Nuances of Maturity: Specifics and Details

The ‎Essential‏ ‎Eight ‎Maturity ‎Model ‎FAQ ‎provides‏ ‎comprehensive ‎guidance‏ ‎on‏ ‎implementing ‎and ‎understanding‏ ‎the ‎Essential‏ ‎Eight ‎strategies. ‎It ‎emphasizes‏ ‎a‏ ‎proactive, ‎risk-based‏ ‎approach ‎to‏ ‎cybersecurity, ‎reflecting ‎the ‎evolving ‎nature‏ ‎of‏ ‎cyber ‎threats‏ ‎and ‎the‏ ‎importance ‎of ‎maintaining ‎a ‎balanced‏ ‎and‏ ‎comprehensive‏ ‎cybersecurity ‎posture‏ ‎

General ‎Questions

📌 Essential‏ ‎Eight ‎Overview: The‏ ‎Essential‏ ‎Eight ‎consists‏ ‎of ‎eight ‎mitigation ‎strategies ‎recommended‏ ‎for ‎organizations‏ ‎to‏ ‎implement ‎as ‎a‏ ‎baseline ‎to‏ ‎protect ‎against ‎cyber ‎threats.‏ ‎These‏ ‎strategies ‎are‏ ‎application ‎control,‏ ‎patch ‎applications, ‎configure ‎Microsoft ‎Office‏ ‎macro‏ ‎settings, ‎user‏ ‎application ‎hardening,‏ ‎restrict ‎administrative ‎privileges, ‎patch ‎operating‏ ‎systems,‏ ‎multi-factor‏ ‎authentication, ‎and‏ ‎regular ‎backups.

📌 Purpose‏ ‎of ‎Implementing‏ ‎the‏ ‎Essential ‎Eight:‏ ‎Implementing ‎the ‎Essential ‎Eight ‎is‏ ‎seen ‎as‏ ‎a‏ ‎proactive ‎measure ‎that‏ ‎is ‎more‏ ‎cost-effective ‎in ‎terms ‎of‏ ‎time,‏ ‎money, ‎and‏ ‎effort ‎compared‏ ‎to ‎responding ‎to ‎a ‎large-scale‏ ‎cyber‏ ‎security ‎incident.

📌 Essential‏ ‎Eight ‎Maturity‏ ‎Model ‎(E8MM): ‎The ‎E8MM ‎assists‏ ‎organizations‏ ‎in‏ ‎implementing ‎the‏ ‎Essential ‎Eight‏ ‎in ‎a‏ ‎graduated‏ ‎manner ‎based‏ ‎on ‎different ‎levels ‎of ‎tradecraft‏ ‎and ‎targeting.‏ ‎

Updates‏ ‎to ‎the ‎Essential‏ ‎Eight ‎Maturity‏ ‎Model

📌 Reason ‎for ‎Updates: ‎The‏ ‎Australian‏ ‎Signals ‎Directorate‏ ‎(ASD) ‎updates‏ ‎the ‎E8MM ‎to ‎ensure ‎the‏ ‎advice‏ ‎remains ‎contemporary,‏ ‎fit ‎for‏ ‎purpose, ‎and ‎practical. ‎Updates ‎are‏ ‎based‏ ‎on‏ ‎evolving ‎malicious‏ ‎tradecraft, ‎cyber‏ ‎threat ‎intelligence,‏ ‎and‏ ‎feedback ‎from‏ ‎Essential ‎Eight ‎assessment ‎and ‎uplift‏ ‎activities.

📌 Recent ‎Updates:‏ ‎Recent‏ ‎updates ‎include ‎recommendations‏ ‎for ‎using‏ ‎an ‎automated ‎method ‎of‏ ‎asset‏ ‎discovery ‎at‏ ‎least ‎fortnightly‏ ‎and ‎ensuring ‎vulnerability ‎scanners ‎use‏ ‎an‏ ‎up-to-date ‎vulnerability‏ ‎database. ‎

Maturity‏ ‎Model ‎Updates ‎and ‎Implementation

📌 Redefinition ‎of‏ ‎Maturity‏ ‎Levels: The‏ ‎July ‎2021‏ ‎update ‎redefined‏ ‎the ‎number‏ ‎of‏ ‎maturity ‎levels‏ ‎and ‎moved ‎to ‎a ‎stronger‏ ‎risk-based ‎approach‏ ‎to‏ ‎implementation. ‎It ‎also‏ ‎reintroduced ‎Maturity‏ ‎Level ‎Zero ‎to ‎provide‏ ‎a‏ ‎broader ‎range‏ ‎of ‎maturity‏ ‎level ‎ratings.

📌 Risk-Based ‎Approach: ‎The ‎model‏ ‎now‏ ‎emphasizes ‎a‏ ‎risk-based ‎approach,‏ ‎where ‎circumstances ‎like ‎legacy ‎systems‏ ‎and‏ ‎technical‏ ‎debt ‎are‏ ‎considered. ‎Choosing‏ ‎not ‎to‏ ‎implement‏ ‎entire ‎mitigation‏ ‎strategies ‎where ‎technically ‎feasible ‎is‏ ‎generally ‎considered‏ ‎Maturity‏ ‎Level ‎Zero.

📌 Implementation ‎as‏ ‎a ‎Package:‏ ‎Organizations ‎are ‎advised ‎to‏ ‎achieve‏ ‎a ‎consistent‏ ‎maturity ‎level‏ ‎across ‎all ‎eight ‎mitigation ‎strategies‏ ‎before‏ ‎moving ‎to‏ ‎a ‎higher‏ ‎maturity ‎level. ‎This ‎approach ‎aims‏ ‎to‏ ‎provide‏ ‎a ‎more‏ ‎secure ‎baseline‏ ‎than ‎achieving‏ ‎higher‏ ‎maturity ‎levels‏ ‎in ‎a ‎few ‎strategies ‎to‏ ‎the ‎detriment‏ ‎of‏ ‎others.

Specific ‎Strategy ‎Updates

📌 Application‏ ‎Control ‎Changes:‏ ‎Additional ‎executable ‎content ‎types‏ ‎were‏ ‎introduced ‎for‏ ‎all ‎maturity‏ ‎levels, ‎and ‎Maturity ‎Level ‎One‏ ‎was‏ ‎updated ‎to‏ ‎focus ‎on‏ ‎using ‎file ‎system ‎access ‎permissions‏ ‎to‏ ‎prevent‏ ‎malware ‎execution