A Guide to Assessing Security Maturity

Cybersecurity is an unavoidable part of daily business operations for organizations of all sizes and industries. As reliance on information technology expands, so does an organization's exposure to malicious actors. Hackers with sufficient capability and motivation can exploit vulnerabilities to breach the confidentiality of sensitive data, damage the integrity of information systems, and disrupt the availability of business operations. A cybersecurity breach can cost an organization millions of dollars in end-user productivity loss, repair of IT infrastructure, reputation damage, system downtime, lawsuits, fines, and regulatory actions.
To better guard against cybersecurity threats, organizations must consider their cybersecurity program as a key component to their business strategy. Organizations should leverage one of many available cybersecurity frameworks to assess maturity, identify gaps, and develop strategies to mitigate and manage their risk in accordance with their risk tolerance. While impossible to completely eliminate the risk of cybersecurity threats, an effective cybersecurity framework provides organizations a roadmap for protecting their key assets.