To a chief information officer (CIO), cybersecurity is a multifaceted concern. Not only could a breach that results in a loss of sensitive data or information be a legal or reputational nightmare for their organization, but it could also cost them (and others in the C-suite) their job.
Thus, the question CIOs today must ask—regularly and consistently—is whether they’re protecting their data and information appropriately and to the best of their ability. The best way to answer this question is by understanding your cybersecurity effectiveness in comparison to other organizations in your industry, or benchmarking. For example, if you can determine you’re underperforming in cybersecurity compared to your peers, you’ll have a solid indication that you’re facing more risk and liability than they are.
There are two traditional methods used to approach IT security benchmarks: formal benchmarking and informal benchmarking. Both are used frequently in today’s business landscape and have a number of benefits and risks.
Formal benchmarking takes place when you gather data on your peers and competitors, analyze that data, and use it to form an IT security benchmark. This can take place in-house or through a consulting firm working on your behalf.
Informal benchmarking takes place in a more casual setting and doesn’t necessarily involve hard and fast data. For example, you may be a part of a CIO online forum or a group that meets monthly to discuss cybersecurity best practices.
The two traditional methods used in for IT security benchmarks aren’t without their complications. The nature of cybersecurity is sensitive—so many companies are simply unwilling or unable to discuss it openly. And if you are able to gather benchmarking data, it’s difficult to know whether the particular controls your peer put in place were actually effective.
Because we know this is a critical topic for today’s CIO, we’ve tackled it head-on in our latest ebook. In this ebook, we walk through why cybersecurity benchmarking is difficult for the modern CIO, different methods of benchmarking you may be involved in (or may want to consider), and how BitSight Security Ratings can solve many benchmarking challenges. Download it today!
Tags: Benchmarking, BitSight Security Ratings, BitSight Technologies, CIO