Information security is a concept that is at the foundation of every company’s success and the achievement of enterprise goals. The very essence of information security is related to protecting what the company holds as important to its operational framework, basic infrastructure, as well as it's very existence. In the data-driven enterprise landscape that we are functioning in today, each and every company that hopes to succeed needs to have a robust data security plan in place, and highly efficient and effective information security professionals to see that all the essential components of the plan are implemented.
Just like every other enterprise concept, information security has a number of primary metrics that need to be fulfilled in order for the data security plan to succeed and the organization to protect its data and information assets. With the evolution of technology and technical concepts such as DevOps, as well as the increasing number of threads such as ransomware attacks, the teams responsible for information security need to become even more powerful and have stronger foresight. This is a complicated task for an organization that has not considered information security to be a primary responsibility in the past. For such an organization, the metrics pertaining to information security need to be clearly defined and stuck to.
Fortunately, all of the above-mentioned metrics and numbers can be attained with the right information security training and certifications pertaining to subjects such as data security and compliance, as well as the CompTIA Security course. To that end, following are some of the more important metrics related to Information Security that should be monitored and discussed with both the managers and the security board to create much better data security strategies in the future.
Judging by the Competition
The competitors are perhaps the best source of information when it comes to how the host company is performing in the enterprise landscape. Seeing as competition is very high in this day and age, each step taken by a rival company that has produced success for them can be used as a metric to compare their performance with that of the host company. In addition to that, the information security strategy that the other companies have adopted to ensure the protection of their enterprise data can also be used as a significant metric to measure how effective the host company’s own data security framework is.
Scores related to Compliance
The scores related to platform compliance or another very important metric when it comes to protecting both sensitive data and the applications as well as the platform that the company has adopted and functions in. Ensuring compliance can actually help to monitor various areas of interest with regards to information security, such as observing which access ports are left open to non-essential personnel, which devices are shared among the teams that don't usually need them, which network ports are left openly accessible to potentially threatening elements outside of the organization, and even which usage permissions are given indiscriminately to any and all members of the development and operations teams.
Response Timing
How quickly an organization responds to a potential threat is another metric that deals with how strong the information security framework is. If the teams are regularly provided with information security training as well as all the necessary tools and software that will enable them to protect enterprise data, they will be able to respond much quicker to any and all information security threats. Preventive measures aside, this is a very important metric to consider when crafting the next big data security strategy.
Training and development for better cybersecurity
The importance of training cannot be stressed upon enough. Training is the basis for success in each and every walk of life and this is no different for a company wishing to protect its personal interests as well as its sensitive data. The teams, as well as the individuals who are responsible for the latter task, should be given all the training and skill development that they need if the company is to succeed in all of its business goals.
Both the information security training necessity, as well as the aforementioned information security metrics, need to be a part of the data security strategy that the company forms. This is to ensure that even in this stiff competition and business adversity, the company can succeed despite all odds and in fact, protect its data from both rival firms as well as malicious elements that seek to derail it.