Risk Assessment and Incident Response Plan for Gonana

1. Risk Assessment:

A. Operational Risks:

1. Market Access Issues:

2. Risk: Limited user adoption or low participation from smallholder farmers and buyers.

3. Impact: Reduced marketplace activity, failure to generate network effects, and limited scalability.

4. Likelihood: Moderate

5. Mitigation: Targeted marketing campaigns, partnerships with local agricultural organizations, and user education to ensure platform awareness and engagement.

6. Technology Failures (Platform Downtime/Errors):

7. Risk: Unavailability or glitches on the platform.

8. Impact: Reduced trust, user dissatisfaction, and loss of business.

9. Likelihood: Low

10. Mitigation: Regular maintenance, real-time monitoring tools, and a dedicated technical team to handle issues promptly.

B. Financial Risks:

1. Revenue Shortfalls:

2. Risk: Insufficient revenue generation from platform fees or transactions.

3. Impact: Delay in business growth, inability to scale, and potential liquidity issues.

4. Likelihood: Moderate

5. Mitigation: Diversify revenue streams (e.g., premium services, advertising, partnerships) and ensure robust financial planning.

6. Currency Exchange and Payment Processing Issues:

7. Risk: Challenges with cross-border payments, especially in volatile markets.

8. Impact: Delays in payments, trust issues, and potential legal complications.

9. Likelihood: Moderate

10. Mitigation: Partner with reliable payment service providers and maintain a multi-currency support system.

C. Security Risks:

1. Data Breaches or Cyber Attacks:

2. Risk: Hacking, unauthorized access, or theft of sensitive user data.

3. Impact: Loss of user trust, legal penalties, and damage to brand reputation.

4. Likelihood: High

5. Mitigation: Implement strong encryption protocols, conduct regular security audits, and offer user education on data security.

6. Fraudulent Transactions:

7. Risk: Fraudulent activities by malicious users, including fake listings or scams.

8. Impact: Loss of credibility, financial losses, and legal repercussions.

9. Likelihood: Moderate

10. Mitigation: Use identity verification methods, monitor transactions for suspicious activity, and establish clear user guidelines.

D. Legal and Compliance Risks:

1. Non-Compliance with Local Regulations:

2. Risk: Failure to adhere to local agricultural, financial, or data protection laws.

3. Impact: Legal actions, fines, and damage to reputation.

4. Likelihood: Low

5. Mitigation: Stay informed on relevant laws, consult with legal experts, and implement compliance protocols in all regions of operation.

6. Intellectual Property (IP) Issues:

7. Risk: Potential disputes over IP related to Gonana’s platform technology or brand.

8. Impact: Legal battles, financial loss, and operational disruption.

9. Likelihood: Low

10. Mitigation: Secure patents and trademarks, maintain clear ownership agreements with developers and partners.

2. Incident Response Plan (IRP):

A. Incident Identification:

• Types of Incidents:

• Platform Downtime/Technical Failure

• Data Breaches

• Fraudulent Activities

• Legal/Compliance Violations

• Incident Detection Methods:

• Automated system alerts (e.g., server failure or unauthorized access)

• User reports (e.g., issues with transactions or suspicious activities)

• Internal audits (e.g., financial irregularities, security breaches)

B. Incident Classification:

• Severity Levels:

• Critical: Complete platform outage, large-scale data breach, major fraud incident, or non-compliance issue.

• High: Partial system failures, minor data leaks, or small-scale fraudulent activities.

• Medium: Intermittent performance issues, minor security threats, or customer complaints.

• Low: Low-impact technical issues, user-reported bugs or glitches.

C. Response Procedures:

1. Critical Incidents:

2. Action:

3. Immediately activate the incident response team.

4. Notify affected users and stakeholders.

5. Perform a full system lockdown or temporary shutdown if necessary.

6. Engage cybersecurity or legal experts for analysis and recovery.

7. Resolution Time: Within 24 hours to mitigate impact and restore services.

8. High Incidents:

9. Action:

10. Investigate the incident, identify the root cause, and deploy fixes.

11. Communicate updates to users and partners within 48 hours.

12. Monitor and ensure that the issue is resolved and unlikely to recur.

13. Resolution Time: 48–72 hours.

14. Medium Incidents:

15. Action:

16. Address user-reported issues or system errors as soon as possible.

17. Issue public statements or status updates to maintain transparency.

18. Resolution Time: 1 week or less.

19. Low Incidents:

20. Action:

21. Track and prioritize, addressing these incidents during routine maintenance.

22. Keep users informed on progress and resolution.

23. Resolution Time: Typically within 2 weeks.

D. Communication Plan:

• Internal Communication:

• The response team communicates through dedicated channels (e.g., Slack, email) and provides updates on progress and resolution.

• External Communication:

• Timely updates via email, the Gonana website, and social media platforms to inform users of incidents and solutions.

• Dedicated support teams should be available for customer inquiries.

E. Post-Incident Review:

• After resolving an incident, conduct a debrief to assess:

• The cause and impact of the incident.

• The efficiency of the response.

• Areas for improvement in the incident response plan.

• Apply lessons learned to refine processes, update security protocols, and enhance platform stability.

F. Ongoing Risk Monitoring and Continuous Improvement:

• Regularly review risks and update the risk assessment to address emerging threats.

• Conduct periodic incident response drills to ensure preparedness.

• Continuously improve the platform’s security and operational resilience based on feedback and incident outcomes.