What it is
CIS Controls is a set of 18 prioritized security controls, maintained by the Center for Internet Security, built from real attack data, not academic theory. It's used as a worldwide reference precisely because it's practical: it tells you what to do first, instead of handing you a generic list with no order of priority.
Implementation groups
The 18 controls are organized into three levels (IG1, IG2, and IG3), from the basics every company should have, to the advanced tier meant for companies handling very sensitive data or likely to be a target of a directed attack. This lets you prioritize based on your company's actual size and risk, instead of trying to do everything at once.
How this becomes a practical assessment
A CIS v8 maturity assessment evaluates where your company stands across the 18 controls, and delivers a prioritized action plan, not just a theoretical diagnostic sitting in a drawer.
Why start from a framework instead of inventing your own list
Because the priority has already been tested against real incident data, and because it's a language auditors, investors, and enterprise clients already recognize, which speeds up any due diligence conversation.
Want to know where your company stands across the 18 controls?
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