A Guide to Cybersecurity Maturity Models

A cybersecurity maturity model is a strategic roadmap. It helps an organization measure its current security posture, identify gaps, and create a prioritized plan for improvement. Instead of guessing, you can use a model to justify investments and move your team from a reactive to a proactive stance.

Its fare to say the longer I have been doing cybersecurity the more I have become a big advocate for maturity models and frameworks and reference them often. While many models exist, they generally fall into two categories: broad, foundational frameworks and specialized, capability-focused models.

Foundational & Compliance Models

These models provide a high-level, organization-wide view of cybersecurity maturity.

NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF)

The NIST CSF is the most widely adopted foundational framework in the U.S. It's not a strict maturity model but is often used as one. It organizes security into five core functions:

• Identify: Understand organizational risk to systems, assets, data, and capabilities.
• Protect: Implement safeguards to ensure delivery of critical services.
• Detect: Develop activities to identify the occurrence of a cybersecurity event.
• Respond: Take appropriate action after a detected event.
• Recover: Plan for resilience and restore capabilities after an incident.

Maturity is measured using four "Implementation Tiers" (from Tier 1 "Partial" to Tier 4 "Adaptive"), allowing an organization to assess how it manages risk.

Take a look at the NIST Aligned CTEM discussion

Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC)

CMMC is a compliance-focused model required for organizations in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) supply chain. It maps security practices to three maturity levels, each with a different set of controls:

• Level 1 (Foundational): Basic cyber hygiene.
• Level 2 (Advanced): Aligns with NIST SP 800-171 controls.
• Level 3 (Expert): Highest level of security, involving advanced, proactive practices.

Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (C2M2)

Originally created for the energy sector, the C2M2 is now popular across many industries. It's excellent for its detailed, practical approach, breaking security down into 10 domains (e.g., Risk Management, Identity and Access Management, Threat and Vulnerability Management). It measures maturity across three levels (MIL1, MIL2, MIL3), making it easy to see progress in specific areas.

Specialized SOC & Detection Models

Beyond foundational frameworks, cybersecurity leaders must understand specialized progressions for critical capabilities.

Threat Hunting Maturity Model (HMM)

Developed by David Bianco, the HMM provides a roadmap for evolving SOC capabilities from reactive monitoring to proactive threat detection.

• HMM0 - Reactive Detection: Relying primarily on automated alerting tools (IDS, SIEM, antivirus) with no hunting capability.
• HMM1 - Minimal Hunting: Basic search capabilities using known indicators of compromise (IoCs).
• HMM2 - Procedural Hunting: Implementing hunting procedures developed by others with regular frequency. This is the most common level for active hunt programs.
• HMM3 - Innovative Hunting: Developing and publishing new hunting procedures using advanced analytics and data visualization.
• HMM4 - Automated Hunting: The pinnacle level where successful hunting processes become automated detection capabilities.

Detection Engineering Maturity Model (DEMM)

Elastic's Detection Engineering Maturity Model addresses common SOC challenges like alert fatigue, low detection accuracy, and inconsistent rule quality:

• Tier 1 - Basic: Manual detection rule creation with minimal automation and basic threat intelligence integration.
• Tier 2 - Developing: Structured detection rule management with improved quality assurance and initial automation workflows.
• Tier 3 - Advanced: Comprehensive detection engineering programs with robust testing, version control, and performance metrics.

SIEM platforms can be an important play for detection engineering teams something I covered in choosing a SIEM

How to Get Started

Using these models doesn't have to be complex. A practical approach involves three steps:

1. Assess Your Current State: Use the model's criteria to honestly benchmark where your organization stands today (e.g., "We are HMM1").
2. Define Your Target State: Decide what level is realistic and necessary for your organization's risk profile (e.g., "Our goal is HMM3 within 18 months").
3. Build Your Roadmap: Identify the gaps in people, processes, and technology needed to reach your target. This plan becomes your strategic roadmap and budget justification.