Security Metrics

ISO 27004 is an international framework for organizations that have implemented ISO 27001 to help them evaluate the effectiveness and performance of their Information Security Management System (ISMS). The guidelines assist organizations in managing and improving their ISMS by specifying exactly what to monitor and measure, and how to do it effectively. The most recent version of the standard was published in 2016 and aligns with the security management requirements defined in the revised version of ISO/IEC 27001.

Organizations need to consider multiple factors while planning their investment in cybersecurity and constructing and maintaining a high-performing information management system. Some of these factors are:

Analyzing the data collected and preparing the audit report

In the final step, our engineers analyze all the data that they’ve collected during the previous steps and prepare a comprehensive audit report that includes:

A list of network errors and anomalies and the remediation steps to fix these
Recommended changes in device configuration settings to make the network setup more secure
An analysis of internal and external security compliance requirements and what more is needed for the organization to achieve compliance.

We recommend periodic audits and health checkups of your network infrastructure to ensure optimal performance, risk minimization and protection from threats.

Determining the organization’s current security level
Deciding what level of security is required and how to tell if it has been reached
Choosing reasonably-priced yet effective security services and IT assets
Predicting risks accurately
Assessing the maturity level of implemented controls
Determining if the existing security management system needs a change in direction

ISO 27004 addresses all of the above points and helps organizations measure the effectiveness of their ISMS, while also meeting ISO 27001’s compliance requirements.

The standard clearly describes how organizations implementing ISO 27001 should collect, classify and analyze data, how they can develop and implement ways to evaluate their security management system, and how the whole process should be documented.

Steps for measuring the effectiveness of ISO 27001 implementation

Decide what to measure

Start with making a list of all the systems and processes that need to be measured. In other words, define the scope of the activity. Ideally, only processes that are clearly defined and repeatable should be measured.
Define clear standards against which to measure processes

Define a clear standard or yardstick against which each item or process in scope must be measured.
Gather data

Collect data about the systems and processes in scope making sure your data collection methods are standardized and provide accurate results.
Analyze the data collected

Once you have all the data, look for output or performance indicators and find the gaps between current performance levels and the minimum acceptable performance standards you identified in Step 2.
Document the results

Create a final report representing the measurement results or metrics that can then be used by higher management to (1) understand the weaknesses in the organization’s existing ISMS and (2) plan how to make it more effective.

Why use ISO 27004 to measure ISMS performance?

Aligns seamlessly with ISO 27001 requirements
Gives results that are clear, based on standardized methods of measurement, and easy to grasp
Allows easy comparison between different organizations’ ISMS implementation
Makes information security processes more effective and streamlined
Provides clear performance indicators that help with improving systems and processes and closing performance gaps
Helps organizations plan their future investments in cybersecurity and understand how best to use their resources
Produces accurate, high quality security data and performance metrics
Helps improve documentation and reporting quality