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Cyber Security Risk Management
Mitigate risk and ensure compliance against relevant standards and guidelines by establishing a comprehensive risk management program.
Our service provides the people, expertise, and resources necessary to implement a risk management strategy that mitigates risk without disrupting your operations.
The Importance of Risk Management
Most organisations realise the importance of cyber security risk management but often discover the task is more complex and time-consuming than first anticipated.
Interconnected Systems Larger organisations with extensive, interconnected systems find it harder to identify risks and how to mitigate them without impacting business operations.
Understanding Risk Ensuring a fully integrated risk management function requires a clear understanding of interactions and dependencies across the business and their potential impacts.
Resourcing Challenges In-house teams are often tasked with too many priorities to fully dedicate themselves to risk management, leaving little resource for this essential activity.
What to Expect from a Risk Management Service by Bridewell
Our consultants work closely with our clients to ensure their risk management strategy reflects their risk appetite, integrates with existing processes, and supports their wider business goals
Certified Risk Specialists
Our consultants have Certified Cyber Professional (CCP) certifications and NCSC Risk specialisms.
A Partner with Leading Industry Bodies
Our consultants work closely with the NCSC and other industry bodies to help shape national programmes and the future of the cyber security industry.
Experience Delivering Services at Scale
We have experience delivering risk management for some of the world’s largest CNI organisations across critical sectors.
Proven Methodologies and Expertise
Our consultants are established leaders in cyber security risk, audit, and supplier assurance, with certifications and experience in advising on NIST, CMMC, ISO 27001, NCSC CAF, OWASP and PCI DSS.
A Tailored Approach
We take a tailored approach to risk management that reflects the unique risks inherent to your organisation’s processes, sector, and risk appetite.
Why is it worth taking on a
Cyber Security Risk Management Service?
Simplified and Cost-Effective Risk Reduction
Risk Mitigation Having a comprehensive view of risk across the organisation enables you to easily apply pragmatic and cost-effective risk reduction strategies.
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Certification and Accreditation Requirements
Effective risk management to meet the quality and standards that auditors and accreditors require.
Easily Adopt New Standards and Legislation
Seamlessly align your cyber security programme with new standards, legislation, and business strategies.
Adapt to Changing Risk Levels
Manage the consequences of changing risk levels and develop appropriate continuity plans.
Start your Risk Management Process
Speak with one of our risk management experts to see how we can support your organisation in reducing risk and meeting regulatory demands.
How our Risk Management service works
Our risk management service encompasses all types of risk from security standards and policy, security controls information, security management system, to physical security.
- Step one: Our consultants perform an initial high-level assessment to identify potential risks within your organisation and where they fall short of industry frameworks or proprietary policies and standards.
- Step two: Depending on findings from the initial assessment, our consultants may advise whether any of your organisation’s third-party providers need a more in-depth, on-site visit and review.
- Step three: Having conducted a complete assessment, we then outline and implement an risk management process that addresses any identified risks or vulnerabilities to ensure they are mitigated and compliant.
- Step four: If required, our consultants can be utilised on an ongoing basis to augment your team and ensure this risk management process is adhered to on a continuous basis.
Our client, a global hyperscaler, chose to partner with us to address these challenges, with the aim of delivering integrated compliance and risk management solutions, focusing on access management, vendor assessments, and US Government audit readiness.
Cable System Access: Automated Management for Security and Compliance
Subsea cable system operators based out of the US need to comply with National Security Agreements (NSAs) that restrict access to sensitive subsea cable facilities, systems and information, requiring robust controls for both physical and logical access. Cable systems, which fall under the remit of an NSA, are known as a Regulated Cable System.
Organisations and individuals, such as engineers and Network Operating Centre (NOC) analysts, who require physical and/or logical access to Regulated Cable Systems, are required to undergo a thorough screening process and are subject to approval by the US Government. This screening process is a regulatory requirement and requires annual reports to be issued to the appropriate government agencies.
Bridewell designed and implemented an automated access management system tailored to our client’s requirements. This system:
1. Centralised the database of approved personnel.
2. Automated request and approval workflows.
3. Integrated with our client’s access control hardware/software.
4. Maintained audit logs for compliance tracking.
5. Allowed a straightforward review of access control lists for each Regulated Cable System.
6. Provided expiration alerts for re-verification of access rights.
The Results
- Efficiency: Reduced manual approval times from days to hours.
- Accuracy: Automated verification minimised human error.
- Compliance: Real-time logging and reporting supported regulatory audits seamlessly.
Streamlined Vendor Assessments: Standardisation and Automation
Our client’s vendor assessment process was manual, slow, and lacked consistent risk treatment and tracking. This resulted in:
- Inconsistent risk treatment: Without standardised criteria, vendors were assessed subjectively, leading to uneven enforcement of compliance and security requirements.
- Lack of audit readiness: Without a formal assessment process, it became difficult to demonstrate due diligence during audits and apply a consistent approach.
- Regulatory misalignment: The lack of a formalised vendor risk assessment approach led to inconsistencies and differing approaches to managing key vendors supporting Regulated Cable Systems.
Bridewell developed a structured vendor tiering standard which analysed a series of inputs to determine the rigour and depth necessary to assess a vendor on an initial and ongoing basis. It also standardised physical and logical security requirements for vendors mapped to ISO 27001. The output included:
- In-depth compliance assessments based upon NSA requirements.
- Annual audits and assessments, including site visits to NOCs and Cable Landing Stations (CLSs).
- Online vendor self-assessment questionnaires.
- Automated scoring based on predefined security criteria.
- Centralised evidence submission and feedback.
The Results
- Speed: Assessment turnaround reduced from weeks to days.
- Consistency: Automated scoring ensured adherence to standards.
- Insight: Aggregated data enabled proactive risk management.
NSA Regulatory Requirements: Integrated Risk Control Framework
Our client needed to align NSA processes with a unified risk taxonomy and ensure ongoing compliance. At the time, there was no formal risk or control framework related to the design, build and operational phases of a subsea cable system.
The impacts that resulted were:
- Regulatory exposure: The hyperscaler was left exposed to compliance failure against the Regulated Cable System NSAs.
- Inconsistent risk management: The absence of standardised controls resulted in risk identification and mitigation being ad hoc and reactive, increasing the likelihood of gaps in security, access control and incident response.
- Operational vulnerabilities: Design and build phases lacked formal oversight and defined standards for control implementation, leading to inconsistent design, control implementation, potential vulnerabilities, reportable incidents and service disruptions.
Bridewell implemented a subsea cable system focused risk and control framework that aligned with the full cable system lifecycle (design, build, operate):
- Designed and implemented a subsea risk framework which aligned with the hyperscaler’s hierarchical risk taxonomy.
- Designed and implemented a subsea control framework which allocated risks to the various cross-functional teams through all phases of the cable system lifecycle, including risks relating to the physical and environmental security of CLSs and NOCs. Conducted risk and control assessments, working with cross-functional teams to address any gaps and areas for improvement.
- Automated and digitised the risk and control frameworks and assessment through the deployment of specialist Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) tooling.
- Implemented governance through a formalised risk and compliance committee.
The Results
- Consistency: Single methodology for risk and control ownership, identification and mitigation.
- Visibility: Centralised documentation improved audit readiness.
Managing US Government Audits: Proactive Readiness
Subsea cable operators are subject to rigorous and recurring audits by US Government agencies to verify compliance with mitigation instruments such as NSAs and other regulatory frameworks. These audits assess not only technical and operational controls but also governance, documentation, and vendor oversight across the entire cable system lifecycle.
Such audits involve the gathering of an enormous amount of evidence, not just across the internal operational teams, but also with all the relevant vendors who manage, support, monitor and maintain the Principal Equipment across the Regulated Cable System infrastructure.
Operators must maintain comprehensive records of access, vendor assessments, incident response plans and physical security measures – failure to produce timely and accurate documentation during audits can result in non-compliance findings, triggering remediation orders or penalties.
Bridewell leveraged the subsea cable system risk and control frameworks to conduct regular “mock audits”, simulating government audit tasks. This process included:
- Evidence gathering.
- Policy and documentation review.
- Deep-dive control assessment.
- Report writing with mitigation plans.
- Follow-up actions.
The Results
- Readiness: Identified and closed gaps before formal audits, easing the process for the live audit with the regulators.
- Risk reduction: Enhanced preparedness and reduced audit-related risks, providing confidence.
Conclusion
As a trusted partner, Bridewell delivered a comprehensive governance framework that transformed risk management and regulatory compliance for subsea cable operations. Key outcomes included:
- Reduced administrative overhead.
- Increased process efficiency.
- Enhanced audit preparedness.
- Increased confidence.
- Strengthened operational security.
These initiatives significantly improved the hyperscaler’s security and compliance posture, ensuring uninterrupted global connectivity and adherence to stringent regulatory requirements.
Global Hyperscaler
Industry
Risk Management FAQs
The length of the engagement varies depending on the scope, current maturity and requirements. Some clients require days of advice and guidance, others prefer to utilise Bridewell for more in depth analysis, or to reduce the demand on their own resources on a temporary or long term basis.
Risk management is an ongoing process and Bridewell share knowledge, best practices and examples with clients to support organisations to mature and continue risk management practices independently.
Ideally an organisation will have an asset inventory, existing risk assessment and risk management processes and a previous risk assessment. We appreciate that organisations operate at different levels of maturity and that not all items might be available or complete.
Allocation of resources internally to support the engagement and risk management process is beneficial, often with communication to the business on the importance of risk management and what is required from staff and teams to support the initiative, along with the organisations reasons for focusing on risk management (e.g to support an ISO 27001 implementation or new business opportunity).
Some of the top cyber security risks include phishing attacks, ransomware, insider threats, advanced persistent threats (APTs) and unpatched software vulnerabilities.
Cyber security focuses on protecting systems, networks and data from cyber threats through measures like firewalls and encryption. Cyber risk management is a strategy within cyber security that involves identifying, assessing and prioritising risks to mitigate potential impacts.
A cyber security risk management plan is a structured approach to identifying, assessing and prioritising cyber security risks. It outlines strategies for mitigating or treating risks that include policies, procedures and controls. The plan also includes monitoring and reviewing approaches to new threats to maintain the ongoing protection of vital information.
To identify a cyber security risk, it’s important to conduct a structured risk assessment that will help identify, analyse and evaluate any potential threats to information centres. Some methods include cataloguing all data and hardware assets, identifying potential vulnerabilities, and determining threat likelihood.
Risk levels in cyber security range from low risk, which may have a minor impact on your organisation, through medium and high impact levels, to critical levels, which represent immediate and catastrophic damage to your organisation. Risk factors are determined by assessing the severity of impact, how easily they’re exploited, how widespread they are, and how easily they can be identified.
Why Us?
Awards
Our team have won numerous industry awards, including 'Cyber Security Company of the Year' at the Cyber Security Awards 2026 and Best Cyber Security Service Provider' at the Cyber Security Awards 2025.
Certifications
Our people and services are highly accredited by leading industry bodies including CREST, the NCSC, and more. Our SOC holds extensive accreditations from CREST (including for CSIR and SOC2) and works closely with our cyber consultancy services.
Partnerships
As a Microsoft Partner, we also hold advanced specialisms in Cloud Security and Threat Protection. We’ve also implemented some of the UK’s largest deployments of the Microsoft Security stack, inc. Sentinel, Defender, Purview and more.
