Cyber Readiness Assessment Using Risk-Strength Comparison

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods struggle to adequately determine the sufficiency of an organization's processes and technologies in deterring and defending against various cyber threats due to the complexity and diversity of cyber-attacks.

Innovation Solution

A method and system for evaluating cyber readiness by presenting objective questions, determining risk and strength ratings using a look-up table and data structure, and comparing these ratings to assess the organization's safeguards against cyber-attacks.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If multiple processes and technologies are implemented to defend against cyber-attacks, then the organization's defense capability is improved, but the complexity of determining sufficiency of these processes increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedefense capabilityVSAvoidcomplexity of determining sufficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the cyber security assessment into multiple distinct components: threat origin identification, vulnerability assessment, safeguard evaluation, and risk calculation. Each component is assessed separately through targeted questions, making the overall complex assessment manageable and systematic rather than attempting to evaluate the entire security posture as a single undifferentiated entity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary assessment framework that mediates between the organization's security measures and the threat landscape. This framework uses standardized evaluation criteria and calculation methods to translate diverse security processes and technologies into comparable risk metrics, enabling systematic determination of sufficiency without directly confronting the full complexity of individual security implementations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If comprehensive evaluations are conducted to ensure cyber readiness, then the accuracy of risk assessment is improved, but the time and resources required for evaluation increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaccuracy of risk assessmentVSAvoidtime required for evaluation
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs preliminary action by pre-defining threat origins, vulnerability categories, and safeguard types before the actual assessment. The system prepares evaluation frameworks, question sets, and calculation methodologies in advance, allowing the organization to respond to structured questions rather than requiring ad-hoc analysis of every security aspect, thereby reducing evaluation time while maintaining comprehensive coverage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent utilizes parameter changes by transforming qualitative security measures into quantitative risk scores through standardized evaluation parameters. By converting diverse security processes into comparable numerical metrics using predefined weights and calculation methods, the system achieves accurate risk assessment efficiency without requiring extensive time for qualitative analysis of each security control.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Measurement precision

If detailed analysis of cyber-security processes is performed, then the identification of strengths and weaknesses is improved, but the difficulty of the evaluation process increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveidentification of strengths and weaknessesVSAvoiddifficulty of evaluation process
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by focusing the evaluation on specific local aspects of security posture rather than requiring uniform detailed analysis of all security processes. The assessment targets particular threat origins, vulnerability types, and safeguard categories with specialized evaluation criteria, allowing detailed identification of strengths and weaknesses in critical areas while avoiding unnecessary complexity in less relevant domains.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP3625682B1Systems and methods for cyber security risk assessment
Publication Date: 2025.12.17 FACTORY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY
  • EP3625682B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3625682B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3625682B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The present invention is directed to methods, systems, and non-transitory computer readable mediums which can evaluate cyber readiness of an organization. The methods can include: presenting a plurality of objective questions to a user; receiving answers to said plurality of objective questions from said user; determining based on said answers a risk rating for a threat origin of a cyber-attack; determining based on said answers a strength rating for an organizational safeguard against said threat origin; comparing said risk rating of said threat origin to said strength rating of said organizational safeguard; determining based on said comparison a cyber readiness of said organizational safeguard from said cyber-attack by said threat origin; and presenting the cyber readiness of said organizational safeguard. Systems and non-transitory computer readable mediums operating in a similar fashion as such systems are disclosed herein.