In a recent ISACA survey that asked participants what their top cybersecurity program goals were, more than 73 percent cited that achieving continuous improvement of cyber security was their number-one need. Additionally, more than 63 percent cited that benchmarking against important standards as their number-two reason. With ever-increasing cyberattacks targeting high-profile businesses and enterprises, it’s easy to understand why this has become a top concern among cybersecurity professionals.
Some of the most recent and successful cyberattacks include Marriott International, which experienced a critical data leak that exposed the credentials of more than 5.2 million guests and Solarwinds®, which suffered worldwide compromised systems throughout its supply chain.
Another ISACA study showed that the most frequent form of cyberattacks included social engineering (15%), advanced persistent threats (10%), and ransomware and unpatched systems (9%). All of which, over the years, have grown exponentially and evolved to supersede the effectiveness of any modern cybersecurity program.
That’s why it’s simply not enough to just have a high-tech, advanced, and complex cybersecurity program that’s good enough for today’s attacks. Organizations must have a high degree of cyber maturity to stand a chance against increasingly complex and devastating cyberthreats.
What Is Cyber Maturity?
As cyberattacks and threats evolve and become more sophisticated, an organization’s cybersecurity program must develop at an even faster rate, so it can not only defend against breaches when they occur, but monitor and anticipate them ahead of time, too. Regardless of how modern and complex it is, your cybersecurity will always have to be in a state of constant development and change. And a cyber maturity program or model can help an enterprise do exactly that.
Cyber maturity determines the level of development of security controls, across several key domains, and the readiness and advancement of those controls in preparation of a potential incident. A cyber maturity program can measure an organization’s level of security and show areas of improvement within that organization. It works to bridge gaps between the IT staff and senior leadership while delivering results that can be interpreted easily by both groups.
To put it simply, the more ‘mature’ a cybersecurity program is, the better it is at preventing threats.
Cybersecurity Through Cyber Maturity
It’s not always easy to determine the maturity level of a cybersecurity program. That’s why it’s necessary to seek out industry-leading cyber maturity programs that can measure and assess your current level of capability to defend against cyberattacks with an evidence-based approach. They will also help to determine if an organization is meeting the required security protocols, prioritize a custom roadmap of improvements, and demonstrate how to implement the leading frameworks to stay ahead of the cybersecurity vulnerabilities and threats that are most relevant to your business.
A capable cyber maturity program will let security and enterprise leaders pull reports to help explain the status, goals, and investment decisions related to the cybersecurity program in business-focused language that anyone can understand. This, in turn, will let security leaders effectively communicate to their boards where the most critical gaps lie and help them understand how budget requests align with and target the most significant risks and vulnerabilities that face the business.
Lastly, a cyber maturity model or program can demonstrate the progress the organization has made in its risk-based roadmap with reports that reflect the enhancements that have been made and goals that have been obtained in developing higher levels of cyber maturity and resilience.
Conclusion
Ultimately, cyberthreats and breaches are matters that every organization – large or small and in all industries – must handle and defend against. A cyber maturity program or assessment may seem like another superfluous expense, but it’s far less costly than a breach can be, and yields many additional benefits including better business alignment and communication with the board.
To learn more about cyber maturity and what level your own cybersecurity program is at, watch the latest ISACA webinar, 2021 Cybersecurity Through Cyber Maturity.