Risk Management
A risk register that connects to the work.
Score it, treat it, track it to closed — with every risk linked to the remediation task that fixes it.
Book a Demo → Start FreeRisk registers become graveyards
Risk registers live in spreadsheets, disconnected from the actual remediation. You identify a risk (“access control gaps”), log it in a spreadsheet, and then work gets siloed in Jira or Asana. Six months later, when an auditor asks, “Has this been addressed?” you have to manually cross-reference two systems to find out.
Risk management becomes theater: risks get logged, nobody closes them, and the register becomes a graveyard of year-old items. For auditors, it’s a nightmare. They ask for a risk register and see either:
A spreadsheet with 50 open risks, no closure dates, no evidence of mitigation
A matrix of risks that doesn’t connect to actual work or remediation
What you need is a risk register that’s linked to your remediation workflow — so risks, tasks, and evidence are all connected.
How it works
Step 1
Identify a Risk
You identify a control gap, security issue, or compliance risk. Create a Risk in RealCISO: name it, describe it, and optionally link it to a control.
Step 2
Score It
Impact (5-point scale: negligible to catastrophic) × Likelihood (5-point scale: rare to almost certain) = Risk Score.
Low (1–5) Nice to have
Medium (6–15) Should address
High (16–25) Must address
Step 3
Choose a Treatment
Accept — You understand the risk and choose to live with it (with approval)
Avoid — You eliminate the risk by changing business processes
Mitigate — You reduce impact or likelihood through controls/work
Transfer — You shift the risk to a vendor or insurer
Step 4
Assign Remediation Work
Link the risk to a Planner card (task). Track execution. Risk status updates as work progresses: Open → Mitigating → Mitigated → Closed.
Step 5
Close with Evidence
Once the mitigation task is complete, attach evidence (policy doc, cert, audit log, screenshot). The risk moves to “Mitigated” or “Closed” with a closure date.
Step 6
Report to Auditors
Dashboard shows all risks, treatment strategy, status, evidence, and closure date. Auditors see not just “risks identified” but “risks identified, treated, and closed with evidence.”
Key capabilities
Impact × Likelihood Scoring
Two 5-point scales (not a vague 1–10). Forces you to think about impact separately from likelihood. A high-impact, low-likelihood risk is different from a low-impact, high-likelihood risk. Both need different treatments.
Risk Status Lifecycle
Open → Mitigating → Mitigated → Closed. Clear progression. Not “open forever.” Status ties to your Planner — complete the task, risk status advances.
Risk-to-Control Mapping
Link risks to compliance controls. The dashboard shows which controls have open risks and which are fully remediated. If you have 5 risks tied to “access control,” completing the access control remediation closes all 5.
Risk-to-Task Traceability
Every risk links to a Planner card. Click a risk, see the task. Click the task, see the risk. Complete the task, the risk status updates. No manual cross-referencing.
Treatment Options
Not everything requires mitigation. Some risks you accept (documented, approved). Some you avoid (change business process). Some you transfer (vendor handles it). Cleo can help you decide treatment strategy.
Risk Register Dashboard
View all risks in a structured table: name, score, status, treatment, due date, owner, linked control. Filter by status. Sort by score (highest risk first). Export for auditors.
Trend Reporting
Over time, track risk reduction: “Month 1: 15 open risks. Month 3: 8 open risks, 7 mitigated.” Show leadership that your risk posture is improving.
Real-world risk scenarios
Access control gap (Mitigate)
Risk: User access not reviewed quarterly; stale accounts could retain permissions. Impact: High. Likelihood: Medium. Score: 12 (High).
Treatment: Mitigate — task: “Implement quarterly access review with Okta export + spreadsheet audit.” Evidence: access review policy + Q1 audit log.
✓ Mitigated
Encryption weakness (Accept)
Risk: Database backups encrypted with AES-128, not AES-256. Impact: Medium. Likelihood: Low. Score: 6 (Low).
Treatment: Accept — business decision: cost of upgrade > risk. CTO + CISO sign off. Evidence: Risk Acceptance form + approval signature.
✓ Accepted (closed)
Vendor risk (Transfer + Mitigate)
Risk: Third-party payment processor hasn’t provided a SOC 2 cert in 18 months. Impact: High. Likelihood: Low. Score: 8 (Medium).
Treatment: Transfer (vendor’s cyber insurance covers a breach) + Mitigate (request SOC 2 cert by Q2; task assigned to procurement). Evidence: SOC 2 cert + insurance policy.
✓ Mitigating → Mitigated
Missing API rate limiting (Avoid)
Risk: API endpoints lack rate limiting; a DDoS attack could disrupt service. Impact: High. Likelihood: Medium. Score: 12 (High).
Treatment: Avoid — add rate limiting to the API and change the process: all public APIs require rate limiting going forward. Evidence: code review, deployment log, load test results.
✓ Avoided
Risks and controls, linked
You assess a control: “Do we have an access review process?” You answer “No.” This creates a gap. You create a risk: “Lack of access review allows stale accounts to retain permissions.” You mitigate the risk by implementing the control. When the control is satisfied (assessment updated), the risk can move to “Mitigated.”
This is the key differentiator — risks aren’t separate from compliance. They’re tied to the controls that address them.
Who it’s for
Organizations that audit regularly
Auditors ask for risk registers. You need to show risks identified, treatment strategy, and closure evidence. The Risk Management Dashboard answers all three.
Leadership & board reporting
“Here’s our top 10 risks, how we’re treating them, and our closure timeline.” Risk trending (15 risks → 8 risks over 3 months) shows progress.
Regulated industries
Healthcare, fintech, defense: risk management is a control in itself. You need a defensible process — identify, score, treat, track, close, report. RealCISO proves you have it.
Consultants & advisors
You deliver risk assessments to clients. The Risk Dashboard becomes a client deliverable — they see risks, track remediation, and understand treatment strategy.
Teams juggling multiple frameworks
SOC 2 has risk requirements. HIPAA has risk assessment. ISO 27001 has risk management. One Risk Register serves all three.
Why RealCISO’s risk management is different
It’s linked to compliance controls. Competitors have separate risk registers disconnected from compliance. “We have a risk that maps to control XYZ, but the control is separate from the risk.” RealCISO links them.
It’s connected to remediation work. Identify a risk. Link it to a Planner task. Complete the task. Risk status updates automatically. No cross-referencing.
It distinguishes treatment types. Not all risks require mitigation. Accept, Avoid, Mitigate, Transfer — different treatment strategies. Competitors assume all risks need fixing.
It tracks closure, not just logging. Most risk registers are graveyards. RealCISO tracks risks to closure with evidence. Auditors see not just “open risks” but “open risks, mitigating risks, and closed risks with evidence.”
It supports trend reporting. Show leadership improvement over time: “Open risks down from 15 to 8. Mitigated risks up from 0 to 7.” That’s a story competitors can’t tell from a static risk list.
Turn your risk register into a working system
Score it, treat it, track it to closed — with evidence auditors actually want to see.
Book a Demo → Start Free