How Your Security Strategy Can Benefit from CIS Benchmarks
Whether your cybersecurity program is successful at stopping interlopers is just as dependent on what you know as what you don’t know. And you just don’t know what you don’t know until a vulnerability that wasn’t even on your radar gets breached.
Because of this, many in both the public and private sectors are implementing CIS Benchmarks as the cornerstone of their cybersecurity program. The Center for Internet Security (CIS) brings leaders from around the world together to consolidate their knowledge, known vulnerabilities, thwarted attacks, and remediation approaches.
The result is consensus-driven series of best practices that is automation-ready, regularly updated to address new and emerging threats, and has a powerful track record of proven effectiveness.
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Find out if your operating environment is right
for CIS Benchmarks
Most people will not have any conflicts implementing the Benchmarks into their systems. Operating systems, including Linux and Windows are covered. Cloud platforms like AWS, Azure and GCP are compatible, as are most common network devices and software applications.
The program offers two levels of security—Level 1 for basic security and Level 2 for enhanced security. Most will choose Level 2 for the most comprehensive security. Both support NIST SP 800-53, Risk Management Framework (RMF) requirements and CORA requirements if those are mandated for your organization. If not, you can be confident that you’ll meet some of the most stringent requirements for cybersecurity in the world.
Because there are automation solutions that are proven to bring your systems into alignment with the Benchmarks, the process is doable with the staff you have on hand and can create an environment of continuous compliance within your organization. This relatively easy, industry agnostic solution to a difficult process is why organizations around the world trust CIS Benchmarks to mature, enhance and reduce risk throughout their cybersecurity programs.
Challenges and benefits of anchoring your cybersecurity program with the Benchmarks
Regardless of what efforts you’ve made to implement a cybersecurity program, you have no-doubt come across the same challenges. You don’t have enough manpower or resources to implement the ideal program. Maybe your environment is complex. There’s no tried-and-true roadmap to follow. Time is a factor, impacting your readiness to deploy new applications and systems. And keeping your solution updated is hard because of both the resource issues and because you may not know all the new vulnerabilities you need to harden around.
Meanwhile, hackers are having no issues finding new cracks to exploit. They use AI to help them. And if they get in, they can hold your data hostage, damaging system availability and your organization’s reputation. No wonder there is a mental health crisis in cybersecurity. The pressure is immense, you’re overworked and your professional reputation is on the line every time your network gets pinged.
Implementing the Benchmarks can be a challenge, too. But the difference between the Benchmarks and home-grown/other solutions is that they can be fully automated. One person—even a low-level professional—can manage the entire process and still have time for their other responsibilities. And, along the way, they will:
- Improve system hardening, reducing your attack surface, eliminating human error and addressing vulnerabilities that may not even be on your radar
- Reduce risk and exposure to bad actors, regardless of what tricks they have up their sleeves
- Contain breaches so that, if somehow somebody gets in, they won’t get far and the damage will be contained
- Simplify implementation and updates, creating as near to a set-it-and-forget-it cybersecurity program as you’re likely to find
- Save money, reducing effort by 90% and costs by 70%
- Support compliance requirements and audits like CORA, along with producing the documentation needed to demonstrate your efforts to the powers that be
- Simplify and enable continuous compliance, meaning your system is always protected from even the most recent threats
- Improve your security posture, aligning your program with some of the most secure programs in the world with less effort than you are using now
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See how automation can change your world in
100 days or less
SteelCloud is the primary provider of CIS Benchmarks automation and the only automation solution recommended in the CIS Cybermarket. Are there other ways to achieve full alignment with these best practices? Absolutely. There are downloadable tools and you can hire additional staff to implement the Benchmarks manually or with automated tools.
Are there better, faster, less expensive ways to implement the Benchmarks? No. Not even close, especially if you’d like a purpose-built, proven solution used by some of the most secure organizations in the world. SteelCloud’s ConfigOS is the only automation solution purpose built from the ground up to take you from zero to nearly impenetrable in 100 days or less.
SteelCloud provides assessments and gap analysis to help you along your journey. We provide ongoing monitoring and support. And, of course, we implement and provide white glove service for ConfigOS-driven automation of the Benchmarks (and STIGs, too, if you want DoD-level security.) Most of you will achieve full ROI from its first use.
Schedule a free, no-obligation demo today. Or download our highly detailed and nerdy eBook, 100 Days to CIS Benchmarks Implementation, that outlines the entire process, from making a case for implementation to enjoying steel-clad security in just 100 days. Once you see how easy and affordable automating the Benchmarks can be, the game will be changed for you forever.
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