The risk nobody looked at
A list of risks is written in January. Nobody reads it again. In October the same risk causes a leak. The list said who should act. Nobody told that person, and nobody checked.
A risk list is not a trophy. It is a tool that has to be watched and shared.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Personal data | Information about a living person who can be identified. |
| Risk register | A table that lists risks, their scores, owners and actions. |
| Risk monitoring | Watching risks over time to see if they change. |
| Risk owner | The person responsible for managing one risk day to day. |
| Escalation | Passing a risk up to someone with more authority. |
| Lessons learned | Notes about what went well or badly, so next time is better. |
| Action plan | A list of steps, who does them and by when. |
| Stakeholder | A person or group affected by the work or interested in it. |
| Sensitive data | Data that could cause serious harm if it got out, such as health details. |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can monitor data risks by review, recording, ownership and escalation, and communicate risks safely to the right people.
Starter: last lesson
Have a go
Starter: last lesson
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Monitoring: four habits
Risks change. A new tool, a new law or a new team can raise a score. So watch them.
Hold a periodic review of probability and impact. Record each risk in the register with lessons learned and an action plan. Give every risk an owner. Escalate a risk that is too big for its owner.
Four monitoring habits
| Habit | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Periodic review | Re-score probability and impact on a schedule | Every three months |
| Recording | Risk register, lessons learned and action plans | A line for each risk with its next step |
| Ownership | One person manages each risk day to day | Ria owns the emailing risk |
| Escalation | Raise it with the right authority | A score over the owner's limit goes to the manager |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Try it: find reviews that are overdue
SELECT risk, owner, last_review FROM register
WHERE last_review < '2026-07-28'
ORDER BY last_review;Check: monitoring
Have a go
Check: monitoring
4 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.