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After auditing dozens of organizations over five years, I developed a rapid assessment framework called “Cyber-Pulse” to evaluate cybersecurity maturity efficiently.
The Cyber-Pulse Method: 5 Dimensions, 3 Questions Each
1. Governance
- Does leadership know the top 3 cyber risks?
- Is there a dedicated and tracked cybersecurity budget?
- Are cyber roles defined beyond IT?
2. Risk & Compliance
- Was the last risk assessment conducted within the last 12 months?
- Are regulatory requirements mapped?
- Are incidents systematically reviewed (RETEX)?
3. Technical Controls
- Is the attack surface known and controlled?
- Are privileged accesses logged and restricted?
- Are backups tested quarterly?
4. Human Factor
- Do employees know whom to contact in case of an incident?
- Does security awareness go beyond basic e-learning?
- Is there a formal offboarding process for access revocation?
5. Operational Resilience
- Is incident detection time measured?
- Is there a tested business continuity plan?
- Are critical vendors audited?
Scoring System
- 🔴 Not Managed (0 pts)
- 🟠 Partially Managed (1 pt)
- 🟢 Fully Managed (2 pts)
Interpretation
- 0-15 pts (Beginner): Focus on fundamentals.
- 16-25 pts (Intermediate): Structure the approach.
- 26-30 pts (Advanced): Optimize and innovate.
You Should Know: Practical Implementation
Linux Commands for Attack Surface Analysis
List open ports netstat -tuln ss -tuln Check running services systemctl list-units --type=service --state=running Analyze network connections lsof -i Check for unusual processes ps aux | grep -E "(httpd|apache|nginx|mysql|ssh|telnet)"
Windows Security Checks
List active network connections
Get-NetTCPConnection | Where-Object {$_.State -eq "Established"}
Check installed software
Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Select-Object Name, Version
Verify user privileges
net user
whoami /priv
Automating Backup Testing
Verify backup integrity (Linux) tar -tzf /backups/backup.tar.gz Test database backup restoration mysql -u root -p db_name < backup.sql
Privileged Access Monitoring
Audit sudo usage grep -i sudo /var/log/auth.log Check last logged-in users last
What Undercode Say
This framework provides a quick yet comprehensive way to assess cybersecurity maturity. Organizations scoring below 10 often lack governance, while those above 25 struggle with human factors.
Expected Output:
- A clear maturity score (0-30).
- Actionable insights for improvement.
- Prioritized next steps based on gaps.
Prediction:
As cyber threats evolve, simplified maturity assessments will become crucial for SMEs to quickly identify and mitigate risks before breaches occur.
Relevant URLs:
IT/Security Reporter URL:
Reported By: Elodie Le – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
