Information security standards have at least two characteristics: 1) they can cure most sleep problems and 2) some describe a relatively perfect world where those responsible for information security have plenty of time and where there are enough resources to analyse needs and document decisions. Even though I may have started this post a little sarcastic, I'm actually a big supporter of standards and "best practice"; I see no reason to reinvent good stuff. I cannot do anything about the standards being boring, but I write this post to suggest some responsible shortcuts to a good start on risk assessments and as a pragmatic approach to ISO 27001 compliance (should you want that).