Security assessments sound intimidating — and expensive. The big consulting firms charge six or seven figures for a comprehensive audit. But understanding your baseline security posture doesn't have to cost anything. You just need to know where to start.

The Big Five Frameworks

Most organizations measure their security against one or more of these frameworks. Each has a different focus, but they share common principles: identify risks, protect assets, detect threats, respond to incidents, and recover.

NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF)

Developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST CSF is the most widely adopted framework in the US. It's organized around five core functions: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover. It's flexible enough for organizations of any size.

ISO 27001

The international standard for information security management systems (ISMS). More prescriptive than NIST, it includes 114 controls organized into 14 domains. Many enterprises — especially in Europe — require ISO 27001 certification from their vendors.

CIS Controls

A prioritized list of 18 critical security controls. Practical and implementation-focused, making them ideal for organizations just starting their security journey. They answer: "If I can only do a few things, what should I do first?"

SOC 2

An auditing procedure evaluating organizations based on five trust criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. If you're a SaaS company, your customers will eventually ask for your SOC 2 report.

PCI-DSS

If your business handles credit card payments, PCI-DSS compliance is mandatory. It includes 12 requirements covering network security, access control, monitoring, and data protection.

How to Self-Assess

  1. Pick a framework. NIST CSF or CIS Controls are great starting points.
  2. Walk through each control. For each, ask: Do we do this? Partially? Not at all?
  3. Score yourself honestly. Overestimating your maturity helps no one.
  4. Prioritize gaps. Focus on controls that protect your most critical assets first.
  5. Document everything. Your assessment is only useful if it's actionable.

"The goal isn't to score 100%. The goal is to know where you stand and have a plan to improve."

Our Free Assessment Tool

We built a free security assessment tool that walks you through the major frameworks step by step. It runs entirely in your browser — no data leaves your machine. You get a scored report with specific recommendations.

Security isn't a destination — it's a process. Start where you are, document what you find, and improve iteratively.