Every company is exposed to possible risks that can occur at an indefinite point in time. A good example of this is the sudden outbreak of the pandemic. Due to hard lockdowns, companies had to send their employees to the home office. But only a small proportion of employers and employees were prepared for this. This risk of job failure was only perceived as such by a few, which is why no measures were taken in advance.
Does the employee have a laptop? Does he have all the necessary information at his disposal? Are the company servers accessible to employees from outside? Is communication with the customer secured? These questions would have to be clarified in a risk management process before the risk materializes.
However, the biggest risk for IT companies at the moment is cybercrime. Millions of dollars in damage are caused by hacking attacks every year. Servers are hacked, vulnerabilities exploited or malware installed. Is the IT system redundant? Are backups made regularly? Managers in particular must sensitize their employees to this topic, because many mistakes are made through carelessness. Whether a computer remains unlocked, a password is sent in plain text, or a spam e-mail is opened - many cases could be avoided.
Risks are constantly changing, so it is also imperative to view risk management as an ongoing process. Risks should be regularly analyzed and evaluated, and after careful consideration of the consequences, countermeasures must then be taken. Potential threats are avoided in this way. Ongoing monitoring makes things easier. A program could send out a warning as soon as software versions are outdated - just to give a final example.
