Rate yourself in these key areas of security. This is not a technical rating this is an evaluation of your ability to make decisions on your security posture within your own organization. What is your current security posture and where you need to make some changes or additions? The questions are not meant to be definitive; they are meant to get you thinking and move you forward towards a more secure future. So let’s begin.
- Do you currently have a defined security posture, that you can point to and show to your peers and subordinates?
- Do you have a complete security policy from end to end, encompassing all parts of your business?
- Do you have everything you connect with at home and at your work locked down? Meaning strong passwords and good physical security on everything removing untrusted users from your accounts?
- Have you audited your security relationship with your supply chain?
- Have you done a security audit within the last year?
- Have you done a penetration test not known to your IT department within the last 2 years?
- Is your IT department running all current security technology in their shop, with overlapping methods of security?
- Have you reviewed your current security posture with any type of trusted advisor outside of your own organization?
- Have you communicated your security posture with your subordinates within the last six months?
- Do you have an active annual testing practice for all people within your organization to ensure they are up to date on your security policies and procedures?
I structured these questions so they would all be yes or no answers. Yes, answers are the more secure answer. This is only a self-test and it is designed to illustrate where you are and where you need to be and how you rate overall. So how did you score? Add up all of your yeses and all of your negative responses.
Always Check Yourself
If you answered 9 to 10 yeses then you rate as pretty darn secure, you can always improve but your chances of getting into a major breach in the next three years, are very low. Congratulate yourself, you are a rare breed. You have probably saved yourself over $4 million dollars and headaches you cannot imagine.
Answers with 7 to 8 yeses then you are secure, and your chances of a breach in the next 3 years are higher but still unlikely. You should do well but should look for areas of improvement.
If you answered 5 to 6 yeses then you are in the danger zone, of getting breached in the next 3 years, and will probably have at least one major breach.
If you are below 5 yeses, then this should be a wakeup call. You are on the tracks and the train is headed right for you. You need to look at this quiz as a way to get your organization moving immediately toward safety.