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.

This blog post, inspired by research from Gartner on outcome-focused cybersecurity planning, explores five practical steps to help you negotiate cybersecurity protection levels with executives. The goal: align risk management efforts with business priorities and secure lasting leadership support.

Step 1: Identify Outcome-Driven Metrics (ODMs)

To gain executive support, cybersecurity goals must be expressed in terms that reflect business impact. Outcome-driven metrics help translate technical performance into results that matter to leadership.

Rather than focusing on technical details like firewall logs or threat signatures, use metrics that demonstrate how well protection efforts are working. For example:

• Time taken to contain or resolve incidents
• Phishing simulation effectiveness (e.g., reduced click rates)
• Coverage of endpoint protection across the organization
• Frequency and consistency of OS patching

These metrics create a clear connection between security operations and business priorities — making it easier for executives to see the value of investment and support protection goals.

Learn more in our full article on defining and applying outcome-driven metrics.

Step 2: Align ODMs With a Familiar Framework

Once you’ve defined your outcome-driven metrics, map them to a cybersecurity framework that your leadership already recognizes—such as NIST CSF, ISO/IEC 27001, or CIS Controls.

This connection helps position your metrics within a broader, trusted structure, making them easier to interpret and discuss at the executive level. Framing your goals in terms of familiar standards also reinforces that your security strategy aligns with industry best practices, not just internal opinions—strengthening your case for support and investment.

Step 3: Develop Protection-Level Agreements (PLAs)

Protection-Level Agreements (PLAs) serve as a mutual understanding between business leaders and cybersecurity teams on what level of protection is expected—along with the investment, resources, and effort required to achieve it.

To create an effective PLA:

• Translate metrics into real protection targets: Use outcome-driven metrics to define what success looks like—whether that’s cutting phishing click rates in half, increasing threat reporting, or improving training participation.
• Present multiple paths to improvement: Show different options for reaching these goals, each with estimated timelines, costs, and impact. This helps leadership weigh the trade-offs without needing deep technical knowledge.
• Build the agreement through dialogue: Use structured conversations to identify which protection levels align with business priorities. The goal is not to approve tools, but to agree on outcomes the organization can stand behind.

By turning cybersecurity goals into shared commitments, PLAs help drive alignment, increase accountability, and ensure both technical and executive teams are working toward the same level of risk reduction.

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

Step 4: Secure Executive Commitment

After defining protection goals, engage your executive team to confirm their support—not just in principle, but through active involvement. Ensure they clearly understand the expected outcomes, what it will take to achieve them, and how results will be tracked over time.

When executives champion the cybersecurity strategy, it signals to the entire organization that protection is a business priority—not just a technical concern. Their engagement helps secure the necessary resources, drive cross-functional alignment, and promote a culture of shared responsibility.

For more insights, explore our article on how leadership strengthens security culture and supports long-term resilience.

Step 5: Demonstrate and Communicate Success

With protection targets in motion, provide leadership with regular, data-driven updates that clearly show progress against the agreed outcomes. Focus on specific, measurable improvements—such as reduced phishing simulation click rates, faster incident handling, or increased reporting of suspicious activity.

Translate these results into business impact. Highlight how improved performance supports risk reduction, operational continuity, or cost savings—making the value of cybersecurity visible beyond technical metrics.

Clear, outcome-focused communication reinforces executive confidence and helps sustain long-term support for your security initiatives.

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.