Risk acceptance and exception management are important features that are offered under the risk dashboard. These features allow security teams to assess and document security risks that they or the business have decided to accept rather than mitigate.

Here’s what risk acceptance and exceptions mean to the user and how these features typically work in CSPM dashboards:

• Risk acceptance: Risk acceptance is the process of acknowledging and allowing certain security risks to exist within your cloud environment. It’s a conscious decision that’s made by an organization to accept a level of risk for specific reasons, such as operational necessity or cost-effectiveness.

Why does it matter?

In the cloud, achieving absolute security can be challenging, and there might be situations where mitigating a particular risk is either too costly or disrupts essential business operations. Risk acceptance allows organizations to balance security with business needs. CSPM dashboards typically include a feature that enables users to identify and document specific risks they have decided to accept. This documentation is important for compliance and auditing purposes.

• Exceptions/deviations management: Exceptions refer to situations where an organization has decided to deviate from standard security policies or practices due to a legitimate reason. Exceptions are typically granted on a case-by-case basis and are temporary.

Why does it matter?

There could be scenarios where strict security policies or configurations might not be feasible or appropriate for a specific application or business unit. Exceptions provide a mechanism for allowing these deviations while maintaining overall security. CSPM tools offer a feature for managing exceptions. Businesses can request exceptions and specify the reasons, and the security team can approve, record, and track the status of these exceptions within the dashboard.

Here’s what these features mean to the users of CSPM dashboards:

• Visibility and accountability: Users can use the dashboard to document their risk acceptance decisions and exceptions. This provides transparency and accountability within the organization, ensuring that responsible parties are aware of the associated risks.
• Compliance and auditing: Risk acceptance and exception management help organizations maintain compliance with industry standards and regulations. By documenting these decisions, users can demonstrate to auditors that they have considered the risks and have valid reasons for accepting them.
• Balancing security and business needs: These features help users strike a balance between maintaining a secure cloud environment and accommodating the operational and business needs of the organization. It allows for more flexible security policies without compromising overall security.
• Security governance: Users can demonstrate that risk acceptance and exception processes are part of their security governance framework. This is essential for ensuring that deviations from standard security practices are controlled, monitored, and temporary.
• Tracking and reporting: CSPM dashboards often offer reporting and tracking capabilities to monitor the status of accepted risks and granted exceptions. Users can assess the ongoing impact of these decisions.

To summarize, risk acceptance and exception management features allow organizations to make informed decisions about accepting security risks and granting exceptions to security policies. These features are essential for aligning security practices with business requirements while maintaining transparency, compliance, and accountability.

A well-designed risk dashboard is a valuable tool for organizations to make informed decisions, prioritize risk mitigation efforts, and ensure that risks are managed effectively. It provides a centralized view of the organization’s risk profile and fosters a proactive approach to risk management. Now, let’s look at compliance dashboards.