5 SecOps Metrics to track
Cybersecurity is a critical aspect of any organization’s operations. To ensure that your cybersecurity team is performing effectively, C-level executives typically measure and track their SecOps teams’ performance using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Here are some KPIs that you can use to measure the effectiveness of your cybersecurity team:
1 Number of security incidents resolved within a week: This KPI measures the ability of your cybersecurity team to quickly and effectively resolve security incidents. A high number of incidents resolved within a week shows that your team can respond quickly to threats and minimize their impact on your organization.
2 Percentage of employees who complete security awareness training: This KPI measures the effectiveness of your cybersecurity team’s efforts to educate and train employees on security best practices. A high percentage of employees who complete security awareness training shows that your team is effectively raising awareness and improving the overall security posture of your organization.
According to Survey: The State of Cybersecurity Training 2021 — TalentLMS Blog only 69% of respondents have received cybersecurity training from their employers, and yet, when we asked them
to take a basic quiz, 61% failed!
3 Average time to detect and respond to a security incident: This KPI measures the speed at which your cybersecurity team can detect and respond to security incidents. A low average time to detect and respond shows that your team can quickly find and mitigate threats, minimizing their impact on your organization.
Currently, detection of breach takes an average of 277 days (about 9 months). (Source: Cost of a data breach 2022 | IBM) Organizations using AI and automation had a 74-day shorter breach lifecycle and saved an average of USD 3 million more than those without.
4 Ageing of source IPs attacking the network: This KPI measures the effectiveness of your cybersecurity team’s efforts to block and prevent attacks EARLIER from known malicious IP addresses. The low ageing of source IPs attacking the network shows that your team is effectively blocking known threats and preventing them from compromising your network.
5 Average time to respond to abuse reports.
Network owners under attack often send email alerts to the source of the attacks. The email will be addressed to your network’s abuse contact when the source is traced to YOUR network. So how responsive your SecOPs team is can be measured by how fast they respond to such Abuse emails.
A sure sign of trouble is when your Abuse emailbox is bouncing due to “mailbox full” errors. This means no one is reading and processing them. ‘Out of office” comes to mind.
Regularly tracking these KPIs results in valuable insights into the performance of your cybersecurity team. The KPIs uncover ways you can increase your team’s effectiveness. It is also part of the NIST and ISO standards for network and log monitoring.
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