A concise overview of the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Essential Eight Maturity Model. Please scroll down to read in detail
The article provides a concise overview of the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Essential Eight Maturity Model and emphasizes its focus on technical controls to enhance cybersecurity. The Essential Eight Maturity Model categorizes security controls into three maturity levels (1, 2, and 3), indicating the degree of protection applied to business systems.
The baseline, Maturity Level 1, is highlighted as a crucial starting point for organizations, offering robust controls to mitigate the risk of system compromise. Following are the areas where the mitigation strategies that constitute the Essential Eight are applied: patch applications, patch operating systems, multi-factor authentication, restrict administrative privileges, application control, restrict Microsoft Office macros, user application hardening, and regular backups.
The recommended approach for small and medium-sized organizations, particularly those not hosting critical infrastructure or data, is to work towards achieving Maturity Level 1. The process involves planning, conducting a gap assessment, and closing identified gaps by implementing the specified technical controls.
The article concludes by inviting readers to reach out for assistance with IT security by emailing [email protected] or using the provided contact forms.
Overall, the article effectively communicates the importance of the Essential Eight Maturity Model in strengthening cybersecurity and encourages businesses to take proactive steps to enhance their cyber defense.
