Blocking numerous threats is important. But the number of threats doesn't necessarily show the real business value of security. End customer executives want to know how security protects the company and how it affects the bottom line. This guide helps you, as your end customers’ advisor, to report on the KPIs that show the real business value of cybersecurity.
Here are six ways to frame security in terms of financial impact, operational stability, and business risk.
1. Show risk reduction in financial terms
Connecting security efforts directly to financial outcomes is one of the most effective ways to show value. Two key metrics help with this:
Annualised Loss Expectancy (ALE) puts a price tag on risk by estimating potential financial losses from specific threats over a year. If a data breach could cost your customer $500,000 and occurs once every five years on average, the ALE is $100,000.
Return on Security Investment (ROSI) proves what the business gets back for every dollar spent on security. Calculate the cost of potential losses prevented versus the investment made. This CheckPoint guide shows a possible way to calculate ROSI. A positive ROSI shows executives that security spending prevents larger financial hits down the line.
2. Highlight operational resilience
Downtime costs money and damages reputations. Strong security keeps operations running smoothly, which can be measured with these critical KPIs:
Mean Time to Detect (MTTD): The average time it takes teams to discover a security threat. A lower MTTD means intruders are spotted faster.
Mean Time to Respond (MTTR): How long it takes to contain and resolve a threat after detection.
3. Measure incident impact, not just frequency
The key to measuring impact is classifying incidents by their severity and business impact, not simply the number of incidents. Focus on showing a reduction in "material incidents", those that cause significant financial loss, disruption, or reputational damage. Track metrics like:
- Number of data breaches resulting in regulatory fines
- Number of critical system outages lasting more than 30 minutes
- Rate of high-severity incidents, to track its trend, i.e., down 40% on year-on-year
This approach shows executives that while monitoring might detect more threats overall, the ones that actually matter to the business are being prevented or minimised.
4. Report on compliance and audit results
Compliance is non-negotiable, making it a powerful metric for demonstrating security's value. Track KPIs such as:
- Success rate on security audits
- Number of regulatory fines or penalties
- Achieving certifications like ISO 27001 without major non-conformities
These metrics directly link security programmes to avoiding legal costs, penalties, and the reputational damage that comes with compliance failures.
5. Track security awareness improvements
Your customers' employees are their first line of defence. Measure the effectiveness of your customers’ security culture using phishing simulations. Proofpoint found that the most frequent type of attack on organisations was phishing, and cost them an average of $4.45 million. When running the simulation, track click-though rates on the emails to demonstrate how security awareness training is working. For example, showing that the click-through rate dropped from 25% to 5% provides a tangible metric for a stronger human firewall.
6. Monitor supply chain risk
A business's security is also affected by its suppliers and partners. Using security rating services is an effective way to measure and report on this risk. These services assess the security posture of third-party vendors, providing a simple score. You can show your customer how you've helped improve their suppliers' scores or guided them toward more secure partners.
Making it stick
The key to effective security reporting is framing everything in business outcomes. Instead of technical statistics, focus on answering three critical questions:
- How is the risk posture improving? Show measurable reductions in financial exposure and operational vulnerabilities.
- How much damage was avoided? Quantify the business impact of prevented incidents in terms of revenue, reputation, and regulatory compliance.
- Is your customer more resilient now? Demonstrate improved ability to detect, respond to, and recover from threats without business disruption.
Remember: executives don't need to understand the technical details of your security stack. They need to understand how it protects what matters most – their business, their customers, and their bottom line.
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