During risk analysis there are several units that can help measure risk. Before risk can be
measured, though, the organization must identify the vulnerabilities and threats against its
mission-critical systems in terms of business continuity. During risk analysis, an organization
tries to evaluate the cost for each security control that helps mitigate the risk. If the control is
cost effective relative to the exposure of the organization, then the control is put in place. The
measure of risk can be determined as a product of threat, vulnerability, and asset values—in
other words:
Risk ¼ Asset Threat Vulnerability
There are two primary types of risk analysis: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative risk
analysis attempts to assign meaningful numbers to all elements of the risk analysis process.
It is recommended for large, costly projects that require exact calculations. It is typically
performed to examine the viability of a project’s cost or time objectives. Quantitative risk
analysis provides answers to three questions that cannot be addressed with deterministic risk
and project management methodologies such as traditional cost estimating or project
scheduling [18]:
• What is the probability of meeting the project objective, given all known risks?
• How much could the overrun or delay be, and therefore how much contingency is
needed for the organization’s desired level of certainty?
• Where in the project is the most risk, given the model of the project and the totality
of all identified and quantified risks?
Qualitative risk analysis does not assign numerical values but instead opts for general
categorization by severity levels. Where little or no numerical data is available for a risk