Glossary definition: Essential 8 Maturity Model

Essential 8 Maturity: Achieving Cybersecurity Excellence

The Essential 8 Maturity Model is a framework for organizations to use to assess and measure their cybersecurity maturity. It is based on eight key areas of security that organizations should focus on in order to reduce the risk of a successful cyber attack. The eight areas are: Patch Management, Application Whitelisting, Controlled Use of Administrative Privileges, Secure Configuration, Account Monitoring and Control, Data Protection, Malware Defense, and Application Control. Each of these areas is broken down into specific security controls that organizations should implement in order to improve their cybersecurity posture. The model also provides guidance on how to measure the maturity of each of the areas, allowing organizations to track their progress over time. The Essential 8 Maturity Model enables organizations to develop an effective, comprehensive cybersecurity strategy and to prioritize their security investments.