Essential Eight Assessment Tools
Using a tool for Essential Eight assessments has several advantages over manual human assessment, and not just because it’s cost effective. The Australian Cyber Security Centre outlines five good reasons to use a tool:
- Efficiency: Automated tools can perform assessments much faster than humans, saving valuable time.
- Accuracy: Tools can reduce the risk of human error, ensuring more accurate and consistent results.
- Real-Time Monitoring: Tools can provide real-time monitoring and reporting, which is not feasible with manual assessments.
- Comprehensive Coverage: Tools can assess a wide range of systems and controls simultaneously, providing a more comprehensive view of an organization’s security posture.
- Standardisation: Tools follow standardized procedures for assessment, ensuring uniformity and comparability of results.
However, it’s important to note that tools should be used in conjunction with human judgement and expertise for the best results. While tools can provide valuable data and insights, human analysts are needed to interpret these findings and make strategic decisions. So, a combination of both can provide the most robust and effective cybersecurity assessment.
The Tool that Frame chooses to use for Essential Eight assessments
Introspectus is an Australian built tool that provides an independent monitoring capability for organisations to validate their security controls in line with the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s (ACSC) requirements. It’s designed to ensure that an organisation’s security controls are in place for the Essential Eight mitigations, and more importantly, that those controls are working.
Introspectus differentiates itself from other Essential Eight assessment tools in several ways:
Independent Monitoring: Introspectus provides an independent monitoring capability that is separate from the organization’s security enforcement products. This allows for an unbiased evaluation of the organization’s security controls.
Real-Time Reporting: Introspectus Assessor provides real-time Executive and Board-level reporting into your security posture measured against the Essential Eight Maturity Model. This enables organizations to have up-to-date insights into their cybersecurity posture.
Automated Testing: The Introspectus Assessor Agent is deployed to the devices across your organization and tests and reports on your current Essential Eight security maturity. This automation reduces the manual effort required for testing and assessment.
Compliance Focus: Introspectus Assessor is a security auditing tool that focuses specifically on an organization’s compliance with the ACSC’s Essential Eight. This focus ensures that the tool is tailored to the specific requirements of the Essential Eight.
These features make Introspectus a comprehensive and effective tool for organizations seeking to assess and improve their cybersecurity posture in line with the ACSC’s Essential Eight. By implementing the Essential Eight, organizations can significantly reduce their risk of compromise by a targeted attacker. Introspectus helps automate the testing of an organization’s Essential Eight maturity and supports ongoing management and governance of cybersecurity risks.