• Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Special Offers
Business Intelligence Info
  • Business Intelligence
    • BI News and Info
    • Big Data
    • Mobile and Cloud
    • Self-Service BI
  • CRM
    • CRM News and Info
    • InfusionSoft
    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM
    • NetSuite
    • OnContact
    • Salesforce
    • Workbooks
  • Data Mining
    • Pentaho
    • Sisense
    • Tableau
    • TIBCO Spotfire
  • Data Warehousing
    • DWH News and Info
    • IBM DB2
    • Microsoft SQL Server
    • Oracle
    • Teradata
  • Predictive Analytics
    • FICO
    • KNIME
    • Mathematica
    • Matlab
    • Minitab
    • RapidMiner
    • Revolution
    • SAP
    • SAS/SPSS
  • Humor

Cybersecurity – Is a Lack of Good Benchmarks Misleading Execs?

June 14, 2017   FICO

A recent survey carried out on our behalf by research company Ovum found that 48% of organizations think that in a year’s time, an assessment of their cybersecurity will show improvement. Only 3% think that their cybersecurity position will have worsened.

Most companies also think they are doing well compared to their competitors; a mere 6% think their cybersecurity is below average and 54% think they’re above average or a top performer. This is statistically unlikely.

It seems that many are taking an optimistic view of their cybersecurity. Could a lack of objective measurement be to blame?

Here’s what our survey participants said:

Cyber survey chart 4 Cybersecurity – Is a Lack of Good Benchmarks Misleading Execs?
It is encouraging to see that 94% carry out some form of assessment. However, consideration must be given as to how objective the methods used are.

38% of respondents say they self-assess based on their own criteria, this is the largest and possibly the most worrying category. When organizations decide for themselves what criteria to use, it is easy to lose objectivity.

28% use a third party service to assess. These external experts can provide valuable insight and advice; they are likely to be more objective than self-assessment.

However, not all third-party assessments are based on the same criteria. There is little standardization in how a result is produced, and so quality may be variable. Assessments by a third party are based on interpretation of what is needed by an assessor — this human factor introduces error and reduces objectivity.

28% use a software solution to assess their cybersecurity status. On the face of it this is the most objective way to measure an organization’s cybersecurity posture.

But all software solutions are the not the same. Some are based on a human interpretation of what good cybersecurity looks like, examining different factors and then adding or subtracting points to derive a score. True objectivity and an accurate reflection of risk can only come from an empirically derived score, such as the FICO Enterprise Security Score.

My colleague Doug Clare has written a blog looking at the six principles for cyber-risk scores. This is vital reading for any organization that is considering investing in a software solution to measure their risk.

 Cyber Risk Measurement Matters

It is increasingly important to benchmark cybersecurity performance. Accurate and easy-to-understand assessments of cybersecurity posture helps communicate to the business the priorities and importance of making the right decisions on what steps to take; it also helps show when improvement has happened.

It is also vital to demonstrate cybersecurity status to third parties. Many organizations look at the cybersecurity of their supply chain during vendor selection, while insurance underwriters need to accurately assess risk to determine premiums. Using a stable, objective and accepted method to assess cybersecurity posture can provide both a cost saving and a competitive advantage.

To learn more about our cybersecurity research, Ovum have produced a whitepaper: ‘What the C-Suite Needs to Know About Cyber-Readiness’ and there are also four e-books looking at the results for the countries we surveyed. They can all be downloaded from our cybersecurity survey page.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

FICO

Benchmarks, Cybersecurity, execs, Good, lack, Misleading
  • Recent Posts

    • Accelerate Your Data Strategies and Investments to Stay Competitive in the Banking Sector
    • SQL Server Security – Fixed server and database roles
    • Teradata Named a Leader in Cloud Data Warehouse Evaluation by Independent Research Firm
    • Derivative of a norm
    • TODAY’S OPEN THREAD
  • Categories

  • Archives

    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
© 2021 Business Intelligence Info
Power BI Training | G Com Solutions Limited