Board-Focused Security Metrics: 6 KPIs & How to Present Them

Your business is only as viable as your security posture. Now that most companies have adopted some form of hybrid work, any holes in their cybersecurity strategy are starting to show.

Digitized operations have created endless opportunities for cybercriminals for whom every organization is a potential target. CISOs and IT teams know this well, but the further removed you are from the frontlines, the easier it can be to ignore or overlook the risk.

If members of your board are still skeptical about investing more resources in cybersecurity, check your data against these top-line metrics to help you get your point across.

Why the Board Needs to be On Board

Long- and short-term business success depends on how cyber secure you are. Meaning, it isn’t enough to simply educate your staff on how not to fall prey to a phishing scam (although that’s certainly part of it!) You also need buy-in at the highest levels.

That typically means having cyber-advocates in the boardroom. How and what you communicate with them is essential in establishing and resourcing your cybersecurity plan.

Want to build a case for cyber support? Be sure to address:

1. Intrusion Attempts

Don’t just tell. Show. The number of detected threats that are regularly taking aim at your business won’t lie. Bonus points if you can demonstrate exactly which tools, policies, or procedures were responsible for stopping (or could have stopped) those threats from becoming a full-blown breach.

2. Security Progress

A good cybersecurity strategy is one that builds and improves over time. Illustrate how your incident response and remediation times have decreased since the plan’s implementation, even as the number and severity of threats have risen.

3. Patch Cadence

Ransomware attacks can devastate businesses that aren’t properly patched. Help the board see how quickly the team has been able to apply security patches once released or how immediately updates were applied to systems and devices susceptible to ransomware.

4. Data Access Levels

The focus here is on insider threats. Be it a mistake-prone new employee or a disgruntled former staff member, those with unrestricted data access represent real and present cyber dangers. Take the opportunity to reassure board members that these incidents and internal data losses are preventable with the right data access level controls.

5. Volume of Total Data

As Tech Target explains, “Reporting a volume metric to the board may seem unrelated to security – but it helps greatly in explaining network usage increases and discussions on budget allocations to protect traffic volume growth.”

6: Peer Comparisons

Don’t hesitate to show your board what the competition is doing (or spending) to stay safe. Certain markets face specific threats. It can be helpful to illustrate the average baseline for your industry while highlighting other organizations with the strongest perceived security posture.

Cybersecurity Reports are Not One-Size-Fits-All: The Importance of Impact Above Convenience

Vendor reports have their place, but you can’t expect your busy board members to make inferences based on these overly technical briefs alone. If you want to make sure you’re communicating what you need for that budget increase, new security tool, or additional hire, break down the impacts, including potential gains and losses, of each metric.

In addition to increasing the readability of your board reports, be sure to give enough additional context to paint an adequate picture of what’s at stake. It’s not just about adding more metrics. It’s about adding metrics that matter.

Wherever possible, demonstrate where your company’s growth goals and cybersecurity preparedness overlap. A business that quickly expands can be left vulnerable to attack without the right security parameters in place.

At the end of the day, truly resilient businesses understand that an investment in cyber strategy is an investment in the company’s longevity. Communicate the metrics above in a well-delivered fashion, and you’ll have the board on board in no time.

Content created and provided by ONEAFFINITI.