Risk Treatment

Risk treatment is the action-oriented phase of the risk management process, where organizations decide how to address the risks identified during risk assessment. ISO 27001 Clause 6.1.3 specifically requires organizations to define and apply an information security risk treatment process. For each identified risk, the organization selects one or more treatment options: mitigate the risk by applying security controls that reduce its likelihood or impact, accept the risk if it falls within the defined risk appetite, transfer the risk to another party (typically through insurance or contractual arrangements), or avoid the risk entirely by discontinuing the activity that gives rise to it.

The risk treatment plan is a critical compliance artifact. It documents which treatment option has been selected for each risk, what specific controls or measures will be implemented, who is responsible for implementation, the timeline for implementation, and how the effectiveness of the treatment will be measured. ISO 27001 requires a formal risk treatment plan and uses the Statement of Applicability (SoA) to document which Annex A controls have been selected as part of risk treatment. SOC 2 auditors evaluate whether the organization's risk management process includes appropriate treatment of identified risks. NIS2 requires essential entities to implement cybersecurity risk-management measures, which is effectively mandating risk treatment.

Effective risk treatment requires balancing security improvements against cost, operational impact, and organizational priorities. Not every risk needs to be mitigated to zero — the goal is to reduce residual risk to a level within the organization's risk appetite. When selecting controls, organizations should consider both their effectiveness at reducing risk and their feasibility in the operational context. After implementing risk treatment measures, the remaining risk (residual risk) must be formally evaluated and accepted by management. This accept-or-further-treat decision loop continues until residual risk is within acceptable bounds. Risk treatment is not a one-time exercise; it must be revisited as new risks emerge, as the threat landscape evolves, and as business conditions change.