Aligned
Information security is aligned with the business and drives growth.
This is the “sweet spot” with information security, and your organization has arrived! You understand that information security is about using risk management to drive business, not trying to eliminate the risk altogether (which is impossible). Now the focus is on maintaining all that’s been accomplished and keeping your eye on the ball. SecurityStudio developed a simple, effective, and an inexpensive suite of risk management tools to suit the needs of mature organizations.
Simple, confident, and quantified risk management.
Operational
Information security is starting to drive business growth.
Your organization has matured to the point where you’re starting to understand and capitalize on benefits. Information security is becoming less of a cost center and more of a business driver. Quantification of information security risk in a simple, easy to understand manner may still be a struggle at times. SecurityStudio developed the S2Score as a simple and quantifiable information security risk metric that organizations can use to drive program growth.
Simple, confident, and quantified.
Developing
Starting to tap into what a good information security program can do.
Information security is important to your organization, but uncertainty might be getting in the way. Your focus should be evolving information security into a business driver, and this requires confidence in making sure you’re doing things right. Thousands of organizations have used SecurityStudio to manage information security using simple strategies that work.
Simple and confident.
Casual
Information security is an untapped growth opportunity.
Information security risk is a new concept for your organization, and this is a fresh opportunity to do things right. Information security must evolve and grow with your organization if you hope to tap into the benefits it can provide. SecurityStudio understands that starting a formal information security program can be confusing, so we made it simple.
Simple.
Information security is well-managed, aligned with the business, and treated like a business driver as much as it is a cost center.
Recommendations:
- Continue refinement and improvement of what you’ve built.
- Review other information security risk management methodologies for ideas.
Information security risk is managed, but there are questions remaining about whether investments are effective and/or to what extent.
Recommendations:
- Focus on information security risk measurement. Valid measurements are objective, consistent, and relevant.
- Perform a fundamental, measurable, and holistic information security risk assessment; see S2Score.
- Use your risk assessment to quantify and drive future information security investments.
Informal information security risk management is leading to uncertainty, unaccounted for risks, and unnecessary costs.
Recommendations:
- Define “information security” as managing risk to unauthorized disclosure, modification, and destruction of information using administrative, physical, and technical controls.
- Perform a fundamental, measurable, and holistic information security risk assessment based upon your definition (above).
- Use the risk assessment to direct future efforts.
Your inaction puts your business and customers at risk. The risk is unknown, but likely very significant.
Recommendations:
- Make a commitment to information security basics.
- Perform a fundamental, measurable, and holistic information security risk assessment.
Information security strategic planning is in alignment and/or integrated with business strategic planning.
Recommendations:
- Continue your current processes and seek opportunities for improvement.
- Review other methodologies for areas of improvement.
- SecurityStudio’s S2Org provides easy to use road mapping functionality.
- Share your approach with others.
The future state of your information security program is well defined and understood; however, uncertainty about quantifiable results remains.
Recommendations:
- Focus on valid information security risk measurement; objective criteria, relevant criteria, and consistent application.
- Implement a systematic approach; risk assessment, risk decision-making, and planning (timing, resources, and accountability).
- SecurityStudio’s S2Org provides easy to use road mapping functionality.
Information security strategy is not clear or formally agreed upon.
Recommendations:
- Formalize your information security strategic planning by starting with a fundamental, measurable, and holistic information security risk assessment.
- Make risk decisions (accept, mitigate, transfer, or avoid) and establish a timeline for when the decisions will be implemented.
- Use the measurements from the original assessment, combined with risk decision-making and timing to determine your future state.
There is no strategy for information security and any alignment with business objectives is almost accidental.
Recommendations:
- Use a fundamental, measurable, and holistic information security risk assessment to make risk decisions (accept, mitigate, transfer, or avoid).
- Determine the timing for all risk decisions that require action and measure their effect; the beginnings of an information security roadmap.
Information security strategy is well-defined with agreed-upon timelines.
Recommendations:
- Manage against the timelines that have been established and measure progress.
- Continue to focus on information security accomplishment feedback and improve where necessary.
- SecurityStudio’s S2Org provides easy to use road mapping functionality.
Management is actively involved in information security strategic planning and provides adequate direction.
Recommendations:
- Continue to evolve information security risk management functions; assessment, decision-making, and planning.
- Focus on better planning by establishing more definitive timelines.
- SecurityStudio’s S2Org provides easy to use road mapping functionality.
Management is involved in information security but hasn’t defined their expectations enough to drive a timeline.
Recommendations:
- Formalize the risk decision-making process by seeking specific “accept”, “mitigate”, “transfer”, or “avoid” decisions.
- SecurityStudio’s S2Org provides easy to use road mapping functionality.
- For all risk decisions, seek more direction about timing.
Management has not provided sufficient direction to determine the future of information security.
Recommendations:
- Perform a fundamental, measurable, and holistic information security risk assessment.
- Take the results of your information security risk assessment to management for risk decision-making.
- SecurityStudio’s S2Org provides easy to use road mapping functionality.
- Seek direction about when management’s risk decisions should be implemented.
The return on information security investment is well understood in terms of risk reduction and additional revenue.
Recommendations:
- Continue the process. You have reached information security “nirvana”.
- Look for ways to optimize what you’re already doing.
Management understands the value of information security investment, but cannot quantify how the spend can help the business be more productive.
Recommendations:
- Formalize the information security budgeting process to account for quantifiable risk reduction and improved business efficiency.
- Seek ways to leverage information security investments to attract more business.
Information security is a cost center with limited understanding of how it actually reduces risk or provides value to the organization
Recommendations:
- Formalize the information security budget by quantifying how information security investments result in risk reduction.
- If you are able, define how information security helps make the business more money.
Information security is a cost center, and the organization is not aware of any value provided.
Recommendations:
- Determine the best way to communicate value in terms of reduced risk and/or better business outcomes.
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