If you have a good understanding of credit scores, you are more familiar with cybersecurity ratings than you realize. Credit scores are a convenient method to inform lenders about your creditworthiness, predicting your ability to repay a loan promptly. Likewise, cybersecurity ratings enable swift and straightforward communication of an organization’s cybersecurity status to internal teams and current or prospective third-party vendors.
Why You Need Cybersecurity Ratings
Gartner predicts that security ratings will become as significant as credit scores in evaluating risk for new and established business relationships in the digital era. It may not be long before you are as knowledgeable about your company’s security rating as you are your own credit score. The future of your business may rely on it.
Cybersecurity ratings are an invaluable tool for understanding the cybersecurity stance of any organization. They also provide an effective means of engaging in risk-based conversations with company leadership or with third parties. By using cybersecurity ratings, you can identify vulnerabilities and take proactive measures to reduce the risks of cyberattacks.
A high cybersecurity rating indicates that an organization has robust cybersecurity measures in place and is well-equipped to defend against cyber threats. On the other hand, a low rating may suggest that an organization is vulnerable to cyberattacks, making it a potential target for malicious actors. By paying attention to your organization’s security rating, you can ensure that you are taking the necessary steps to protect your company’s assets and reputation.
Cybersecurity Ratings For Primary Organizations & Vendors
Cybersecurity risk ratings are objective assessments of an organization’s cybersecurity performance, derived from a risk assessment. They aim to provide independent evaluations of security practices, including those of vendors who have access to sensitive information. As the number of third-party vendors increases, obtaining security ratings becomes crucial to prevent these relationships from turning into vulnerabilities. Gartner notes that managing third-party risks while maintaining business speed has become a critical challenge for organizational leaders. Obtaining security ratings for your organization and third-party vendors helps mitigate growing risks without hindering business.
Where Cybersecurity Rating Companies are Falling Short
Currently, there are several cybersecurity ratings companies on the market. However, businesses and third-party vendors who use cybersecurity ratings may still find themselves dealing with ratings that fail to provide an accurate reflection of their cybersecurity posture. Different cybersecurity ratings companies may deliver varying risk scores depending on the data selected for assessment because there is no universal scoring method for cyber risk ratings. Additionally, the existing processes to dispute ratings can be tedious and difficult to overturn, leaving companies feeling helpless if they feel their score is invalid.
Current cyber security rating companies rely heavily on open-sourced intelligence. This publicly available data can be limited in scope and may not be updated regularly. Assessing only open-sourced data can mark a company’s score with incomplete information, despite its value to scoring. Furthermore, cyber security ratings providers are not gathering input from the companies and vendors being rated, which prevents them from providing verifiable data that could improve their score. This approach has the potential to create ratings that inaccurately depict the true security posture of an organization.
Cybersecurity Rating with myCYPR
Current cyber security rating companies often inaccurately and incompletely assesses organizations and third-party vendors. However, myCYPR is changing the market with its comprehensive and customizable solution. myCYPR provides up to three tailored data sets for organizations of different sizes and budgets, unlike other security rating companies that rely only on one, open-source data set.
myCYPR lets organizations can choose from a range of data sets that include open-sourced intelligence or a highly detailed next-generation security assessment. Organizations can improve their understanding of their cybersecurity posture and make informed decisions about managing third-party risk with myCYPR’s flexibility.
As businesses continue to rely more heavily on cybersecurity ratings to ensure the safety of their data and operations, selecting the right provider is crucial. By partnering with myCYPR, organizations can be confident that they are receiving the most accurate and comprehensive risk assessment possible.
