Maturity: Cyber readiness

Cyber readiness encapsulates an organisation's preparedness to manage and respond to cyber threats effectively. As cyber threats evolve in complexity and intensity, a robust cyber readiness strategy is crucial to protect critical data, ensure continuity of operations, and maintain compliance with regulatory standards.

This self-assessment is vital for organisations to gauge their level of preparedness across various dimensions of cyber readiness. It identifies strengths and vulnerabilities within their cyber practices, allowing for targeted improvements and enhanced overall security posture.

1. IT dependency and impact assessment

This section assesses how reliant an organisation is on IT systems, their preparedness for IT downtimes, and the potential business impact of significant downtime.

Understanding these factors is crucial for effective risk management and disaster recovery planning, ensuring that the business can continue to operate or quickly recover in the face of IT disruptions.

2. Cyber risk and data security

Evaluating the understanding of cyber risks, the protection of valuable data assets, and the management of data access controls are essential.

These practices help organisations protect their most critical information from unauthorised access and potential breaches, reducing the likelihood and impact of cyber incidents.

3. Regulatory compliance and incident response

This area reviews compliance with cybersecurity regulations, the existence and efficacy of incident response plans, and preparedness for data breaches outside of regular working hours.

Ensuring compliance and having a robust incident response strategy are fundamental to mitigating legal risks and managing cyber incidents effectively.

4. Fundamental cybersecurity practices

Assessing the use of anti-virus and anti-malware solutions, the management of software updates and patches, and the level of data encryption are fundamental cybersecurity practices.

These measures are the first line of defense against many forms of cyber threats and are critical for maintaining the security and integrity of IT systems.

5. Implementing advanced protection technologies

This section explores the implementation of Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) systems, the effectiveness of Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) and Network Detection and Response (NDR) tools, and the frequency of updating and testing Advanced Threat Protection solutions.

Advanced protection technologies are essential for detecting, responding to, and mitigating sophisticated cyber threats in real time, thus forming an integral part of a proactive cyber defense strategy.