If there is one recurring topic within the field of technology over the past decade, it would be cybersecurity. Innumerable cyber-attacks have occurred over this period, reinforcing the need, and importance of performant cybersecurity practices. As spending in cybersecurity has exponentially grown, it’s time we focus our attention to how well it can perform from the lens of the business. This evaluation, however, can be a challenge to obtain and manage without automation. This is where high-level metrics are used; specifically, cyber performance.
Cyber Performance Overview
Cyber performance is a process that evaluates all cybersecurity programs for a company and improves the security of the data. It gives visualization of how well protected a business is from a top-level attack, breach, or threat. NIST describes the purpose of measuring performance in security as, “The purpose of measuring performance is to monitor the status of measured activities and facilitate improvement in those activities by applying corrective actions based on observed measurements“. These metrics are what help a company discover where they are most vulnerable and how they can improve the cyber programs.
The Value of Cyber Performance Management
Cyber performance is extremely valuable to understand because it can determine the future success of a business. A company can be internally damaged or lost from having a lack of security. In a report from BitSight, they found that 38% of companies go out of business due to low security measures. Security metrics are what can save a business from going under. Key pieces of a company such as budgeting, financial reports/transactions, and client information are left exposed to anyone attempting to access it. Adding cyber performance automatically increases the chances of the business’s survival. In the same report,, a few of the major statistics regarding how effective security management is, include the following:
- 52% Reduced overall risk
- 52% Improved ability to prevent breaches and 50% to detect them
- 82% Business continuity
- 82% Insures Employee and Customer privacy/safety
Since there are a wide variety of attacks, with some harder to detect than others, it can be tricky to prevent all of them. Especially when it comes to preventing one of the most challenging cyber-attacks, malware. According to a blog by NACD, “80 percent of companies surveyed experienced a cybersecurity incident in the past year, the most common being a malware attack”. Malicious software that appear to be harmless can damage a business without the company realizing. With this high number of cases, however, cyber performance has the ability to reduce malware attacks. In the same blog for NACD, security metrics were able to block the number of malware attacks to 50% as well as the same number blocking intrusions with firewalls. As cyber performance continues to evolve, even with the high number of cyber-attacks that is ongoing, the security metrics will be able to detect and prevent more attacks overtime based on this statistic.
Cyber Performance with CnSight
When choosing a cyber performance solution, it can be difficult to determine which one is the most efficient and the right one for your business. CnSight looks from within your organization, providing an executive-level cyber risk, effectiveness, and performance management view that works for organizations of all sizes. Our solution uses Cybersecurity Performance Indicators (CPI) to evaluate aspects of your cybersecurity program and their activity to determine which ones are strong or vulnerable. CnSight helps baseline and prioritize what is important to the business, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and risk appetite. Regardless of your current level of cybersecurity maturity, CnSight helps you chart a course to improving visibility and achieving better outcomes from your current investment in security.
