Cybersecurity Capability Assessments
for Higher Education
Quickly review your cybersecurity program and identify potential gaps
Want to simplify your cybersecurity capability assessment and strategy planning processes?
As a higher education technology leader, you know cybersecurity is critical to protecting your institution. However, keeping up with the latest trends in vendor solutions and fitting them into a holistic strategy can be daunting.
That’s where the CYBER HEAT MAP cybersecurity capability assessment comes in.
We built this assessment method to support CISO strategy coaching workshops. CYBER HEAT MAP is based on Chris Schreiber’s decades of campus and vendor information security leadership experience.
Using this tool helps quickly identify your current cybersecurity capabilities and operational maturity level. It also highlights potential technology gaps, saving you valuable time when prioritizing investment decisions.
The CYBER HEAT MAP tool can help you:
- SIMPLIFY your understanding of the cybersecurity capabilities needed to meet research contract and compliance requirements
- VISUALIZE your current cybersecurity capabilities and identify gaps against your desired maturity goals
- CLARIFY your strategy to prioritize improvement goals and meet compliance requirements while reducing risk to your institution
Feel reassured you understand how your cybersecurity solutions fit into a holistic resilience strategy
CYBER HEAT MAP summarizes the complex cybersecurity vendor landscape using a simple matrix format.
Along one axis, there are technical capabilities that a university should plan for in order to build a comprehensive cyber resilience strategy. Along the other axis, there are different levels of operational maturity, referred to as operational readiness levels.
This straightforward capability heat map helps you visualize both your current security capabilities and technology gaps that may leave you vulnerable to cyber threats.
By mapping results against maturity, the report reflects that cybersecurity improvement is a journey. Institutions should build a foundation around fundamental cybersecurity capabilities before investing in more advanced solutions that enable higher levels of operational readiness.
The CYBER HEAT MAP summary matrix helps visualize how your tools and capabilities support different levels of security operations as your team evolves and matures.
Be able to confidently answer when asked what other cybersecurity capabilities your institution should consider
Evaluate and prioritize technology investments
Using CYBER HEAT MAP helps evaluate your cybersecurity investments based on what tools your security team needs at each stage of operational readiness.
The tool is easy to use. After completing a simple survey, it maps your institution’s cybersecurity capabilities to show technology coverage at each stage of growth. It also highlights any areas of concern, such as tools that are deployed that support a higher operational readiness level, while there are gaps at lower readiness levels.
Using CYBER HEAT MAP helps identify what operational readiness level your current cybersecurity solutions can sustain. It also helps identify gaps that may hinder your team’s ability to support your security and risk management goals.
This knowledge helps prioritize where to invest scarce resources when considering new cybersecurity investments.
Plan for federal cybersecurity requirements
Universities must comply with many cybersecurity requirements. One of the more recent shifts is the need to protect sensitive research data by following NIST 800-171, “Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems and Organizations.” The Department of Education also urges institutions to protect student financial information using this standard.
If you subscribe to our CISO coaching services, CYBER HEAT MAP reports go even deeper to help evaluate gaps against these federal requirements. Our periodic strategy workshops include a gap analysis against the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and/or NIST 800-171.
Based on this gap analysis, we help you prioritize potential cybersecurity investment by considering both federal guidelines and your institution’s risk management goals.