Introduction to risk management
Through everyday examples you learn to define risk, score likelihood and impact, keep a risk register and choose the right treatment option.
Level 101 · 15 lessons · 12 practice labs
Lessons
Understanding risk
- What risk is: uncertainty and objectives
- Risk vocabulary: asset, threat, vulnerability, impact
- Risk decisions in everyday life
- Quick task: write down five risks at home
Measuring risk
- Likelihood and impact scales
- The risk matrix and heat map
- Inherent and residual risk
- Quick task: score ten risks and place them on a matrix
Managing risk
- Treatment options: reduce, transfer, avoid, accept
- Risk owners and decision rights
- Keeping a simple risk register
- Monitoring and updating risks
- Quick task: a treatment plan for three risks
Finish
- Communicating risk in plain language
- Capstone: an information security risk register for a café
Practice labs
- Break a risk sentence into parts: Mark the asset, threat, vulnerability and impact in eight risk sentences.
- Fix badly written risks: Turn six entries written only as a threat or only as a weakness into full risk statements.
- Write risks tied to objectives: For three business objectives of a café, write two information security risks that threaten each.
- Place risks on the matrix: Place ten risks with given likelihood and impact scores on a 5x5 matrix and note their colour zone.
- Score with the scale definitions: Score ten risks using the given likelihood and impact scale definitions and justify each score in one sentence.
- Work out inherent and residual risk: Calculate inherent and residual scores for eight risks with listed controls and flag entries where the control effect is overstated.
- Match the treatment option: Match ten actions to reduce, transfer, avoid or accept.
- A treatment plan for three risks: Write a plan with action, owner, date and expected residual score for three high risks of an accounting office.
- Assign the right risk owner: For ten risks all assigned to IT, identify the real owner with decision rights and justify each.
- Fill in the risk register: Build a complete five-line risk register from five short situation descriptions.
- Update a stale register: Update a year-old risk register using three recent change notes: scores, statuses, closed and new risks.
- Explain risk in plain language: Rewrite five technically worded risks as one paragraph each that a business owner can decide on.
About this course
Through everyday examples you learn to define risk, score likelihood and impact, keep a risk register and choose the right treatment option.
What you will learn
- Understanding risk
- Measuring risk
- Managing risk
- Finish
Prerequisites
No prior knowledge is needed; the course starts from zero.
Lab environment
Lessons run in your own Kali Linux terminal that opens in the browser. Nothing to install; the lab starts clean in every lesson.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this course right for my level?
- The course is at beginner level; every term is explained where it first appears.
- Is there anything to install?
- No. Every lesson runs in your own lab environment that opens in the browser.
- How do lessons work?
- Each lesson has 8 to 10 steps and a short quiz. Early steps show the command to type, later steps give less help; if two attempts fail, the solution opens.
- Can I try it for free?
- Yes. The first three lessons of every course are free.