The information security risk management process consists of distinct phases. Risk analysis is the phase focused on identifying and understanding risks. Its objectives include identifying assets and their value, determining relevant threats and vulnerabilities, and analyzing the potential impact to provide a basis for decision-making. This analysis allows for a cost-benefit evaluation of potential security measures.

However, the implementation of countermeasures (also known as controls or safeguards) is not an objective of risk analysis. Instead, it belongs to the subsequent risk treatment phase, where decisions are made and actions are taken to modify the identified risks.

A. Identifying assets and their value is a fundamental starting point for risk analysis; you cannot protect what you don't know you have or what its value is.

C. A primary goal of risk analysis is to provide the quantitative or qualitative data needed to balance the cost of controls against the potential loss from an incident.

D. The identification of threats that could exploit vulnerabilities is a core activity within the risk analysis process to understand how harm could occur.

1. ISO/IEC 27005:2022 - Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection — Guidance on managing information security risks.

Clause 8, "Information security risk assessment process," details the objectives of risk analysis, which include risk identification (Clause 8.2) and risk analysis (Clause 8.3). These clauses cover identifying assets, threats, vulnerabilities, and determining the level of risk.

Clause 9, "Information security risk treatment," is defined as a separate process that follows risk assessment. Clause 9.1 states, "The purpose of information security risk treatment is to select and implement controls to manage information security risks." This clearly separates the implementation of countermeasures from the analysis phase.

2. Humphreys, E. (2016). Information Security Management Systems: A Novel, High-Level Framework. In: Implementing the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 ISMS Standard. Artech House.

In Chapter 5, "Risk Management," the author distinguishes between risk assessment (the process of identifying, analyzing, and evaluating risk) and risk treatment (the process of selecting and implementing measures to modify risk). This aligns with the separation of analysis from implementation.

3. Fenz, S., & Ekelhart, A. (2011). Formalizing Information Security Risk Management. In Availability, Reliability, and Security in Information Systems and HCI (pp. 35-49). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.

The authors present a formal model of the risk management process based on ISO 27005. On page 38, Figure 1 illustrates the workflow, showing that "Risk Treatment" (which includes control implementation) is a distinct step that occurs only after "Risk Analysis" and "Risk Evaluation" are completed. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23338-83)