Development of a cyber risk assessment tool for Irish small business owners

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats due to limited resources and cybersecurity expertise, in addition to an increasingly hostile cyber threat environment at national and international levels. This study aims to improve the cyber resilience amongst SMEs by developing a national risk assessment tool. This research is guided by three key questions: 1. What current international SME risk assessment tools are available and supported or endorsed by national cybersecurity centres? 2. How can a risk assessment tool be created that is accessible to SME owners with little to no cybersecurity knowledge? 3. What are the key areas of cybersecurity risks for SMEs? To answer these questions, a comprehensive review of existing risk assessment tools was carried out. Through iterative collaboration with SMEs, the development of a user-friendly tool that simplifies risk for non-expert users was made possible.