How to Negotiate Cybersecurity Protection Levels With Your Executives?

In 2024, the average cost of a data breach reached $4.88 million, marking a 10% increase from the previous year. This escalating financial impact underscores the critical need for organizations to prioritize cybersecurity. However, securing executive buy-in for enhanced protection measures can be challenging. Many security leaders struggle to communicate cybersecurity needs to non-technical executives effectively. To bridge this gap, adopting outcome-driven metrics and protection-level agreements is essential.

In this blog, we’ll explore five steps to effectively negotiate cybersecurity protection levels with your organization’s executives, ensuring alignment between security initiatives and business objectives:

Step 1: Identify Outcome-Driven Metrics (ODMs)

ODMs translate complex cybersecurity concepts into clear, measurable outcomes. Instead of technical jargon like "firewall penetration rates," ODMs provide business-relevant indicators such as:

• Incident containment times
• Effectiveness of phishing training
• Coverage of endpoint protections
• OS patching cadence

Check out our article to learn more about Outcome-Driven Metrics.

Step 2: Align ODMs With a Familiar Framework

Choose a cybersecurity framework that is familiar to your executives, such as NIST CSF, ISO/IEC 27001, or CIS Controls. Aligning ODMs to these frameworks ensures that executives easily grasp their value and relevance, increasing the chances of approval and successful implementation.

Step 3: Develop Protection-Level Agreements (PLAs)

PLAs define explicit agreements between business executives and IT on cybersecurity protection levels linked to specific investments. Follow these guidelines for successful PLA development:

• Data-Driven Workshops: Clearly present ODMs, current performance, associated costs, and alternative investment scenarios.
• Voting and Discussion: Allow executives to express preferences individually, then facilitate discussions that converge on consensus-based PLAs.
• Transparency: Emphasize both direct financial investments and indirect costs like operational friction. Clarify the trade-offs explicitly.

Check out our article to learn more about Protection Level Agreements.

Step 4: Secure Executive Commitment

After finalizing PLAs, secure explicit verbal or written commitment from your executives. This formalizes their endorsement of the chosen cybersecurity strategy, ensuring accountability and organizational alignment.

Check out our article to learn more about executive roles in creating security culture.

Step 5: Demonstrate and Communicate Success

Once ODMs and PLAs are in place, consistently demonstrate progress to executives through regular, clear reports. Show incremental improvements in cybersecurity posture linked directly to agreed-upon investments, reinforcing executive confidence and ongoing support.

How Keepnet Helps with Protection-Level Agreements and Outcome-Driven Results

Keepnet helps organizations implement and manage ODMs and PLAs effectively through the Extended Human Risk Management Platform. Keepnet security awareness training ensures employees recognize and mitigate cyber threats proactively, significantly reducing human risk factors. Additionally, Keepnet’s advanced phishing simulations rigorously test and enhance employee preparedness, turning your workforce into your first line of cyber defense.

By leveraging these robust security training and phishing simulation solutions, organizations can demonstrate tangible cybersecurity improvements aligned with executive-level expectations and protection agreements.