5 Proven Steps for a Risk Register Remediation Plan

When your latest HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC 2, ISO 27001, or GDPR review lands, it usually arrives as a spreadsheet risk register or a list of “gaps.”

But auditors don’t sign off on spreadsheets — they sign off on remediated controls with evidence.

This guide shows CISOs, Heads of Security, and Compliance/Risk leaders how to turn that static risk register into a living remediation board (Jira/Asana-style) and a 90-day fix plan that works across multiple frameworks.

We’ll cover:

1. Baseline your risk assessment
2. Prioritize by regulatory impact
3. Build a remediation board in Jira/Asana
4. Run sprint-based remediation
5. Close with a pre-audit evidence review

We’ll also show code-like examples (YAML/JSON, Python, and JQL) you can adapt directly in your environment.

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Risk Register vs Remediation Board (and Why It Matters)

Risk register (what you have today):

• Rows in Excel/Sheets
• Columns like Risk ID, Description, Likelihood, Impact, Framework, Status
• Good for recording risks, bad for driving work

Remediation board (what you need in 90 days):

• Tickets in Jira/Asana
• Each ticket has owner, due date, SLA, framework tags (HIPAA/PCI/SOC 2/ISO/GDPR)
• Visual workflow: Backlog → In Progress → Blocked → Ready for Audit → Done
• Audit-ready: every closed ticket has evidence attached

A simple JSON representation of a remediation item that you’ll map from the risk register:

{
  "risk_id": "R-102",
  "title": "Enforce MFA for remote admin access",
  "description": "Remote admin access is allowed without enforced MFA.",
  "owner": "secops_lead",
  "due_date": "2025-02-15",
  "status": "In Progress",
  "frameworks": ["HIPAA", "PCI DSS", "SOC 2", "ISO 27001", "GDPR"],
  "control_refs": ["Access Control", "Identity & Authentication"],
  "likelihood": 4,
  "impact": 5,
  "risk_score": 20,
  "evidence": [
    "vpn_mfa_config_screenshot.png",
    "okta_policy_export.pdf",
    "pentest_retest_report.pdf"
  ]
}

We’ll now walk through a practical 90-day sequence to create a risk register remediation plan that auditors will actually trust.

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Step 1 (Days 0–15): Baseline Your Risk Assessment

If you don’t already have a current risk register, start with a formal risk assessment.

A structured assessment gives you:

• A consistent scoring methodology
• Clear mapping to HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
• A prioritized list of “what can actually break us”

If you’re short on time or internal capacity, kick off a focused engagement using:
👉 Risk Assessment Services

Normalize your risk register

Most organizations have risk data scattered across pentest reports, scanner exports, and old audits. Normalize it into a simple schema:

# risk-register.yml
- id: R-001
  asset: "Patient Portal"
  description: "Outdated TLS configuration allows weak ciphers."
  likelihood: 3         # 1–5
  impact: 4             # 1–5
  frameworks:
    - HIPAA
    - SOC 2
    - ISO 27001
  status: "Open"
  owner: "appsec_team"
  category: "Crypto"
  notes: "Flagged in last external pentest and scanner"

If your source of truth is Excel/Sheets, you can convert it with a small Python helper:

import csv, yaml

def csv_to_risk_yaml(csv_path, yaml_path):
    risks = []
    with open(csv_path, newline="") as f:
        reader = csv.DictReader(f)
        for row in reader:
            risks.append({
                "id": row["Risk ID"],
                "asset": row["Asset/System"],
                "description": row["Risk Description"],
                "likelihood": int(row["Likelihood"]),
                "impact": int(row["Impact"]),
                "frameworks": [f.strip() for f in row["Frameworks"].split(",")],
                "status": row.get("Status", "Open"),
                "owner": row.get("Owner", "unassigned"),
                "category": row.get("Category", "General")
            })
    with open(yaml_path, "w") as f:
        yaml.dump(risks, f)

csv_to_risk_yaml("risk_register.csv", "risk-register.yml")

By the end of Week 2, you want:

• One consolidated risk register file
• Each risk mapped to one or more frameworks (HIPAA/PCI/SOC 2/ISO/GDPR)
• A consistent scoring model (see next step)

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Step 2 (Days 10–25): Prioritize by Regulatory Impact

Not all risks are equal. A missing security header on a marketing site is not the same as unencrypted cardholder data.

Use a simple risk score

You don’t need a complex formula; keep it honest and consistent:

def risk_score(likelihood, impact, regulator_weight=1.0):
    # Likelihood & impact 1–5, regulator_weight 1.0–1.5
    return likelihood * impact * regulator_weight

# Example: PCI DSS gap in cardholder data environment (CDE)
score_pci = risk_score(likelihood=4, impact=5, regulator_weight=1.4)  # 28.0
# Example: Minor ISO-only documentation gap
score_iso = risk_score(likelihood=2, impact=2, regulator_weight=1.0)  # 4.0

You can set a higher regulator_weight for:

• PCI DSS in cardholder environments
• HIPAA for PHI systems
• GDPR for EU personal data
• SOC 2 for in-scope customer-facing SaaS

Auto-tag frameworks based on control keywords

If your initial register doesn’t have framework tags, you can infer them:

def infer_frameworks(description):
    description = description.lower()
    frameworks = set()
    if "card" in description or "pan" in description or "cde" in description:
        frameworks.add("PCI DSS")
    if "phi" in description or "patient" in description:
        frameworks.add("HIPAA")
    if "customer data" in description or "subprocessor" in description:
        frameworks.add("SOC 2")
    if "pii" in description or "eu data" in description:
        frameworks.add("GDPR")
    # Default baseline: ISO 27001 for general ISMS
    frameworks.add("ISO 27001")
    return list(frameworks)

Run this once over your normalized YAML/CSV and manually review edge cases.

By Day 25, you should have:

• Every risk scored (e.g., 1–25 scale)
• Each risk tagged with one or more frameworks
• A shortlist of “Fix in 90 days” items (usually the top 30–50)

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Step 3 (Days 20–35): Build the Remediation Board

Now we convert the prioritized risk register into a remediation board in Jira, Asana, or your chosen work-tracking tool.

Map risk rows to Jira tickets

Example: minimal JSON payload to create a Jira issue from a risk row:

{
  "fields": {
    "project": { "key": "SEC" },
    "summary": "[R-102] Enforce MFA for remote admin access",
    "description": "Risk ID: R-102\nFrameworks: HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR\n\nDetails:\nRemote admin access is allowed without MFA.\n\nAcceptance criteria:\n- MFA enforced for all remote admin accounts\n- Config exported and attached\n- Retest screenshot/report attached.",
    "issuetype": { "name": "Task" },
    "assignee": { "name": "secops_lead" },
    "labels": ["risk-register", "remediation", "HIPAA", "PCI_DSS", "SOC2", "ISO27001", "GDPR"],
    "duedate": "2025-02-15",
    "customfield_risk_score": 20
  }
}

A simple Python script to bulk-create issues from risk-register.yml:

import requests, yaml

JIRA_BASE_URL = "https://jira.example.com"
JIRA_USER = "api-user"
JIRA_TOKEN = "api-token"
PROJECT_KEY = "SEC"

def create_jira_issue(risk):
    payload = {
        "fields": {
            "project": {"key": PROJECT_KEY},
            "summary": f"[{risk['id']}] {risk['description'][:60]}",
            "description": f"Risk ID: {risk['id']}\nFrameworks: {', '.join(risk['frameworks'])}\n\n{risk['description']}",
            "issuetype": {"name": "Task"},
            "labels": ["risk-register", "remediation"] + risk["frameworks"],
            "duedate": "2025-02-15"
        }
    }
    resp = requests.post(
        f"{JIRA_BASE_URL}/rest/api/2/issue",
        json=payload,
        auth=(JIRA_USER, JIRA_TOKEN)
    )
    resp.raise_for_status()

with open("risk-register.yml") as f:
    risks = yaml.safe_load(f)

for risk in risks:
    if risk["status"] == "Open":
        create_jira_issue(risk)

Tip: If your board supports custom fields, add “Frameworks,” “Risk Score,” and “Target Audit” for fast filtering.

Example board columns (Jira or Asana)

• Backlog – Not yet scheduled
• Sprint 1–2 (High risk) – Top PCI/HIPAA/GDPR issues
• Sprint 3–4 (Medium risk) – SOC 2 and ISO-heavy items
• Blocked / Exceptions – Waiting on budget, vendor, or design
• Ready for Audit – Implemented + evidence attached
• Done (Verified) – Auditor- or third-party-verified items

Now your risk register remediation plan is visible to everyone, not buried in a spreadsheet.

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Step 4 (Days 30–85): Run Sprint-Based Remediation

Work in 2–3 week sprints. Each sprint should include:

• A mix of quick wins and big rocks
• Coverage across frameworks
• Clear owner and capacity plan

Example sprint planning pseudo-code

def plan_sprint(open_risks, max_items=15):
    # Prefer high-impact, multi-framework items
    scored = sorted(
        open_risks,
        key=lambda r: (r["likelihood"] * r["impact"], len(r["frameworks"])),
        reverse=True
    )
    return scored[:max_items]

sprint_backlog = plan_sprint([r for r in risks if r["status"] == "Open"])

Track KPIs directly from Jira

Useful JQL queries for dashboards:

-- All open remediation tasks from risk register
project = SEC AND labels = risk-register AND statusCategory != Done

-- PCI DSS high-risk items not done
project = SEC AND labels = PCI_DSS AND "Risk Score" >= 16 AND statusCategory != Done

-- Items Ready for Audit in the next 2 weeks
project = SEC AND status = "Ready for Audit"
AND duedate <= endOfDay("+14d")

Run these queries weekly and share the dashboard with Security, Compliance, and Engineering.

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Step 5 (Days 75–90): Pre-Audit Evidence Review

By Day 75, your goal is:

• Most high/critical items in Ready for Audit / Done
• Remaining items in Blocked / Exceptions with documented rationale

For each ticket, you should have machine-readable evidence:

{
  "ticket": "SEC-123",
  "risk_id": "R-102",
  "frameworks": ["HIPAA", "PCI DSS", "SOC 2", "ISO 27001", "GDPR"],
  "evidence_items": [
    {
      "type": "configuration",
      "name": "vpn_mfa_config_screenshot.png",
      "stored_at": "s3://audit-evidence/access/vpn_mfa_config_screenshot.png"
    },
    {
      "type": "policy",
      "name": "access_control_policy_v3.pdf",
      "stored_at": "s3://audit-evidence/policies/access_control_policy_v3.pdf"
    },
    {
      "type": "retest_report",
      "name": "pentest_retest_report.pdf",
      "stored_at": "s3://audit-evidence/reports/pentest_retest_report.pdf"
    }
  ],
  "verified_by": "compliance_officer",
  "verified_on": "2025-03-01"
}

A quick script can validate evidence completeness before auditors arrive:

def missing_evidence(remediation_items):
    return [
        i for i in remediation_items
        if not i.get("evidence_items")
    ]

# Print items that still need proof
for item in missing_evidence(remediation_items):
    print(f"{item['ticket']} ({item['risk_id']}) has no evidence attached!")

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Multi-Framework Examples: One Fix, Many Checkboxes

The real power of a unified risk register remediation plan is reusing one fix across frameworks.

Example 1: MFA for privileged access

A single remediation ticket:

• Enforce MFA on VPN and privileged accounts
• Logs retained for 12–24 months

Can support:

• HIPAA – access control & authentication safeguards
• PCI DSS – strong authentication for access to cardholder data
• SOC 2 – logical access security criteria
• ISO 27001 – access control and secure authentication
• GDPR – appropriate technical measures to protect personal data

Example 2: Hardened web application

A ticket like “Fix XSSI and related web vulnerabilities in OpenCart store” can map to:

• Fixes from your own blog post
  “Prevent XSSI Attack in OpenCart”:
  https://www.pentesttesting.com/prevent-xssi-attack-in-opencart/
• Follow-up tests with free website scanning + manual pentests

This single work item contributes to:

• PCI DSS – secure web application practices
• SOC 2 / ISO 27001 – secure software development & change management
• GDPR – protection of personal data processed via the app

Linking remediation tickets to specific internal blog playbooks makes developer handoff much easier.

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Using Pentest Testing Corp’s Free Tool & Sample Reports

You don’t have to start from zero when gathering evidence for your remediation board.

On the screenshot of our free tools page, you can see a Free Website Vulnerability Scanner where you simply enter your domain and click “Scan.” The page highlights that you can run quick, outside-in security checks on your internet-facing assets and download a PDF report to attach directly to your remediation tickets.

Use it to:

• Seed your risk register with real, external-facing findings
• Generate before/after evidence as you close web app issues
• Provide simple, visual proof for auditors and business stakeholders

Sample Report to check Website Vulnerability

On the sample report screenshot, you’ll see findings grouped by severity (Critical/High/Medium/Low), each with: vulnerability name, affected URL or asset, impact summary, and step-by-step remediation guidance. There’s also an overall risk summary chart, which is perfect to attach to a Jira ticket or your 90-day remediation status deck.

Practical usage in your remediation plan:

• Attach the initial scan report to the ticket when you create it
• Attach the post-fix scan report after the control is implemented
• Keep both under the same ticket to show clear before/after evidence during audits

For deeper, manual verification of high-risk issues, hand the output to your team or engage us for Remediation Services focusing on hands-on fixes and retesting.

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Where Pentest Testing Corp Fits in Your 90-Day Fix Plan

If you’d like help turning your own risk register into a 90-day, multi-framework remediation board, you can start with a focused risk assessment and remediation roadmap via:

• Start with a structured Risk Assessment to build or refresh your risk register
• Use our free scanning tools to generate quick, reproducible evidence
• Work with Remediation Services when you need additional engineering capacity or independent retesting
• Reuse patterns and fixes from recent blog content (like OpenCart XSSI and other secure coding guides) at
  https://www.pentesttesting.com/blog/

Over time, your risk register remediation plan becomes a repeatable engine: assessment → prioritized remediation board → sprint execution → evidence review → audit.

These services are designed to plug directly into the workflows and code examples you’ve seen in this article.

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