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Why Perform A Cybersecurity Maturity Assessment?

Today, most businesses realize the importance of having a comprehensive cybersecurity program.

For any such business, ensuring that their cybersecurity program is effective and up-to-date is an important concern. From workforce training to standard protocols to technical measures, multiple factors need to be taken into account to gauge the overall readiness of an organization’s cybersecurity program. This ‘readiness’ is also referred to as cybersecurity maturity, it signifies the effectiveness of a firm’s cybersecurity defenses.

To stay ahead of cybercriminals, companies need to think on their feet and be proactive. They need to implement effective deterrence measures and remediate weaknesses before they can be exploited. To do this, critical insight about where they currently stand is very important. Conducting a cybersecurity maturity assessment provides firms with this insight; an in-depth understanding of your organization's cyber defenses.

Benefits of performing a cybersecurity maturity assessment:

1. Security posture:

Security posture refers to the collective state or capability of an organization’s cybersecurity program. It essentially signifies a company’s ability to prevent, mitigate and deal with cyber attacks. cybersecurity maturity assessment highlights the gaps and risks in your current program. It provides a clear view of the overall risk and level of maturity. It does so by assessing cybersecurity maturity in every domain. And, how these factors tie in together to form your overall cyber deterrence. A comprehensive understanding of your organization’s security posture is immensely beneficial in managing risk and cyber deterrence.

2. Cybersecurity strategy:

Apart from the insight into the current security posture, cybersecurity maturity assessments conducted at regular intervals can help a firm frame and adapt its long-term cybersecurity strategy. Changing needs and a dynamic environment mean that cybersecurity strategy needs to be tweaked accordingly. Areas of focus, risk factors and threat levels keep constantly shifting. To ensure the best results, companies must always prioritize their resources to where they are required the most. A cybersecurity maturity assessment can help lay out a clear roadmap and manage cybersecurity investments.

3. Regulatory compliance:

By law, organizations have to adhere to certain standards and regulations to ensure that the data they possess or handle is well-protected. Strict regulations are no longer only applicable to critical industries. Countries across the world have enacted laws and regulations such as the GDPR, APRA PCS and PDPA designed to safeguard data and privacy across domains and industry lines. A cybersecurity maturity assessment can help you gauge and ensure that your systems adhere to the required compliance measures.

4. Actual maturity and industry benchmarks:

On paper, a firm’s cybersecurity program may check all the required boxes. But, that may not always translate into real-world capacity. A cybersecurity maturity assessment helps you assess the actual level of a firm’s cybersecurity maturity against the expected level. Thus, helping companies understand and close the gap between their current cybersecurity maturity and the ideal cybersecurity maturity that needs to be achieved and maintained.

Additionally, the assessment will also compare your firm’s cybersecurity maturity against industry peers. Thus, providing a clear idea of the current industry trends in terms of cybersecurity preparedness.

5. Actionable input:

Robust, in-depth data is far more beneficial than a vaguely defined answer. Simply put, a firm’s cybersecurity program may range anywhere from being ineffective to highly effective but merely knowing the level of preparedness is not very advantageous. A cybersecurity maturity assessment not only provides a comprehensive view of the current cybersecurity program but also provides clear, actionable steps to ensure better overall security. It also helps a firm fine-tune its internal practices and procedures.

6. A better outlook:

A cybersecurity maturity assessment has a broader scope compared to a technical audit. Whereas a technical audit is limited to technical systems and measures, a cybersecurity maturity assessment presents a well-rounded view of people, processes and technologies. This presents a much more comprehensive picture of a firm’s cybersecurity program.

Cybersecurity maturity assessment is an invaluable tool to organizations in helping them optimize their cybersecurity program. Regularly conducting these assessments delivers crucial insights and also builds a tenacious security culture within your organization.

The assessment process can also be tailored to suit the unique needs of any firm in terms of organizational goals, risk tolerances and industry requirements. Cybersecurity maturity assessment provides firms with detailed analysis, actionable roadmap and strategic guidelines to strengthen their cybersecurity. The end result of a resilient cybersecurity program will help your organization build trust, leverage digital technologies with additional confidence and aid in pursuing its mission.

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