Case Study: Streamlining GRC and Enhancing Cybersecurity for a Government Agency

Case Study: Streamlining GRC and Enhancing Cybersecurity for a Government Agency with Risk Cognizance

The Challenge:

A large government agency responsible for managing critical infrastructure faced significant challenges in maintaining a robust GRC program. Their existing manual processes were time-consuming, resource-intensive, and prone to errors. They struggled with:

• Managing multiple compliance frameworks: The agency was subject to numerous regulations, including NIST, FISMA, and internal agency policies, making compliance tracking complex and inefficient.
• Lack of centralized risk visibility: Risk assessments were conducted in silos, making it difficult to gain a holistic view of the agency's risk profile.
• Inefficient incident response: Incident response procedures were manual and lacked coordination, leading to delays in containment and remediation.
• Difficulty demonstrating compliance to auditors: Generating compliance reports was a manual and time-consuming process, making it difficult to provide auditors with timely and accurate information.
• Limited visibility into third-party risks: The agency relied on numerous third-party vendors, but lacked a robust process for assessing and managing their security risks.

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The Solution: Risk Cognizance GRC Platform

The agency implemented Risk Cognizance to streamline their GRC processes and enhance their cybersecurity posture. Key features utilized included:

• Compliance Framework Library and Mapping: Risk Cognizance's extensive library allowed the agency to easily map their controls to NIST, FISMA, and other relevant frameworks. The cross-walking feature significantly reduced redundant efforts.
• Risk Register and AI Risk Management: The centralized risk register provided a single source of truth for all identified risks. AI-driven insights helped the agency prioritize risks based on their potential impact.
• Automated Control Testing and Monitoring: Automated control testing and monitoring ensured the effectiveness of security controls and provided continuous assurance of compliance.
• Incident Management and Case Management: The integrated incident management and case management features streamlined incident response procedures, enabling faster containment and remediation.
• Policy Management and Policy Linker: The agency used the policy management features to centralize policy documentation and the Policy Linker to connect policies to relevant controls and risks.
• Vendor Management and Third-Party Risk Management: Risk Cognizance enabled the agency to assess the security posture of their third-party vendors and manage associated risks.
• Reporting and Dashboards: Customizable reports and real-time dashboards provided stakeholders with clear visibility into the agency's GRC posture.

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Key Results and Benefits:

• Significantly Reduced Manual Effort: Automation of key GRC processes, such as risk assessments, control testing, and reporting, freed up significant time and resources.1
• Improved Compliance Posture: The agency achieved and maintained compliance with multiple regulatory frameworks more efficiently.
• Enhanced Risk Visibility and Management: The centralized risk register and AI-driven insights provided a holistic view of the agency's risk profile, enabling proactive risk mitigation.
• Streamlined Incident Response: Automated incident response workflows and case management improved incident response times and minimized impact.
• Simplified Audit Process: Automated reporting and documentation simplified the audit process and provided auditors with timely and accurate information.
• Improved Third-Party Risk Management: The agency gained better visibility into the security posture of their third-party vendors, reducing supply chain risks.
• Strengthened Cybersecurity: By integrating security into their GRC framework, the agency significantly enhanced its overall cybersecurity posture.

Specific Examples of Impact:

• FISMA Compliance: The agency reduced the time spent on FISMA compliance reporting by 75% through automation.
• Incident Response Time: Incident response times were reduced by 50% due to streamlined workflows and automated alerts.
• Third-Party Risk Assessment Time: The time required to assess third-party vendor risks was reduced by 60% through automated assessments and questionnaires.

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Conclusion:

By implementing Risk Cognizance, the government agency transformed its GRC program from a manual, reactive process to an automated, proactive one. The platform enabled the agency to streamline compliance, enhance risk management, improve incident response, and strengthen cybersecurity, ultimately protecting critical infrastructure and sensitive data. This case study demonstrates the value of Risk Cognizance as a powerful GRC platform for organizations operating in complex regulatory environments. Get A Free Demo Of Our GRC Platform Today