# OCTAVE

OCTAVE, (Operationally Critical Threat, Asset, and Vulnerability Evaluation), is a risk assessment methodology used to identify and manage security risks in an organization. It's a self-directed approach, meaning the organization's own personnel take ownership of the security assessment process.

**Focus:**

* Unlike some technical security assessments that delve deeply into specific vulnerabilities, OCTAVE emphasizes a business-driven approach. It focuses on identifying and prioritizing security risks based on their potential impact on critical business operations.

**Benefits:**

* **Cost-Effectiveness:** OCTAVE requires minimal external expertise and leverages existing internal resources, making it a cost-effective solution for many organizations.
* **Focus on Business Impact:** By prioritizing risks based on their operational impact, OCTAVE helps organizations allocate security resources efficiently.
* **Improved Communication and Collaboration:** The methodology encourages collaboration between IT, security, and business stakeholders, fostering a shared understanding of security risks.

**Stages of OCTAVE:**

OCTAVE traditionally involves six stages, although some variations might condense or combine them:

1. **Asset Selection:** The team identifies critical assets that are essential for the organization's operations. This might include data, IT systems, applications, and physical infrastructure.
2. **Threat Identification:** The team brainstorms potential threats that could exploit vulnerabilities in the identified assets. This could involve considering internal and external threats, both accidental and malicious.
3. **Vulnerability Identification:** The team analyzes identified threats and assesses the vulnerabilities within the assets that could be exploited by those threats.
4. **Impact Assessment:** The team evaluates the potential impact of each risk scenario on the organization's operations. This involves considering factors like financial losses, reputational damage, and disruption of critical business processes.
5. **Scenario Development:** The team develops detailed scenarios for high-risk situations, outlining potential attack methods and consequences. This helps to visualize the potential ramifications of security breaches.
6. **Risk Prioritization:** Based on the impact assessment and scenario development, the team prioritizes risks based on their severity and likelihood. This helps to guide decision-making around resource allocation for security controls and mitigation strategies.

**Variations of OCTAVE:**

* **OCTAVE Allegro:** A streamlined version of OCTAVE designed for smaller organizations with limited resources. It emphasizes a more rapid risk assessment process.
* **OCTAVE-S:** A tailored version specifically designed for small-scale (less than 100 people) organizations. It leverages a smaller team and focuses on essential activities within the OCTAVE framework.

