Why a Risk Assessment Comes First
- Customers and insurers ask for it. Security questionnaires and cyber insurance applications increasingly require a recent, documented risk assessment.
- Frameworks require it. ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, NIST CSF, and NIST SP 800-171 all call for risk assessment.
- Budgets are limited. A risk assessment tells you where each security dollar does the most good.
- It creates accountability. Leadership makes explicit, documented risk decisions instead of assuming someone else has it covered.
Security & Risk Assessment
| Who it’s for | Organizations with roughly 10–150 employees, especially those without a dedicated security team or not subject to CMMC |
| What we assess | Governance and ownership · critical assets and data · threats relevant to your industry · existing controls (identity, endpoints, email, backups, cloud, vendors, incident readiness) · compliance obligations |
| How we assess | Leadership and IT interviews, documentation review, configuration walkthroughs, and control validation |
| You receive | Risk register with likelihood and impact ratings · top risks with business-impact explanations · control gap findings · prioritized 90-day and 12-month improvement plan · executive summary for leadership or the board |
| Typical duration | 2–4 weeks |
| Starting at | $6,500 for organizations up to ~50 users; scope confirmed in writing |
Our Methodology
We align with recognized standards — NIST SP 800-30 for risk assessment and NIST CSF 2.0 for control coverage — and adapt them to the size of your organization.
- Context. Business objectives, critical services, data types, and obligations.
- Assets. What you need to protect: data, systems, people, and providers.
- Threats. Realistic threats for your industry — ransomware, business email compromise, credential theft, insider error, vendor compromise.
- Vulnerabilities and controls. What’s in place, what’s missing, and what isn’t working as intended.
- Risk rating. Likelihood × impact, explained in business terms, not jargon.
- Treatment plan. For each top risk: reduce, transfer, accept, or avoid — with recommended actions, owners, and estimated effort.
Our leadership’s incident response and intrusion analysis background (GCIH, GCIA) means threat scenarios are grounded in how real attacks unfold, not hypotheticals.
What a Risk Assessment Is Not
- Not a penetration test. We evaluate risk and controls across your organization; a penetration test simulates an attacker against specific systems. When a penetration test is warranted, we can scope and provide one as a separate engagement.
- Not a certification. A risk assessment supports ISO 27001, SOC 2, or CMMC efforts, but doesn’t replace their formal audits or assessments.
- Not a tool sales pitch. We’re vendor-neutral and don’t resell security products.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a cybersecurity risk assessment cost?
Our Security & Risk Assessment starts at $6,500 for organizations up to about 50 users. Larger or multi-site environments, or assessments mapped to a specific framework, are scoped after a short call.
How often should we do a risk assessment?
At least annually, and whenever something significant changes — a new system, acquisition, major vendor, or security incident. Our vCISO service keeps your risk register current between formal assessments.
What’s the difference between a risk assessment and a gap assessment?
A gap assessment compares you to a specific framework’s requirements. A risk assessment asks which threats could hurt your business most and how likely they are. Most organizations need both; we often combine them.
Will this help with customer security questionnaires?
Yes. A documented risk assessment and the resulting improvement plan answer many questionnaire items directly and show customers you manage security deliberately.
Do we need to be on a specific framework?
No. If you don’t follow a framework yet, we use NIST CSF 2.0 as the structure, which maps cleanly to ISO 27001, SOC 2, and CMMC later.
Find Out Where Your Real Risk Is
Book a 30-minute call. We’ll confirm scope and send a written proposal — usually within one business day.