Certified: The Security+ Prepcast

Once an organization has identified its risks, the next step in the risk management process is assessment. Risk assessments help determine how likely a risk is to occur and how damaging it would be if it did. This allows organizations to prioritize which risks to mitigate, which to accept, and which to transfer or avoid. In this episode, we will explore the different types of risk assessments and how to choose the right assessment frequency based on context. These are key concepts for the Security Plus exam and even more critical in the real world.
Let’s begin by breaking down the types of risk assessments. There are three main categories you need to understand: ad hoc assessments, recurring assessments, and continuous assessments. Each of these serves a specific purpose and is appropriate in different scenarios.
Ad hoc assessments are situational. They are triggered by a specific event or change in the environment. For example, if an organization plans to deploy a new web application, migrate to a new cloud provider, or integrate with a third-party service, it might perform an ad hoc risk assessment to evaluate the unique risks associated with that project. These assessments are not part of a regular schedule. Instead, they are conducted as needed, often during planning phases or after major incidents.
The benefit of ad hoc assessments is that they provide timely risk insight tied directly to specific decisions. They allow organizations to examine risk factors in real time and adjust strategies before new vulnerabilities are introduced. However, because they are not ongoing, they may miss broader patterns or recurring threats unless combined with other types of assessments.
Here is a practical example. A university’s information technology department is preparing to allow bring-your-own-device access to faculty email. Before launching this change, they conduct an ad hoc assessment. The process reveals risks related to unsecured personal devices, lack of remote wipe capabilities, and weak enforcement of password policies. Based on these findings, the university adds mobile device management and implements multifactor authentication before rollout. The ad hoc assessment helped identify risk just in time to prevent a future security incident.
Next, we move to recurring assessments. These are scheduled evaluations that occur at regular intervals, such as quarterly, annually, or during predefined operational cycles. Recurring assessments help organizations maintain a consistent view of their evolving risk landscape. They are often tied to regulatory requirements, internal audit schedules, or business continuity planning.
Recurring assessments use a repeatable framework and consistent metrics, which makes it easier to track progress over time. These assessments may focus on system vulnerabilities, physical security, user access controls, or data privacy practices. Their strength lies in standardization and predictability.
Let’s look at an example. A regional bank conducts an annual risk assessment as part of its internal audit cycle. Each year, it reviews system logs, access controls, vendor contracts, and policy compliance across every department. These assessments are documented and presented to the board’s risk committee. Over time, the bank uses trends from these recurring assessments to guide investments in new tools, revise training programs, and refine its policies. The consistency of these assessments gives the bank a reliable understanding of how its risk profile is changing and where to focus attention.
The third type is continuous risk assessments. These are ongoing evaluations powered by automation, analytics, and real-time monitoring. Rather than evaluating risk at a single point in time, continuous assessments provide a dynamic view of the threat environment. They are often driven by technologies such as intrusion detection systems, endpoint monitoring, and threat intelligence platforms.
Continuous assessments are essential in high-risk, fast-moving environments like cloud infrastructure, financial trading systems, or government operations. They allow security teams to respond to changes in exposure or attacker behavior as they happen, rather than waiting for the next scheduled review.
Here is a real-world scenario. A global e-commerce company integrates continuous risk assessment into its development pipeline. Every time code is committed, it is scanned for vulnerabilities, policy violations, and insecure configurations. Threat intelligence feeds are also analyzed to update firewall rules and monitoring thresholds. This allows the company to detect and respond to risks without relying solely on periodic audits. The speed and scale of the operation demand this level of real-time visibility.
Now that we understand the different types of assessments, let’s discuss how to decide on the appropriate frequency for each. The timing of a risk assessment should be based on several factors, including regulatory requirements, business impact, the volatility of the environment, and the maturity of existing controls.
Some risks require continuous assessment because the threat changes constantly. For example, exposure to distributed denial of service attacks may increase dramatically during a product launch or a geopolitical event. In these cases, relying on quarterly reviews would leave the organization blind during critical windows. Instead, real-time monitoring and automated response tools provide the necessary visibility and agility.
Other risks may be stable enough to assess on a recurring basis. If a particular system handles only internal reports and has low exposure to external threats, an annual or semiannual assessment may be sufficient. The organization can track metrics such as patch compliance, access logs, and system uptime to determine whether additional reviews are needed.
Ad hoc assessments should be used whenever there is a major change in infrastructure, regulation, or threat landscape. For instance, if a new privacy law is enacted, organizations may need to reassess how they collect and store customer data. Similarly, if a competitor suffers a high-profile breach, that may prompt an ad hoc assessment to ensure similar weaknesses do not exist internally.
Let’s consider another practical example. A pharmaceutical company conducts recurring risk assessments every six months as part of its regulatory compliance obligations. It also uses continuous monitoring for its clinical trial systems, which are frequently targeted by advanced threats. When the company begins a new partnership with a foreign research institution, it launches an ad hoc risk assessment to evaluate data handling practices and jurisdictional risks. This layered approach gives the company the flexibility to respond to specific events while maintaining a strong baseline.
Choosing the right mix of assessment types is part of building a mature and resilient risk management program. The best programs use all three—ad hoc, recurring, and continuous—to create a complete picture of organizational risk. This multi-tiered approach ensures that nothing slips through the cracks and that new threats are identified before they become costly incidents.
For the Security Plus exam, you will need to know how to distinguish between these types of assessments. Questions may describe a scenario and ask you to identify whether the assessment being used is ad hoc, recurring, or continuous. Pay attention to clues such as timing, triggers, and whether the assessment is tied to a specific event or occurs as part of a schedule.
Here is a tip to remember. If the question describes a one-time evaluation linked to a new system or project, the answer is likely an ad hoc assessment. If it mentions regular timing or scheduled activities, think recurring assessment. If the scenario involves automation, analytics, or real-time response, then it is almost certainly a continuous assessment. Matching the language of the scenario to these types will help you answer accurately.
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