Cyber Security Is More Than Just Monitoring

Cyber security is a broad term that encompasses many aspects of protecting systems, networks, and data from cyber threats and attacks. It is not just about monitoring what is happening on the network or detecting intrusions and anomalies. Cyber security is also about preventing attacks from happening in the first place, and mitigating their impact when they do occur.

Monitoring is an important component of cyber security, but it is not sufficient by itself. Monitoring can help identify potential threats, vulnerabilities, and incidents, but it cannot stop them or fix them. Monitoring can also generate a lot of noise and false positives, which can overwhelm security teams and reduce their efficiency and effectiveness.

Cyber security requires a proactive and holistic approach that involves multiple layers of defense, such as:

- Implementing a robust cybersecurity strategy that aligns with the organization's goals, risks, and resources.

- Using strong passwords, updating software, thinking before clicking on suspicious links, and turning on multi-factor authentication.

- Using firewalls, anti-viruses, encryption, and other tools to protect the network perimeter and the data in transit and at rest.

- Educating and training employees and users on cyber hygiene and best practices.

- Developing and testing incident response and disaster recovery plans to ensure business continuity and resilience.

Cyber security is not a one-time activity or a single solution. It is a continuous process that requires constant vigilance, adaptation, and improvement. Cyber security is not monitoring; it is much more than that.

Improving your organization’s cybersecurity posture

Improving your organization's cybersecurity posture is a complex and ongoing process that requires a combination of technical, organizational, and human factors. Some of the steps you can take are:

- Conduct a cybersecurity risk assessment to identify your assets, threats, vulnerabilities, and controls. You can use various tools and frameworks to help you with this task, such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, the CISA Cybersecurity Services and Tools, or the RSI Security Cyber Risk Assessment Tools.

- Implement a cybersecurity strategy that aligns with your business objectives, risk appetite, and resources. Your strategy should include policies, procedures, roles, and responsibilities for cybersecurity across your organization. You should also establish metrics and indicators to measure and monitor your cybersecurity performance and progress.

- Use best practices and standards to protect your systems, networks, and data from cyberattacks. You should apply the foundational measures recommended by CISA, such as fixing known security flaws, using multifactor authentication, and halting bad practices. You should also use firewalls, antivirus software, encryption, and other tools to secure your network perimeter and data in transit and at rest .

- Educate and train your employees and users on cybersecurity awareness and best practices. You should provide regular and engaging training sessions on topics such as password management, phishing prevention, data protection, and incident reporting. You should also foster a culture of cybersecurity that encourages collaboration, communication, and accountability among your staff.

- Develop and test incident response and disaster recovery plans to ensure business continuity and resilience. You should prepare for different types of cyber incidents and scenarios, such as ransomware attacks, denial-of-service attacks, or data breaches. You should also define roles, responsibilities, processes, and resources for responding to and recovering from cyber incidents. You should test your plans regularly and update them as needed.

These are some of the steps you can take to improve your organization's cybersecurity posture. However, you should keep in mind that cybersecurity is not a one-time activity or a single solution. It is a continuous process that requires constant vigilance, adaptation, and improvement. Cybersecurity is not monitoring; it is much more than that.

Cybersecurity metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs)

There are many ways to measure the effectiveness of your cybersecurity program, depending on your goals, objectives, and resources. However, some of the common cybersecurity metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) that you can use are:

- Level of preparedness: This metric measures how well your organization is prepared to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats. It can include factors such as the availability and quality of cybersecurity policies, procedures, standards, and guidelines; the frequency and coverage of cybersecurity audits, assessments, and tests; the level of cybersecurity awareness and training among employees and users; and the alignment of cybersecurity strategy with business objectives.

- Unidentified devices on the internal network: This metric measures how many devices are connected to your internal network without proper authorization or identification. It can indicate potential security breaches or vulnerabilities that could compromise your network security. You should aim to minimize the number of unidentified devices on your network and have a process to identify and remove them as soon as possible.

- Intrusion attempts: This metric measures how many attempts have been made to breach your network or system security. It can include both successful and unsuccessful attacks, as well as the sources, methods, and targets of the attacks. You should monitor and analyze the intrusion attempts to identify the patterns, trends, and risks of cyberattacks. You should also have a system to alert you of any suspicious or malicious activity on your network.

- Data Loss Prevention Effectiveness: This metric measures how effective your data loss prevention (DLP) tools and policies are in preventing unauthorized access, disclosure, modification, or deletion of sensitive data. It can include factors such as the number and types of data breaches, the amount and value of data lost or compromised, the impact and cost of data breaches, and the compliance with data protection regulations. You should aim to improve your DLP effectiveness by implementing strong encryption, access control, backup, and recovery mechanisms for your data.

- Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF): This metric measures the average time between two consecutive failures or incidents in your system or network. It can indicate the reliability and availability of your system or network. You should aim to increase your MTBF by ensuring that your system or network is properly designed, configured, maintained, and updated.

- Mean Time to Detect (MTTD): This metric measures the average time it takes to detect a security breach or incident in your system or network. It can indicate the efficiency and effectiveness of your monitoring and detection capabilities. You should aim to decrease your MTTD by using advanced tools and techniques to identify anomalies, threats, and vulnerabilities in your system or network.

- Mean Time to Acknowledge (MTTA): This metric measures the average time it takes to acknowledge a security breach or incident in your system or network. It can indicate the responsiveness and accountability of your security team. You should aim to decrease your MTTA by having a clear process and protocol for reporting and escalating security incidents.

- Mean Time to Contain (MTTC): This metric measures the average time it takes to contain a security breach or incident in your system or network. It can indicate the effectiveness and efficiency of your incident response capabilities. You should aim to decrease your MTTC by having a well-defined incident response plan that outlines the roles, responsibilities, actions, and resources for containing security incidents.

These are some of the cybersecurity metrics and KPIs that you can use to measure the effectiveness of your cybersecurity program. However, you should keep in mind that these metrics are not exhaustive or definitive. You should choose the metrics that are relevant and meaningful for your specific context and goals. You should also review and update your metrics regularly to ensure that they reflect the current state and performance of your cybersecurity program.