis?

We take security seriously. It’s not enough to place guards on post and hope for the best. Managing threats like terrorism (both domestic and abroad), natural disasters, corporate espionage, climate change, and workplace violence in an increasingly competitive marketplace have become more complex than ever. Threat and vulnerability assessments are but one tool in a business leader's belt. You also need effective countermeasures and the correct security posture to prevent any scenario which may disrupt your operations. Because we must address facility and company security on a variety of levels, the most effective approach requires the nuanced analysis only Chesley Brown can provide.

While conducting risk assessments can be a cumbersome and time-consuming process, the benefits far outweigh the risks. Because of our global network of assets, our broad depth of experience, and a commitment to the truth, Chesley Brown is the only security company fully equipped to identify and prevent potential threats, customize action plans around your organization, recommend appropriate security measures, and implement and oversee those solutions. We're focused on security risk, so you can focus on your business. If you would like to learn more about our threat and vulnerability assessment process, our experts are standing by.

Additional Resources:

The Business Continuity and Crisis Manager's Playbook
https://chesleybrown.com/the-business-continuity-and-crisis-management-playbook-6-new-risks-for-businesses/

Effective Threat Assessment
https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-climate-safety-and-crisis/systems-level-prevention/threat-assessment-at-school/threat-assessment-for-school-administrators-and-crisis-teams

Physical Vulnerability Assessments
https://www.ebooks.com/en-us/book/294440/vulnerability-assessment-of-physical-protection…

Risk Matrix
https://www.haspod.com/blog/paperwork/5x5-risk-matrix

Comprehensive Risk Assessments

Assessing Risk

Professional Risk Assessments

What is a vulnerability assessment?

What is a Threat Assessment?

Why are Risk Assessments so Important?

Testimonials

General Manager

General Managed

Expert Risk Analysis

01

Schedule a Strategy Call

02

Create a plan

03

Let’s execute that plan together

What are you waiting for?

Is your organization prepared for a crisis?

Additional Resources:

Capabilities

It's chilling to think about what one bad day could do to your company's financial security.