The Importance of Outcome-Driven Cyber-Security Measurement
As human society goes digital, all aspects of life depend on networks, computer systems and devices. Governments, businesses, healthcare and critical infrastructure use them to function, but they can also be used as entry points for attackers who seek a variety of motives: financial gain, extortion, vandalism or political and social causes (such as hacktivism).
In some cases, the people behind cyberattacks aren’t even aware they are being attacked. That’s why security awareness training is crucial for all organizations. But, it’s not enough to prevent attacks from happening in the first place. Detection alone is no longer enough to mitigate sophisticated threats—attackers are getting faster and more stealthy.
That’s why cybersecurity solutions like Rapid7 and CrowdStrike are necessary to stop attacks in their tracks. These tools provide deeper visibility and insight into the whos, hows and whys of a cyberattack, helping to prevent attack progression and reduce the impact on your business.
No industry is immune to cyberattacks, and the complexities of protecting your organization’s data, assets and users are constantly evolving. To ensure your cybersecurity investments are effective, you need to measure and manage risk based on outcomes—not budgets or spending. The best way to do this is by adopting outcome-driven metrics that support daily decisions about security priorities and investment levels, rather than focusing on monetary representations of threat types or other competing metrics. Using these measures, you can assess consistency, adequacy and reasonableness of controls to ensure they meet your organizational needs.