With today's technological advancements that make it possible for people to access computers and devices from anywhere in the world, cybersecurity is more important than ever. However, it's not enough for a business to develop and implement a security program. Nowadays, performance management is a critical component of any plan.

Cybersecurity performance management requires ongoing analysis to ensure that the programs are effective. After all, if bad actors are skirting around the security measures put in place, then you'll need to re-evaluate your methods and implement new safeguards to protect your business interests. 

This is where cybersecurity performance management comes into play. This is the process of evaluating how effective your security program is by examining cybersecurity metrics and overseeing it. From there, you can implement the safeguards you need to effectively keep bad actors from accessing your systems, while at the same time, meeting your organization's goals.

What Does Cybersecurity Performance Management Entail?

The primary goal of cybersecurity performance management is to align security with the organization's mission and strategic goals. 

The very first step is to assess the types of risks that your company faces. It's necessary to identify the vulnerabilities and threats, and then measure how those breaches could potentially impact your business. From there, you can set your security performance objectives and make sure they align with your business objectives. 

It doesn't stop there, though. It's critical to keep evaluating the system, through the identification of key performance and key risk indicators. The former measures how well the company is meeting its security objectives. The latter consists of metrics that measure a company's risk. 

Regular evaluation and reporting is the key to meeting and exceeding cybersecurity goals. This information can help provide peace of mind to company managers, and stakeholders, if applicable, that the measures in place are working. And, if it's discovered that there are out-of-date practices, or weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the system, the reports should cover how to promptly address the issues. 

Despite the importance of cybersecurity management, millions of companies still fail to implement it. In fact, by 2025, experts predict that human failure will be responsible for more than half of the cybersecurity incidents that occur. By establishing cybersecurity performance goals and staying on top of them, you can cut down on risks.

How Do You Assess or Measure the Performance of Your Cybersecurity?

There are several ways to assess or measure the performance of your cybersecurity framework:

  • Data Collection - Make it a point to collect data on the cybersecurity measures in place. This can include divesting information from audit reports, vulnerability scans, and intrusion detection systems. From there, you can typically locate a weakness that needs patching. 
  • Benchmarking - As with any key performance indicator, you'll want to compare your cybersecurity program to that of competitors in your industry. In doing so, you can discover areas that you might not have thought of. Sometimes, attending networking events can yield a wealth of information. 
  • Implement Technology - While technology is the reason you need cybersecurity measures in the first place, that doesn't mean you shouldn't harness it in a way that works for you. There are a variety of solutions on the market that can help streamline the monitoring, analyzing, and reporting of key metrics of your cybersecurity performance management. 
  • Involve Team Members - Cybersecurity isn't just a job for IT. Senior management, privacy officers, human resources, and managers from other departments should all have a hand in the security happenings of a company. After all, it's not just one area that hackers or bad actors target. They look for openings everywhere and spot those openings for all of the managers in the company. Additionally, all employees of a company, even part-timers, should undergo security training to learn how to avoid exposing the company or introducing risk factors.

Each of these methods should be harnessed to achieve the best outcome and to determine whether current measures are effective enough or if they need adjusting. A security rating system can help assess different risks such as email spoofing, data leaks, network security, and phishing attacks to name a few. There are even AI management platforms that can streamline the process.

How Does Staying on Top of Performance Management Strengthen My Cybersecurity?

The most important thing to know about cybersecurity performance management is that it's not simply a one-time deal. Because the landscape of technology is ever changing, there are always new risks that companies face. By staying on top of these threats—by attending seminars and reading security bulletins from intelligence agencies, for example—you'll be able to cut off threats before they have a chance to affect your business performance. 

By staying on top of your performance management, you're strengthening your company or organization as a whole and making it that much more difficult for hackers to gain access to your sensitive information. 

In doing so, you're solidifying your reputation with your customers and/or clients, because you're keeping not just your company information safe, but their sensitive data as well. If recent news reports are of any indication, no company or even governmental agency is immune to cybersecurity threats. It's the process of consistently evaluating your safeguards and measures and their effectiveness that's going to help you develop strategies to keep those who would do your company harm from ever gaining access.

That said, breaches do happen, despite a company's best efforts. The best response here is to identify the weakness that allowed the breach, then inform customers and/or clients immediately about it and the methods you're taking to ensure it doesn't happen again.

How Can I Strengthen My Cybersecurity With RiskRecon by Mastercard?

RiskRecon by Mastercard can help you strengthen your cybersecurity by doing a thorough analysis of your safeguards and recommending solutions to plug in any gaps that might exist. The analysis will assign a security rating and provide insights into areas where your security is weak and needs addressing. Try our 30-day-trial today to see how we can help you.