Cyberattacks and hacking are new threats to both small and large enterprises. Many organizations have resisted adopting the most up-to-date security protocols and practices due to a lack of awareness. Even organizations that have implemented security measures are vulnerable to hacking attacks and other malicious cyber-attacks. These incidents can be attributed to the failure to recognize key performance indicators (KPIs), of security and programs. Organizations can achieve success in executing their security policies and strategies by identifying vital KPIs. It is crucial to identify KPIs in order to protect the system, network data, information, and other assets.
This article will walk you through the most important KPIs that can be used to measure the performance of security programs.
1. Cybersecurity Incidents and Responses: This is the top security KPI. It measures the number of security incidents reported in a given period and their consequences. It is important to track the success rate of responses to these incidents to help evaluate a security system. The security system performance metrics are valuable inputs such as the Mean time to detect and Mean time it takes to respond.
2. Vulnerability data: All data vulnerabilities, both internal and external, as well as their aging, can be used to help security professionals validate the effectiveness the imposed security system. To find security loopholes, it is important to analyze the severity, priority and criticality of the vulnerabilities.
3. Adherence to Security Policies & Compliance: Along with audit data pertaining the firewall, it is important to consider different security policies and levels. These actions can help identify areas for improvement and must be documented. Compliance with regulatory policies and legal requirements is essential to avoid any potential penalties, public fallouts, or loss of reputation.
4. Average Time and Cost to Scale are key indicators of security system performance. These include the time it takes to scale an incident and the downtime that occurs during it. This helps you track revenue or sales lost during an incident. Other key performance indicators include the cost of cyber investigation, staffing and resources used in locating the incidents, data restoration and malware removal.
5. Customer Impact Management: It is difficult to manage and measure the impact of data breaches on customers’ systems. This is one of the most important cybersecurity KPIs. It is essential to collect data about the impact and extent of the attack. After the security incident, customers’ issues should be addressed. Sub-KPIs related to the incident must also be created.
Summary
Aspiring security professionals and employees in security roles must be aware that the KPIs are used to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of implemented systems. These KPIs can also be used to identify the need for new systems and how to create them. You can learn more about cybersecurity, security tools, technologies, and best practices for fighting hacking incidents. Take a look at the security learning path, which is exclusively created by NetCom Learning security experts and security certified trainers.
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5 Cybersecurity KPIs That You Need to Know