Metrics: Practical ways to measure security success

Metrics: Practical ways to measure security success

This presentation by Pete Lindstrom, Research Director for Spire Security, was given at Information Security Decisions Spring 2005.


Today, security is more of an art form than scientific endeavor. We are stuck with perceptions of "good security" and "bad security" that revolve around possibility and paranoia rather than in-depth analysis. Meanwhile, security professionals need to operate as a business unit within an organization and produce "results" -- whatever they may mean.

Rather than trying to measure security in the abstract, Pete Lindstrom, Research Director for Spire Security, argues that security managers should first align security with business goals, and then measure progress toward those goals. In this presentation, Lindstrom discusses the practical approaches to meaningful security metrics, and shows how security managers can demonstrate risk reduction efficiency -- and effectiveness -- through goal-oriented metrics. You discover:

  • A framework for security metrics that you can employ right away
  • Insight into the types of metrics available to a variety of security practitioners
  • Practical ways to introduce metrics into your own organization

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metrics and measurement resource center


This was first published in May 2005

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