What are the best cybersecurity service delivery metrics?

1 Why metrics matter

Metrics are quantitative indicators that can help you track and evaluate your cybersecurity goals, processes, and outcomes. By measuring these aspects, you can identify your strengths and weaknesses, benchmark your performance against industry standards and best practices, and implement corrective actions and improvements. Metrics provide answers to questions such as how secure is your IT environment, how well are you managing cybersecurity risks and incidents, how satisfied are your customers and stakeholders with your cybersecurity services, and how productive and cost-effective are your cybersecurity resources and activities. Thus, metrics can help you make more informed decisions about your cybersecurity strategy.

2 Types of metrics

Different types of metrics can be used to measure various aspects of cybersecurity service delivery. Input metrics, for example, measure the resources and efforts that go into delivering cybersecurity services, such as budget, staff, tools, and training. Process metrics measure the efficiency and quality of the cybersecurity processes and activities, such as policies, procedures, audits, controls, and compliance. Output metrics measure the results and outcomes of the cybersecurity services, such as incidents, vulnerabilities, breaches, and remediation. Finally, outcome metrics measure the impact and value of the cybersecurity services on the business objectives and customer satisfaction, like revenue, reputation, retention, and loyalty.

3 Examples of metrics

When selecting metrics to measure your cybersecurity goals and needs, you can choose and customize the ones that are most suitable for your situation. Examples of input metrics include cybersecurity budget as a percentage of IT budget, number of cybersecurity staff per IT staff, cybersecurity training hours per staff, and number of cybersecurity tools and licenses. Process metrics could include percentage of IT assets covered by cybersecurity policies and controls, percentage of cybersecurity audits passed, mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR) to incidents, and percentage of incidents resolved within SLA. Output metrics measure the number and severity of incidents, vulnerabilities, and breaches, number and impact of data loss and downtime, number and cost of remediation actions, and percentage of incidents prevented or mitigated by cybersecurity services. Lastly, outcome metrics look at revenue loss or gain due to cybersecurity incidents, customer satisfaction and retention rate, cybersecurity maturity level, and cybersecurity return on investment (ROI).

4 How to use metrics

Metrics can be extremely useful if used correctly and consistently. To make the most of your cybersecurity service delivery, begin by defining your goals and objectives. Then, select relevant and meaningful metrics that are aligned with your objectives, accurate, reliable, easy to collect and analyze, and provide actionable insights. Collect data from various sources such as IT systems, tools, reports, surveys, and feedback. Utilize appropriate methods and tools to analyze and visualize the data. Communicate and report your metrics to relevant stakeholders like management, customers, and staff with clear language, charts, and dashboards. Finally, review and improve your metrics regularly to ensure they remain effective and relevant.