Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

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Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

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BALDRIGE
CYBERSECURITY
EXCELLENCE BUILDER
Key questions for improving your organization’s
cybersecurity performance

v1.1

2019

#BaldrigeCyber
www.nist.gov/baldrige

Improve Your Performance
The Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder self-assessment helps you understand and improve what is critical to
your organization’s cybersecurity risk management. It is a voluntary self-assessment based on the more detailed
Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, managed by NIST’s Information Technology Laboratory,
Applied Cybersecurity Division, and the Baldrige Excellence Framework, compiled by the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program at NIST.

Organizational Context
Understand the business factors and organiStrategy
zational priorities underlying your cyberseCreate clear strategic prior- curity risk management.
ities for your cybersecurity
Workforce
program.
Engage and empower your entire
workforce to achieve your cyberLeadership
security-related objectives.
Understand how your leaders’
actions guide and sustain
your cybersecurity
risk management.

Customers
Understand and exceed
the cybersecurity-related requirements and expectations of
your customers.
Measurement, Analysis, and
Knowledge Management
Through measurement and analysis,
align cybersecurity policies and
operations with your objectives.
Manage your organization’s
cybersecurity-related knowledge.

RESULTS
Use data and information
to evaluate and improve
cybersecurity-related policies
and operations in alignment
with your strategy.

Operations
Design, manage, and improve your cybersecurity
operations for effectiveness
and efficiency.

For more information on the Baldrige Cybersecurity Initiative:
www.nist.gov/baldrige/products-services/baldrige-cybersecurity-initiative
The Baldrige Program thanks the Baldrige Foundation
for supporting the program’s mission and the following
organizations for supporting the publication of this booklet.

Association for Executives in
Healthcare Information Security

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Contents
2

Introduction

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

Organizational Context

Leadership

Strategy

Customers

Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management

Workforce

Operations

Results

Assessing Your Responses

Assessment Rubric

Process (Categories 1–6)

Results (Category 7)

Glossary of Key Terms

User Tools

Benefts of Using the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder, by Organizational Role

Linkages in the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

Crosswalk: Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder and Cybersecurity Framework

Self-Analysis Worksheet

On the Web
For spreadsheet versions of the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder questions and Self-Analysis Worksheet,
see www.nist.gov/baldrige/products-services/baldrige-cybersecurity-initiative.

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Introduction

What is the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder?
The Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder (BCEB) is a voluntary self-assessment tool that enables organizations to
better understand the effectiveness of their cybersecurity risk management efforts. It helps your organization identify
strengths and opportunities for improvement in managing cybersecurity risk based on your organization’s mission,
needs, and objectives.
The BCEB combines concepts in the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (Cybersecurity
Framework; www.nist.gov/cyberframework) and the Baldrige Excellence Framework (www.nist.gov/baldrige/publications).
Like those two sources, it is not a one-size-fts-all approach. It is adaptable and scalable to your organization’s needs,
goals, capabilities, and environment. It does not prescribe how you should structure your organization’s cybersecurity
policies and operations. Through interrelated sets of open-ended questions, it encourages you to use the approaches
that best ft your organization. Version 1.1 of the BCEB refects the 2019–2020 Baldrige Excellence Framework and the
Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, Version 1.1.
Using this self-assessment, you can
•

determine cybersecurity-related activities that are important to your business strategy and critical service delivery;

•

prioritize your investments in managing cybersecurity risk;

•

determine how best to enable your workforce, customers, suppliers, partners, and collaborators to be riskconscious and security-aware, and to fulfll their cybersecurity roles and responsibilities;

•

assess the effectiveness and effciency of your use of cybersecurity standards, guidelines, and practices;

•

assess the cybersecurity results you achieve; and

•

identify strengths to leverage and priorities for improvement.

What is the relationship between the BCEB and the Framework for
Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity?
The BCEB blends the organizational performance and systems perspectives of the Baldrige Excellence Framework with
the holistic, enterprise-based approach of the Cybersecurity Framework.
Baldrige
Excellence
Framework

Framework for
Improving Critical
Infrastructure
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity Standards,
Guidelines, Practices,
and References

Baldrige
Cybersecurity
Excellence
Builder

Leading Edge of
Validated Leadership
and Performance
Practice

Self-Assessment
Tool

The Cybersecurity Framework assembles and organizes standards, guidelines, and practices that are working effectively
in many organizations. It also includes informative references that are common across critical infrastructure sectors.
In the Baldrige approach as applied to cybersecurity, an organization manages all areas affected by cybersecurity
as a unifed whole. As shown in the diagram on the inside front cover, the system consists of your cybersecurityrelated approaches in the areas of leadership, strategy, customers, workforce, and operations, as well as the results
you achieve. (As shown in the diagram, the Baldrige framework is based on a set of core values and concepts. For
descriptions of these, see the Baldrige framework booklet, www.nist.gov/baldrige/publications.) The system foundation

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

is measurement, analysis, and knowledge management. The background for all of these components is the Organizational Context, in which you defne your organization’s distinctive characteristics and situation.
The BCEB incorporates the content outlined in the Cybersecurity Framework into those system elements. See the
User Tools section for a crosswalk showing how the items in the BCEB relate to the elements of the Cybersecurity
Framework.

Who in an organization should use the BCEB?
The BCEB is intended for use by the leaders and managers in your organization who are concerned with and responsible for mission-driven, cybersecurity-related policy and operations. These leaders and managers may include senior
leaders, chief security offcers, and chief information offcers, among others. For these and other roles and functions,
and the benefts to each of using the BCEB, see the User Tools section.

Why does the BCEB include questions about my organization as a
whole? Why doesn’t it ask only about my cybersecurity policies
and operations?
Because cybersecurity is an organization-wide concern, the BCEB includes questions about
•

your organizational and your cybersecurity leaders,

•

cybersecurity in the context of your organization’s overall strategy,

•

the cybersecurity needs and expectations of internal and external customers,

•

the measurement of cybersecurity performance in the context of overall performance measurement,

•

your overall workforce and your cybersecurity workforce,

•

your overall and your cybersecurity suppliers and partners,

•

your cybersecurity operations and their alignment with overall operations, and

•

results related to each of these areas.

The BCEB leads to you understand your organization’s cybersecurity policies and operations in the context of its
unique characteristics, strategic situation, and cybersecurity risks.

How can my organization use the BCEB to assess and improve its
management of cybersecurity risks?
The BCEB asks you to describe your Organizational Context, defne your processes, and report your results. As you
do so, notice the linkages among these elements (e.g., describing your workforce in C.1a[3], detailing your workforce
processes for in category 5, and stating your workforce results in item 7.3). The linkages among these categories help
you align your processes and results with your unique organizational characteristics and situation. For examples of
these linkages, see page 31.

1. Scope
The BCEB is most valuable as a voluntary assessment of an entire organization’s cybersecurity risk management
program, but it is also useful in assessing a subunit, multiple subunits, or parts of an organization.

2. Organizational Context
The Organizational Context section is critically important for the following reasons:
•

It helps you identify gaps in key information and focus on key cybersecurity performance requirements and
results.

•

You can use it as an initial self-assessment. If you identify topics for which conficting, little, or no information
is available, you can use these topics for action planning.

•

It sets the context for understanding your organization’s cybersecurity-related needs and responding to the
questions in the rest of the BCEB.

Introduction

3. Process Questions (Categories 1–6)
Many of the questions in these 12 items begin with “how.”
In answering the questions, give information on your
organization’s key cybersecurity-related processes:
•

Approach: How do you accomplish your
organization’s cybersecurity-related work? How
systematic are the
key processes you use?

•

Deployment: How consistently are your key
cybersecurity-related processes used in relevant
parts of your organization?

•

Learning: How well have you evaluated and
improved your key cybersecurity-related
processes? How well have improvements been
shared within your organization?

•

Integration: How well do your cybersecurityrelated processes address your current and future
organizational needs?

Decide on
the scope.
Measure and
evaluate your
progress.

Complete the
Organizational
Context.

Prioritize your
actions.
Develop an
action plan.

Answer the
process questions
(categories 1–6).

Assess your
answers using
the rubric.

Answer the
results questions
(category 7).

4. Results Questions (Category 7)
For these fve items, give information on the cybersecurity-related results that are the most important to your organization’s success:
•

Levels: For your key measures of the effectiveness and effciency of cybersecurity-related processes, what is your
current performance?

•

Trends: Are the results improving, staying the same, or getting worse?

•

Comparisons: How does your performance compare with that of other organizations and competitors, or
with benchmarks?

•

Integration: Are you tracking cybersecurity-related results that are important to your organization and consider
the expectations and needs of your key stakeholders? Are you using the results in decision making?

5. Assess Your Responses
Using the process and results assessment rubrics on pages 26 and 27, assign a descriptor (Reactive, Early, Developing,
Mature, Leading, or Exemplary) to your responses to each item.

6. Prioritize Your Actions; Develop an Action Plan
Then determine the importance of areas of strength and opportunities for improvement. Celebrate the strengths of
your cybersecurity risk management program, and build on them to improve what you do well. Sharing what you do
well with the rest of your organization can speed improvement. Also, prioritize your opportunities for improving your
cybersecurity-related processes and results; you cannot do everything at once. Think about what is most important
for your organization as a whole at this time, balancing the differing needs and expectations of your stakeholders and
your expected results, and decide what to work on frst.

7. Measure and Evaluate Your Progress
As you respond to the questions and gauge your responses against the rubric, you will begin to identify strengths and
gaps—frst within the categories and then among them. The coordination of key processes, and linkages between your
processes and your results, can lead to cycles of improvement. As you continue, you will begin to defne the best ways
to build on your strengths, close gaps, and innovate.
You might also consult relevant informative references listed in the Cybersecurity Framework. These specifc sections
of standards, guidelines, and practices common among critical infrastructure sectors illustrate methods to achieve the
outcomes associated with cybersecurity functions.

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

In addition, completing this voluntary self-assessment might serve as a frst step in carrying out these suggestions in
the Cybersecurity Framework, section 3.0 (“How to Use the Framework”):
•

3.1 Basic Review of Cybersecurity Practices: Use your answers to the self-assessment questions to compare your
current cybersecurity-related activities with those outlined in the Cybersecurity Framework Core.

•

3.2 Establishing or Improving a Cybersecurity Program: Use your answers to the self-assessment questions to
inform the seven steps outlined in that subsection.

•

3.3 Communicating Cybersecurity Requirements with Stakeholders: Your answers to the questions might inform
the creation of a Target Profle.

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder Category Structure
Category title

·······
■
3

Why is this category
important to
cybersecurity?

Customers

Cybersecurity risk can harm your ability to gain and retain customers, who are the ultimate judges of the quality of your
organization’s products and services. Thus, your organization must consider all cybersecurity-related policies, operations, and
modes of access and support that contribute value to your customers.

What should my
organization measure
◄······································
for this category?
3.1 Customer Expectations: How do you listen to your customers and determine their
What to measure? See item 7.2, Customer Results.

Item title

·········►

Key questions
to answer

cybersecurity-related satisfaction?

(1) HOW do you listen to, interact with, and observe internal and external CUSTOMERS to obtain actionable information
on their CYBERSECURITY-related requirements and expectations?
(2) HOW do you determine internal and external CUSTOMERS’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction with your organization’s
CYBERSECURITY policies and operations?
(3) HOW do you determine the impact of your organization’s CYBERSECURITY policies and operations on CUSTOMER
ENGAGEMENT?
(4) HOW do you use VOICE-OF-THE-CUSTOMER data and information to support fact-based decision making on
CYBERSECURITY policies and operations?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Explanatory
notes

Notes
3.1. In gathering customer expectations, you might gather
and integrate various types of customer data, such as survey
data, focus group fndings, data from social media, and
complaint data.
Q2. You might use any or all of the following to determine
customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction: surveys, formal and
informal feedback, customer account histories, complaints,
customer referral rates, and transaction completion rates.

Introduction

Q3. Customer engagement is your customers’ investment in
or commitment to your brand and product/service offerings.
It is based on your ongoing ability to serve their needs and
build relationships so that they will continue using your
products. Characteristics of engaged customers include
retention, brand loyalty, willingness to make an effort to
do business—and increase their business—with you, and
willingness to actively advocate for and recommend your
brand and product/service offerings.

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Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

C Organizational Context
The Organizational Context is a snapshot of your organization and its strategic environment. With a clear understanding of
your organization, why it exists, where your senior leaders want to take it in the future, who your key stakeholders are, what
their expectations are, and what resources support critical functions, you will be better able to make and implement strategic
decisions about cybersecurity risks, policies, and operations.

C.1 Organizational Description: What are your key organizational characteristics?
a. Organizational Environment
(1) Product Offerings What are your organization’s main product and service offerings? What is the relative
importance of each to your success? What mechanisms do you use to deliver your products and services?
(2) MISSION, VISION, and VALUES What are your stated MISSION, VISION, and VALUES? Other than VALUES, what
are the characteristics of your organizational culture, if any? What are your organization’s CORE COMPETENCIES,
and what is their relationship to your MISSION?
(3) WORKFORCE Profile What is your overall WORKFORCE profle? What is your CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE profle?
What recent changes have you experienced in the composition of your overall and your CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE or in your needs for them? What are
• your overall WORKFORCE and CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE employee groups and SEGMENTS; and
• the KEY drivers that engage them in accomplishing their work, including CYBERSECURITY-related work, and in
achieving your MISSION and VISION?
(4) Assets What are your organization’s major physical and virtual assets, including its data, knowledge, devices,
systems, and facilities? What are your priorities for protecting these assets, based on their criticality and business
VALUE?
(5) Legal and Regulatory Requirements What are the KEY laws and regulations relating to CYBERSECURITY in your
industry? Relating to CYBERSECURITY, what are the KEY applicable
• safety regulations;
• accreditation, certifcation, or registration requirements;
• industry standards; and
• environmental, fnancial, and product regulations?
b. Organizational Relationships
(1) Organizational Structure What are your overall organizational leadership structure and GOVERNANCE
structure? What are the reporting relationships among your GOVERNANCE board, SENIOR LEADERS, and parent
organization, as appropriate? What is the structure of your CYBERSECURITY operations? What are the reporting
relationships among your SENIOR LEADERS and your CYBERSECURITY leaders and managers?
(2) CUSTOMERS and STAKEHOLDERS What are your KEY internal and external CUSTOMER groups and STAKEHOLDER
groups, as appropriate? What are their KEY requirements and expectations for your CYBERSECURITY policies and
operations, including any differences among these groups?
(3) Suppliers, PARTNERS, and COLLABORATORS What are your KEY types of suppliers, PARTNERS, and COLLABORATORS for your organization as a whole and for your CYBERSECURITY operations? What role do they play in producing and delivering your KEY products and services and your CUSTOMER support services? What roles do they play
in your CYBERSECURITY operations? What are your KEY CYBERSECURITY requirements for suppliers? What are your
KEY supply-network requirements?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

Notes
C.1a(2). Core competencies are your organization’s areas
of greatest expertise. They are those strategically important,
possibly specialized capabilities that are central to fulflling
your mission or that provide an advantage in your marketplace or service environment.Your core competencies should
inform the decisions you make about cybersecurity roles,
responsibilities, and risks.
C.1a(3). “Workforce” refers to the people actively involved
in accomplishing your organization’s work. It includes
permanent, temporary, and part-time personnel, as well as
any contract employees you supervise.You should describe
your suppliers in response to C.1b(3).
C.1a(3). Workforce or employee groups and segments might
be based on type of employment or contract-reporting
relationship, location (including telework), tour of duty, work

environment, or other factors.Your cybersecurity workforce
profle might include information on education, tenure,
certifcations, and other key characteristics. This information
will help you establish and manage cybersecurity roles and
responsibilities for the entire workforce.
C.1a(4). Assets include physical devices and systems, software platforms and applications, operational technologies,
intellectual property, organizational communication and
data fows, external information systems (including “cloud
services”), and data and information.Your responses should
include those high-value assets that support the strategically
important products and services you describe in C.1a(1).
C.1b(2). Customer groups might be based on common
expectations, behaviors, preferences, or profles.

C.2 Organizational Situation: What is your organization’s strategic situation?
a. Competitive Environment
(1) Competitive Position What are your relative size and growth in your industry or the markets you serve? How
many and what types of competitors do you have?
(2) Competitiveness Changes

What KEY changes, if any, are affecting your competitive situation?

(3) Comparative Data What KEY sources of comparative and competitive CYBERSECURITY data are available from
within your industry? What KEY sources of comparative CYBERSECURITY data are available from outside your industry? What limitations, if any, affect your ability to obtain or use these data?
b. Strategic Context
What are your KEY STRATEGIC CHALLENGES and ADVANTAGES in the areas of business, operations, and CYBERSECURITY?
c. Performance Improvement System
What is your PERFORMANCE improvement system, including your PROCESSES for evaluation and improvement of KEY
CYBERSECURITY-related projects and PROCESSES?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
C.2a(3). While comparative data about cybersecurity may be
relatively sparse and diffcult to obtain, their use is important
for the following reasons: (1) Your organization needs to
know where it stands relative to competitors and to best
practices; (2) comparative information and information
obtained from benchmarking often provide the impetus
for signifcant improvement or transformational change;
(3) comparing your organization’s performance to that of
others frequently leads to a better understanding of your
processes and their performance; (4) data on competitors’
performance may reveal organizational advantages as well

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

as challenge areas; and (5) comparative information may
support business analysis and decisions relating to core
competencies, partnering, and outsourcing.
C.2c. Your performance improvement system refers to your
overall approach to improving processes and projects within
your organization. The approach you use should be related
to your organization’s needs. Some examples of approaches
that are compatible with the overarching systems approach
provided by this self-assessment are Lean, Six Sigma, PlanDo-Check-Act, ISO standards, and decision science, among
others.

Leadership

The personal actions of your senior leaders and cybersecurity leaders, as well as the characteristics of your governance system,
demonstrate and reinforce accountability, and guide and sustain your cybersecurity policies and operations.
What to measure? See category 7 for organizational performance results to report. See item 7.4 for results specifcally related
to leadership and governance.

1.1 Leading for Cybersecurity: How do your senior and cybersecurity leaders lead your
cybersecurity policies and operations?
(1) HOW do your leaders DEPLOY the organization’s MISSION, VISION, and VALUES to the WORKFORCE, to KEY suppliers
and PARTNERS, and to KEY CUSTOMERS and other STAKEHOLDERS, as appropriate?
(2) HOW do your leaders’ actions demonstrate their commitment to CYBERSECURITY?
(3) HOW do your leaders’ actions demonstrate their commitment to legal and ETHICAL BEHAVIOR?
(4) HOW do your leaders communicate with and engage other organizational leaders, the entire WORKFORCE, KEY
PARTNERS, and KEY CUSTOMERS and STAKEHOLDERS regarding CYBERSECURITY?
(5) HOW do your leaders create an environment for CYBERSECURITY policies and operations that are successful now and
in the future?
(6) HOW do your leaders create a focus on action that will achieve the organization’s CYBERSECURITY objectives in
ALIGNMENT with its MISSION?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
1.1. In this item,“leaders” include your organization’s senior
leaders and those specifcally responsible for overseeing and
executing cybersecurity risk management and operations.
Leadership on cybersecurity policies and approaches ideally
resides at multiple organizational levels.Your organization
should decide whether each question refers to all senior
leaders or your cybersecurity leaders.
Q1. Your organization’s mission and vision should set the
context for the cybersecurity-related strategic objectives and
action plans you describe in items 2.1 and 2.2.
Q4. This includes encouraging frank, two-way communication about cybersecurity; communicating key decisions; and
taking a direct role in motivating the workforce.

Q5. To create an environment for success now and in
the future, leaders should create an environment for the
achievement of the mission; create and reinforce the
organization’s culture; foster engagement in cybersecurity
matters; cultivate organizational agility, accountability, learning, innovation, and intelligent risk taking; and participate
in succession planning and the development of future
organizational leaders.
Q6. Leaders should create a focus on action that will
improve your organization’s cybersecurity performance
in the context of its mission and strategy; identify needed
actions; set expectations for performance that create and
balance value for customers and other stakeholders; and
demonstrate personal accountability for the organization’s
actions.

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

1.2 Governance and Societal Responsibilities: How do you govern your cybersecurity
policies and operations and make cybersecurity-related societal contributions?
(1) HOW does your organization ensure responsible GOVERNANCE of its CYBERSECURITY policies and operations?
(2) HOW do you address current and anticipate future legal, regulatory, and community concerns with your
CYBERSECURITY-related policies and operations?
(3) HOW do you promote and ensure ETHICAL BEHAVIOR in all CYBERSECURITY-related interactions?
(4) HOW do you actively support and strengthen the CYBERSECURITY infrastructure of your KEY communities?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
Q1. Responsible governance includes accountability for
cybersecurity policies and operations, accountability for strategic plans, fscal accountability, transparency, and protection
of stakeholder and stockholder interests, as appropriate.
In protecting stakeholder interests, the governance system
should consider and sanction appropriate levels of risk for
the organization, recognizing the need to accept risk as part
of running a successful organization.
Q3. Some examples of measures of ethical behavior are
instances of ethical conduct or compliance breaches and
responses to them, survey results showing workforce
perceptions of organizational ethics, ethics hotline use, and
results of ethics reviews and audits.

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

Q4. To support and strengthen key communities, an
organization might identify its key communities, determine
areas for external participation in improving cybersecurity
infrastructure, and contribute to the improvement of
cybersecurity in those key communities by actively sharing
information. This might include contributing comparative
data on cybersecurity outcomes and actively sharing
information with partners to ensure that accurate, current
information is being distributed and consumed to improve
cybersecurity before an event occurs.

Strategy

Managing cybersecurity risk requires clear and robust planning and implementation, particularly when improvement alternatives and the need to respond to unanticipated needs compete for limited resources.
What to measure? Many results covered in category 7 will fow from your strategy. See item 2.2, Q5, on establishing measures
for the achievement and effectiveness of your cybersecurity-related action plans. See item 7.5, Q3, for results for strategy
achievement.

2.1 Strategy Development: How do you include cybersecurity considerations in your
strategy development?
(1) HOW do you include CYBERSECURITY planning in your overall organizational strategic planning PROCESS?
(2) HOW do you ensure ALIGNMENT between your CYBERSECURITY planning and your organization’s overall strategic
planning?
(3) HOW does your strategy development PROCESS stimulate and incorporate INNOVATION in CYBERSECURITY policies
and operations?
(4) HOW do you collect and analyze relevant data and develop information on CYBERSECURITY for your strategic
planning PROCESS?
(5) HOW do you decide which KEY CYBERSECURITY PROCESSES will be accomplished by your WORKFORCE and which by
external suppliers and PARTNERS?
(6) What are your organization’s KEY CYBERSECURITY-related STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES and timetable for achieving them?
(7) How do your organization’s KEY CYBERSECURITY-related STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES align with your organization’s overall
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES?
(8) HOW do your STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES achieve appropriate balance among varying and potentially competing
CYBERSECURITY needs, CUSTOMER and STAKEHOLDER requirements, and business objectives?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
2.1. Strategy development refers to your organization’s
approach to preparing for the future. This item asks how
your strategic planning considers your organization’s
cybersecurity needs in alignment with your organization’s
overall strategy.
2.1. In developing your cybersecurity strategy, you should
consider your level of acceptable enterprise risk. As
appropriate, you might involve key suppliers, distributors,
partners, and customers in your cybersecurity strategy
development.
Q3. Stimulating and incorporating innovation includes
identifying strategic opportunities (prospects for new or
changed cybersecurity policies, procedures, technologies,
and processes) and deciding which ones are intelligent risks
to pursue. Innovation refers to making meaningful change
to improve products/services, processes, or organizational
effectiveness and create new value for stakeholders. The
outcome of innovation is a discontinuous or “breakthrough”
change.

Q4. Your collection and analysis should include these key
elements of risk: your strategic challenges and strategic
advantages with regard to cybersecurity, potential relevant
changes in your regulatory and external business environment, potential blind spots with regard to cybersecurity,
and your ability to execute the cybersecurity-related parts of
the plan. Analysis of these factors is the basis for managing
strategic cybersecurity-related risk in your organization.
Q5. Decisions on which key cybersecurity processes will
be accomplished by your workforce and which externally
should consider your core competencies and those of potential suppliers and partners. These decisions are strategic and
involve protecting intellectual property, capitalizing on core
competencies, and mitigating risk.

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

2.2 Strategy Implementation: How do you implement the cybersecurity-related elements
of your strategy?
(1) What are your KEY short- and longer-term CYBERSECURITY-related ACTION PLANS?
(2) HOW do you DEPLOY your CYBERSECURITY-related ACTION PLANS?
(3) HOW do you ensure that fnancial and other resources are available to support the achievement of your
CYBERSECURITY-related ACTION PLANS while you meet current obligations?
(4) What are your KEY WORKFORCE plans to support your short- and longer-term CYBERSECURITY-related STRATEGIC
OBJECTIVES and ACTION PLANS?
(5) What KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES or INDICATORS do you use to track the achievement and EFFECTIVENESS of your
CYBERSECURITY-related ACTION PLANS?
(6) For these KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES or INDICATORS, what are your PERFORMANCE PROJECTIONS for your shortand longer-term planning horizons?
(7) HOW do you recognize and respond when circumstances require a shift in CYBERSECURITY-related plans and rapid
execution of new plans?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
2.2. The development and deployment of your cybersecurity
strategy (described in item 2.1) and action plans are closely
linked to other items. The following are examples of key
linkages:
• Item 1.1: how your leaders communicate organizational direction with regard to cybersecurity
• Category 3: how you gather internal and external
customer knowledge as input to your strategy and
action plans and to use in deploying action plans
• Category 4: how you measure and analyze cybersecurity data and manage cybersecurity knowledge to
support key information needs, support the development of your strategy, provide an effective basis for
cybersecurity performance measurements, and track
progress on achieving cybersecurity-related strategic
objectives and action plans

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

• Category 5: how you meet cybersecurity workforce capability and capacity needs; determine
cybersecurity-related development and learning needs,
and design your workforce development and learning
system accordingly; and implement workforce-related
changes resulting from action plans
• Category 6: how you address changes to your cybersecurity work processes resulting from action plans
• Item 7.5: specifc accomplishments on the cybersecurityrelated elements of your strategy and action plans

Customers

3.1 Customer Expectations: How do you listen to your customers and determine their
cybersecurity-related satisfaction?
(1) HOW do you listen to, interact with, and observe internal and external CUSTOMERS to obtain actionable information
on their CYBERSECURITY-related requirements and expectations?
(2) HOW do you determine internal and external CUSTOMERS’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction with your organization’s
CYBERSECURITY policies and operations?
(3) HOW do you determine the impact of your organization’s CYBERSECURITY policies and operations on CUSTOMER
ENGAGEMENT?
(4) HOW do you use VOICE-OF-THE-CUSTOMER data and information to support fact-based decision making on
CYBERSECURITY policies and operations?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

3.2 Customer Engagement: How do you build relationships with internal and external
customers around cybersecurity?
(1) HOW do you build and manage internal and external CUSTOMER relationships to retain CUSTOMERS, meet their
requirements, and exceed their expectations with regard to CYBERSECURITY?
(2) HOW do you enable internal and external CUSTOMERS to seek information and support related to your
CYBERSECURITY policies and operations?
(3) HOW do you ensure that internal and external CUSTOMERS understand and fulfll their CYBERSECURITY roles and
responsibilities?
(4) HOW do you manage internal and external CUSTOMER complaints about your CYBERSECURITY policies and
operations?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Note
Q2. Your approach to enabling customers to seek information and support should include provisions to protect
privacy and civil liberties when personal information is used,
collected, processed, maintained, or disclosed in connection
with your organization’s cybersecurity activities. Some
examples of activities with privacy or civil liberties considerations include cybersecurity activities that may result in
the overcollection or overretention of personal information;
disclosure or use of personal information unrelated to cybersecurity activities; and cybersecurity mitigation activities that
result in denial of service or other similar potentially adverse
impacts, including incident detection or monitoring that
may impact freedom of expression or association.

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Privacy principles to consider incorporating in cybersecurity
policies and operations include establishing and maintaining
a privacy program that ensures compliance with applicable
requirements, coordination between privacy and other
organizational programs, and integration of privacy policy
regarding what privacy-related data may be used by whom
and for what purposes (see Security and Privacy Controls
for Information Systems and Organizations, SP 800-53 Rev. 5
(Draft), https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-53
/rev-5/draft).

Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management

This category is the “brain center” for aligning your cybersecurity operations with your objectives. Measuring and analyzing
how your organization is performing on a comprehensive yet carefully culled set of cybersecurity-related measures helps you
make decisions that improve performance.
What to measure? Q2 and Q3 ask for your key cybersecurity performance measures, including your key fnancial measures.
See the notes to Q2 and Q3 for an explanation.

4.1 Measurement, Analysis, and Improvement of Performance: How do you measure,
analyze, and then improve cybersecurity-related performance?
(1) HOW do you track data and information on daily CYBERSECURITY operations and overall CYBERSECURITY
PERFORMANCE?
(2) What are your KEY CYBERSECURITY PERFORMANCE MEASURES, including your KEY fnancial MEASURES for your
CYBERSECURITY operations?
(3) What are your KEY MEASURES for the impact of CYBERSECURITY PERFORMANCE on your organization’s overall
KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES?
(4) HOW do you select comparative data and information to support fact-based decision making on CYBERSECURITY
policies and operations?
(5) HOW do you ensure that your measurement of CYBERSECURITY PERFORMANCE can respond to rapid or unexpected
organizational or external changes and provide timely data?
(6) HOW do you review your organization’s CYBERSECURITY PERFORMANCE and capabilities?
(7) HOW do you project your organization’s future CYBERSECURITY PERFORMANCE?
(8) HOW do you use fndings from PERFORMANCE reviews to develop priorities for continuous improvement and
opportunities for INNOVATION in your CYBERSECURITY policies and operations?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
4.1. This item asks how you measure and analyze
cybersecurity-related performance as part of your organization’s overall performance measurement and analysis
system. The questions are closely linked to each other and to
other items:
• Your measurement of cybersecurity performance
(Q1–Q5) should inform your reviews (Q6).
• Your key cybersecurity performance measures are
those that are critical to achieving your cybersecurityrelated strategic objectives (item 2.1, Q6).
• Your performance reviews (Q6) should refect your
cybersecurity-related strategic objectives and action
plans (category 2), and the results of cybersecurity
performance analysis and review should inform your
strategy development and implementation, your
priorities for improvement, and your opportunities for
innovation (Q7, Q8).
• Your performance results should be reported in items
7.1–7.5.

Q2. Depending on your organization’s strategy and goals,
these might include measures of customer and process
performance; operational performance; supplier, workforce,
partner, cost, and fnancial performance; and governance
and compliance results.
Q2, Q3. Key fnancial measures might include measures of
performance to budget. Measures for the impact of cybersecurity performance on your organization’s overall performance might include the fnancial impact of cybersecurity
operations and incidents on organization-wide operations,
as well as on your ability to meet customer and stakeholder
requirements and business objectives. See the notes to item
7.5 for examples.
Q4. Organizations obtain comparative data and information
by benchmarking and by seeking competitive comparisons.
Benchmarking is identifying processes and results that
represent best practices and performance for similar activities, inside or outside your industry. Competitive comparisons
relate your performance to that of competitors and other
organizations providing similar products and services.

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4.2 Knowledge Management: How do you manage your organization’s cybersecurityrelated knowledge assets?
(1) HOW do you verify and ensure the quality of organizational data and information related to CYBERSECURITY?
(2) How do you ensure the availability of organizational data and information related to CYBERSECURITY?
(3) HOW do you build, manage, and update your organization’s CYBERSECURITY-related knowledge and awareness?
(4) HOW do you share CYBERSECURITY best practices in your organization and with CUSTOMERS, suppliers, PARTNERS,
and COLLABORATORS, as appropriate?
(5) HOW do you use your knowledge and resources to embed LEARNING in the way your CYBERSECURITY operations
function?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
Q3. Building, managing, and updating cybersecurity-related
knowledge allows you to maintain your organization’s
awareness of a continually changing cybersecurity threat
environment. It involves collecting and transferring
workforce knowledge related to cybersecurity; blending
and correlating cybersecurity-related data from different
sources to build new knowledge; transferring relevant
cybersecurity-related knowledge from and to customers,
suppliers, partners, and collaborators; and assembling and
transferring relevant cybersecurity-related knowledge for use
in innovation and strategic planning processes.
Sources for building and updating your organization’s
cybersecurity-related knowledge and awareness may
include, for example, cybersecurity information learned from
other organizations, service tickets reported to the help desk,
lessons learned from recovery exercises, and data reported
by customers. An important element of cybersecurity risk

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management includes the ability to predict and avoid
cybersecurity incidents based on lessons learned and/or
information shared by partners and others.
Q5. Embedding learning in the way your cybersecurity
operations function means that learning (1) is a part of
everyday cybersecurity work; (2) results in solving problems
at their source; (3) is focused on building and sharing
cybersecurity knowledge throughout your organization;
and (4) is driven by opportunities to bring about signifcant,
meaningful change and to innovate with regard to cybersecurity. Organizational learning takes place when processes
intentionally include mechanisms that monitor performance
and conformance, identify improvement targets, analyze
gaps, and prioritize improvements.

Workforce

Success in achieving your cybersecurity-related objectives depends on an engaged workforce—including workforce members
involved directly in cybersecurity-related operations and members of your overall workforce. Workforce members beneft from
meaningful work, clear organizational direction, the opportunity to learn, and accountability for performance.
What to measure? See item 7.3, Workforce Results.

5.1 Workforce Environment: How do you build an effective and supportive environment
for your cybersecurity workforce?
(1) HOW do you assess your CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE CAPABILITY and CAPACITY needs?
(2) HOW do you recruit, hire, onboard, and retain new CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE members?
(3) HOW do you prepare your CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE for changing CAPABILITY and CAPACITY needs?
(4) HOW do you organize and manage your CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE to establish roles and responsibilities?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
5.1. The questions in this item refer to your cybersecurity
workforce. See item 5.2 for questions on your entire
workforce.
5.1. Your cybersecurity workforce consists of the people
actively involved in accomplishing your organization’s
cybersecurity work. It includes permanent, temporary, and
part-time personnel, as well as any contract employees
you supervise. It includes team leaders, supervisors, and
managers at all levels. Suppliers and people supervised by a
contractor should be addressed in categories 2 and 6.
Q1. Cybersecurity workforce capability is your organization’s ability to carry out its cybersecurity work processes
through its people’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and
competencies. Cybersecurity workforce capacity is your

organization’s ability to ensure suffcient staffng levels to
carry out its cybersecurity work processes, including the
ability to meet seasonal or varying demand levels. In assessing your capability and capacity needs, you should consider
not only current needs but also future requirements based
on the strategic objectives and action plans you identify in
category 2.
Q3. Preparing your cybersecurity workforce for changing
capability and capacity needs involves ensuring continuity,
preventing workforce reductions, and minimizing the impact
of any reductions that occur. It also involves preparing for
and managing any periods of workforce growth, as well
as preparing your workforce for changes in organizational
structure and work systems, as needed.

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5.2 Workforce Engagement: How do you engage your workforce for high performance in
support of cybersecurity policies and operations?
(1) HOW do you assess the ENGAGEMENT of your organization’s overall WORKFORCE in CYBERSECURITY matters?
(2) HOW do you foster an organizational culture that is characterized by open communication, HIGH PERFORMANCE,
and ENGAGEMENT in CYBERSECURITY matters?
(3) HOW does your WORKFORCE PERFORMANCE management system support HIGH PERFORMANCE in fulflling
CYBERSECURITY roles and responsibilities?
(4) HOW does your CYBERSECURITY LEARNING and development system support your organization’s needs, and support
WORKFORCE members in fulflling their CYBERSECURITY roles and responsibilities?
(5) HOW do you evaluate the EFFECTIVENESS and effciency of your CYBERSECURITY LEARNING and development system?
(6) HOW do you carry out succession planning for KEY CYBERSECURITY management, leadership, and other KEY
positions?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
5.2. The questions in this item refer to your organization’s
entire workforce.
Q1. Drivers of workforce engagement (identifed in C.1a[3])
refer to the drivers of workforce members’ commitment,
both emotional and intellectual, to accomplishing the
organization’s work (including cybersecurity-related work),
mission, and vision.
Q2. Fostering such a culture includes empowering your
workforce and ensuring a safe, trusting, and cooperative
environment.

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Q3. Your workforce performance management system
should consider compensation, reward, recognition, and
retention practices. It should reinforce intelligent risk taking,
a customer and business focus, and achievement of your
action plans.
Q4. Learning and development needs include the knowledge, skills, and abilities workforce members need to fulfll
their cybersecurity roles and responsibilities. Organizations
beneft when an understanding of these needs becomes part
of the organizational culture, evolving from lessons learned
from previous security activities, information shared by other
sources, and continuous awareness of activities on their
systems and networks.

Operations

Designing, managing, and improving your cybersecurity-related operations for effectiveness and effciency helps you achieve
your cybersecurity-related objectives, in turn supporting your organization’s overall goals and objectives.
What to measure? See item 7.1, Cybersecurity Process Results.

6.1 Work Processes: How do you design, manage, and improve your key cybersecurity
work processes?
a. CYBERSECURITY PROCESS Design, Management, and Improvement
(1) HOW do you determine the requirements for your KEY CYBERSECURITY WORK PROCESSES (listed in sections b–d)?
(2) HOW do you design your CYBERSECURITY WORK PROCESSES to meet requirements?
(3) HOW does your day-to-day operation of CYBERSECURITY WORK PROCESSES ensure that they meet KEY PROCESS
requirements?
(4) HOW do you determine the KEY support PROCESSES that enable your CYBERSECURITY operations?
(5) HOW do you improve your CYBERSECURITY WORK PROCESSES to improve their PERFORMANCE and reduce variability?
(6) HOW do you pursue opportunities for INNOVATION in your CYBERSECURITY operations?
b. PROTECTION
(1) HOW do you limit access to physical and logical assets and associated facilities to authorized users, PROCESSES, and
devices consistent with the risk of unauthorized access?
(2) HOW do you manage information and records (data) consistent with your risk strategy to PROTECT the
confdentiality, integrity, and availability of information?
(3) HOW do you maintain and use security policies (addressing purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities, management
commitment, and coordination among organizational entities), PROCESSES, and procedures to manage PROTECTION
of information systems and assets?
(4) HOW do you maintain and repair industrial control and information system components consistent with policies
and procedures?
(5) HOW do you manage technical security solutions to ensure the security and resilience of systems and assets
consistent with related policies, procedures, and agreements?
c. DETECTION
(1) HOW do you DETECT anomalies in a timely manner and assess the potential impact of CYBERSECURITY EVENTS?
(2) HOW do you monitor information systems and assets to identify CYBERSECURITY EVENTS and verify the effectiveness
of protective measures?
(3) HOW do you maintain and test DETECTION PROCESSES and procedures to ensure awareness of anomalies?
d. RESPONSE
(1) HOW do you execute and maintain RESPONSE PROCESSES and procedures to ensure RESPONSE to detected
CYBERSECURITY EVENTS?
(2) HOW do you coordinate RESPONSE activities with other WORKFORCE units, CUSTOMERS, and STAKEHOLDERS, as
appropriate, including external law enforcement agencies?
(3) HOW do you analyze your RESPONSE activities to ensure EFFECTIVE RESPONSE and support RECOVERY activities?
(4) HOW do you prevent expansion of an event, mitigate its effects, and resolve the incident?
(Continued on the next page)

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e. RECOVERY
(1) HOW do you execute and maintain RECOVERY PROCESSES and procedures to ensure restoration of systems or assets
affected by CYBERSECURITY incidents?
(2) HOW do you coordinate RECOVERY activities with other WORKFORCE units, CUSTOMERS, and STAKEHOLDERS, such as
coordinating centers, Internet service providers, owners of attacking systems, victims, other computer security incident
RESPONSE teams, and vendors?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
6.1a(1), 6.1a(2). The design of your key cybersecurity work
processes should consider your customers’ and stakeholders’
requirements and expectations of your organization.
6.1a(3). To ensure that the operation of cybersecurity work
processes meets requirements, an organization would
establish key performance measures or in-process measures,
monitor them, and use the results (see item 7.1) to control
and improve the processes.
6.1a(4). Support processes might include, for example,
physical security, human resources, and procurement.
6.1a(5). To improve process performance and reduce
variability, you might implement approaches such as a Lean
Enterprise System, Six Sigma methodology, ISO quality
system standards, PDCA methodology, decision sciences,
or other process improvement tools. These approaches
might be part of the performance improvement system you
describe in C.2c in the Organizational Context section.

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6.1b–6.1e. The Cybersecurity Framework Core includes the
functions of Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover
(identifed as key work processes in this item). These functions organize basic cybersecurity activities at their highest
level. The Core identifes underlying key categories and
subcategories for each function, and matches them with
examples of informative references, such as existing standards, guidelines, and practices. Protect, Detect, Respond,
and Recover are covered in this item. The Identify function is
covered by questions in the Organizational Context and in
categories 1, 2, 3, and 5.
6.1b–6.1e. Your responses should include aspects of your
work processes that involve external suppliers and partners,
such as third-party connections into your organization’s
networks and systems.

6.2 Operational Effectiveness: How do you ensure effective management of your
cybersecurity operations?
a. PROCESS Efficiency and Effectiveness
(1) HOW do you manage the cost and effciency of your CYBERSECURITY operations?
(2) HOW do you ensure that your CYBERSECURITY operations consider their impact on and align with your
organization’s overall operations?
b. Supply-Network Management
(1) HOW do you select and prioritize suppliers that are qualifed and positioned to meet your CYBERSECURITY needs and
achieve your CYBERSECURITY objectives?
(2) HOW do you promote ALIGNMENT and collaboration on CYBERSECURITY within your supply network?
(3) How do you ensure supply-network agility in responding to changes in CUSTOMER, market, and organizational
CYBERSECURITY requirements?
(4) HOW do you communicate CYBERSECURITY PERFORMANCE expectations, measure and evaluate suppliers’
PERFORMANCE, provide feedback to help them improve, and deal with poorly performing suppliers?
c. Safety and Emergency Management
(1) HOW do you ensure that your CYBERSECURITY operations consider and align with your organization’s overall
operational safety system?
(2) HOW do you ensure that your organization incorporates CYBERSECURITY-related considerations and operations in its
preparation for disasters or emergencies?
(3) In the event of an emergency, HOW do you ensure that systems and assets continue to be secure and available to
serve CUSTOMERS and business needs?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
6.2a. Managing effciency includes
• incorporating cycle time, productivity, and other
effciency and effectiveness factors into your work
processes;
• preventing rework; and
• balancing the need for cost control and effciency
with the cybersecurity needs of your organization and
customers.
6.2b. Your supply network (see also C.1b[3] in the Organizational Context section) consists of the entities involved
in producing your products and services (including your
cybersecurity operations) and delivering them to your customers. Increasingly, these entities are interlinked and exist
in interdependent rather than linear relationships. The term

supply network, rather than supply chain, emphasizes the
interdependencies among organizations and their suppliers.
6.2b(4). Your monitoring of supplier effectiveness should
relate to achievement of the key requirements described in
6.1, including methods for periodically reviewing supplier
performance to confrm that they are performing cybersecurity responsibilities assigned to them and contributing to the
achievement of cybersecurity-related objectives.
6.2c. Your preparation for disasters and emergencies should
consider all systems and assets that are needed to provide
your products and services to customers, including supplynetwork availability. It should also consider the extent
to which your organization is part of customers’ critical
infrastructure.

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7 Results
Results provide data and information (measures of progress) for evaluating, improving, and innovating cybersecurity-related
processes, policies, and operations in alignment with your cybersecurity and organizational strategy.

7.1 Cybersecurity Process Results: What are your cybersecurity performance and process
effectiveness results?
(1) What are your RESULTS for the PROTECTION of your systems and assets?
(2) What are your RESULTS for the DETECTION of CYBERSECURITY EVENTS?
(3) What are your RESULTS for your RESPONSE to CYBERSECURITY EVENTS?
(4) What are your RESULTS for your RECOVERY from CYBERSECURITY EVENTS?
(5) What are your PROCESS EFFECTIVENESS and effciency RESULTS for your CYBERSECURITY operations?
(6) What are your emergency preparedness RESULTS for your CYBERSECURITY operations?
(7) What are your RESULTS for suppliers’ and PARTNERS’ understanding and fulfllment of their CYBERSECURITY roles
and responsibilities?
(8) What are your RESULTS for management of your CYBERSECURITY supply network?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
7. The results you report in items 7.1–7.5 should provide key
information for analyzing and reviewing your cybersecurityrelated performance (item 4.1), demonstrate use of cybersecurity knowledge (item 4.2), and provide the operational
basis for customer-focused results (item 7.2) and fnancial
results (item 7.5). There is not a one-to-one correspondence
between results items and categories 1–6. Results should be
considered systemically. Contributions to individual results
items frequently stem from processes in more than one
category.
Q1–Q8. The results you report here should address the key
operational requirements you identify in the Organizational
Context section and in category 6.
Q1. Results for the protection of systems and assets should
relate to the protection processes you describe in category
6. These results might include, for example, the percentage
of devices and/or software accurately recorded in inventory,
the percentage of devices confgured according to policy,
the percentage of critical information servers supported
by strong authentication, the number of business systems
securely hosted in an approved cloud environment, and the
number of facilities with Personal Identity Verifcation (PIV)based electronic locks.
Q2. Results for the detection of cybersecurity events should
relate to the detection processes you report in category 6.
These results might include, for example, the number of
anomalies detected, investigated, and resolved, and the
percentage of planned vulnerability mitigation actions
effectively completed.

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Q3. Results for your response to cybersecurity events should
relate to the response processes you report in category 6.
These results might include, for example, incident recovery
and response time, number of disaster recovery incidents,
and number of reports shared with Information Sharing and
Analysis Organizations or other appropriate third parties.
Q4. Results for your recovery from cybersecurity events
should relate to the recovery processes you report in
category 6. These results might include, for example, the
time to restore lost availability, the time to access alternate
availability mechanisms and restore services, and results of
efforts to restore your organization’s reputation.
Q5. Process effectiveness and effciency results for your
cybersecurity operations might include ensuring that
security and other requirements are considered at the design
phase, avoiding costly mitigation through prevention of
vulnerabilities, and reduction of incidents based on effective
training of expectations and responsibilities.
Q6. Emergency preparedness results might include the
cybersecurity operation’s response times for emergency drills
or exercises and results for work relocation or contingency
exercises.
Q8. Results for cybersecurity supply-network performance
might include the percentage of contracts that include
cybersecurity monitoring and reporting requirements;
supplier and partner audits; and acceptance results for externally provided services and processes, as well as improvements in downstream supplier services to customers.

7.2 Customer Results: What are your customer-focused cybersecurity performance
results?
(1) What are your RESULTS for your internal and external CUSTOMERS’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction with your
CYBERSECURITY policies and operations?
(2) What are your RESULTS for the impact of your organization’s CYBERSECURITY policies and operations on CUSTOMER
ENGAGEMENT?
(3) What are your RESULTS for your internal and external CUSTOMERS’ understanding and fulfllment of their
CYBERSECURITY roles and responsibilities?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
7.2. Results for customer satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and
engagement should relate to the customer groups you
identify in C.1b(2) and to the listening and determination
methods you report in item 3.1.

Q2. Results might include, for example, those for the impact
of cybersecurity policies and procedures, incidents, and
responses to incidents on customer loyalty, retention, and
willingness to recommend.

Q1. Results might include, for example, survey results
on customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction with cybersecurity and privacy, and the number of complaints about
cybersecurity-related issues.

Q3. Results might include, for example, the number of
potential incidents reported by external customers, the
requirements for service-level agreements regarding recovery of critical customer systems, the percentage of customers
who have changed their passwords regularly or within a
specifed time period, and the number of customer systems
applying multifactor (strengthened) authentication.

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7.3 Workforce Results: What are your workforce-focused cybersecurity performance
results?
(1) What are your CAPABILITY and CAPACITY RESULTS for your CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE?
(2) What are your RESULTS for the ENGAGEMENT of your WORKFORCE in CYBERSECURITY matters?
(3) What are your RESULTS for WORKFORCE members’ fulfllment of their CYBERSECURITY roles and responsibilities?
(4) What are your WORKFORCE and leader development RESULTS related to CYBERSECURITY?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
7.3. Results reported in this item should relate to the
processes you report in category 5.Your results should
also respond to the key work process needs you report in
category 6 and to the action plans you report in item 2.2.
Q1. Results might include, for example, the number of
qualifed referrals received through employee recommendations, the percentage of cybersecurity vacancies remaining
open for a specifed number of days, and the percentage of
staff members who have achieved necessary qualifcations
(e.g., Certifed Information Security Manager [CISM], Certifed Information Systems Security Professional [CISSP]).
Q2. Results should relate to the workforce engagement
drivers you describe in C.1a(3) and the methods of assessing
engagement you describe in item 5.2.

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Q3. Results might include the percentage of employees who
follow specifc cybersecurity policies and practices, such as
those who observe your organization’s password practices.
Q4. Results might include, for example, the percentage of
employees who complete role-specifc cybersecurity training,
cybersecurity management training hours per full-time
equivalent, the percentage of employees trained on incident
handing, the percentage of employees trained to recognize
and avoid email scams, the percentage of employees trained
on how to secure an email browser, and the number of
employees trained on use of guidelines for cell phone and
personal device security.

7.4 Leadership and Governance Results: What are your cybersecurity leadership and
governance results?
(1) What are your RESULTS for leaders’ communication and engagement with your organization’s other leaders, your
WORKFORCE, and your KEY CUSTOMERS and STAKEHOLDERS regarding CYBERSECURITY?
(2) What are your RESULTS for GOVERNANCE accountability related to CYBERSECURITY?
(3) What are your legal and regulatory RESULTS related to CYBERSECURITY?
(4) What are your RESULTS for ETHICAL BEHAVIOR related to CYBERSECURITY?
(5) What are your RESULTS for support of the CYBERSECURITY infrastructure of your KEY communities?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
Q1. Responses should include results relating to the communication processes you identify in item 1.1.

Q4. Responses should relate to the processes for ensuring
ethical behavior that you identify in item 1.2.

Q2. Responses should include results relating to the
governance processes you describe in item 1.2. These
results might include fnancial statement issues and risks,
important internal and external auditor recommendations,
and management’s responses to these matters.

Q5. Results for support of the cybersecurity infrastructure of
your key communities might include the extent of external
participation and collaboration to improve cybersecurity and
results showing its effectiveness (e.g., improved detection
using shared indicators of compromise).

Q3. Legal and regulatory results should relate to the
processes and measures you describe in item 1.2. Examples
might be the percentage of business systems in compliance
with legal and regulatory requirements, the number of compliance breaches, and the frequency of warnings/violation
notices for cybersecurity infractions.

7.5 Financial and Strategy Results: What are your cybersecurity-related financial and
strategy performance results?
(1) What are your fnancial and budgetary PERFORMANCE RESULTS for your CYBERSECURITY operations?
(2) What are your RESULTS for the impact of CYBERSECURITY costs on your organization’s overall fnancial
PERFORMANCE?
(3) What are your RESULTS for the achievement of your CYBERSECURITY strategy and ACTION PLANS?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 28–29).

Notes
7.5. Results should relate to the fnancial measures you
report in item 4.1 and the fnancial management approaches
you report in item 2.2.
Q1. Examples might include cybersecurity spending as a
percentage of the IT budget, cost performance to budget,
and lowering of costs as a result of increased effciency.
Q2. Examples might include cost savings or losses
avoided (e.g., fnes for nonconformance) produced by the
information security program or through costs incurred

from addressing information security events, cost/schedule
variance in information security activities, and the impact
of the cost of cybersecurity breaches on your organization’s
other fnancial results.
Q3. Results for strategy and action plan achievement should
relate to the strategic objectives and goals you report in item
2.1 and the action plan performance measures you report in
item 2.2.

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CYBER

Assessing Your Responses

1. For each item (e.g., 1.1, 1.2) in categories 1–7 of the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder, use the process and
results rubrics on pages 26–27 to assign a descriptor (Reactive, Early, Developing, Mature, Leading, or Exemplary)
for each evaluation factor.
For processes (categories 1–6), the evaluation factors are approach, deployment, learning, and integration (ADLI):
•

Approach consists of the methods used to carry out a process, the degree to which your approach is systematic
(i.e., repeatable and based on reliable data and information), the appropriateness of these methods to the item
questions and your operating environment, and the effectiveness of your use of the methods.

•

Deployment is the extent to which your approach is applied consistently and the extent to which it is used by all
appropriate work units.

•

Learning is the refnement of your approach through cycles of evaluation and improvement, the encouragement
of breakthrough change to your approach through innovation, and the sharing of refnements and innovations
with other relevant work units and processes in your organization.

•

Integration is the extent to which your approach is aligned with the organizational needs identifed in the Organizational Context section and in other process items. Integration also includes the extent to which your measures,
information, and improvement systems are complementary across processes and work units; and the extent to
which your plans, processes, results, analyses, learning, and actions are harmonized across processes and work
units to support organization-wide goals.

For results (category 7), the evaluation factors are levels, trends, comparisons, and integration (LeTCI; “let’s see”).
•

Levels are your current performance on a meaningful measurement scale.

•

Trends are your rate of performance improvement or continuation of good performance in areas of importance
(i.e., the slope of data points over time).

•

Comparisons are your performance relative to that of other, appropriate organizations, such as competitors or
organizations similar to yours, and your performance relative to industry leaders or relevant benchmarks.

•

Integration is the extent to which your results address important performance requirements relating to customers,
products/services, markets, processes, and action plans identifed in the Organizational Context section and in the
process items (categories 1–6). It also includes the extent to which your results refect harmonization across your
processes and work units to support organization-wide goals.

2. Indicate the importance (high, medium, or low) of each item to the successful management of cybersecurity
within your organization.
3. Prioritize your actions.
Celebrate your strengths of your cybersecurity risk management program, and build on them to improve what you do
well. Sharing the things you do well with the rest of your organization can speed improvement.
Prioritize your opportunities for improvement; you cannot do everything at once. Think about what is most important
for your organization as a whole at this time, balancing the differing needs and expectations of your stakeholders, and
decide what to work on frst. Look at the next level in the rubric for how you might improve. Develop an action plan,
implement it, and measure your progress.

Assessing Your Responses

==
=
=

Assessment Rubric

CYBERSECURITY-related policies/operations
seek and achieve effciencies through
analysis, INNOVATION, and the sharing of
information and knowledge.

KEY CYBERSECURITY-related APPROACHES
are used consistently in appropriate
organizational units and by CUSTOMERS,
PARTNERS, and suppliers, as appropriate,
although use may vary in some areas or
work units.
KEY CYBERSECURITY-related APPROACHES
are used consistently in most appropriate
organizational units by CUSTOMERS,
PARTNERS, and suppliers, as appropriate,
with no signifcant gaps.

Many elements of
CYBERSECURITY-related
policies/operations
are characterized by
EFFECTIVE, well-ordered,
repeatable APPROACHES.

Developing

Mature

Exemplary

Leading

All elements of
CYBERSECURITY-related
policies/operations
are characterized by
EFFECTIVE, well-ordered,
repeatable APPROACHES.

policies/operations
are characterized by
EFFECTIVE, well-ordered,
repeatable APPROACHES.

CYBERSECURITY-related

KEY CYBERSECURITY-related APPROACHES
are used consistently in all appropriate
organizational units and by CUSTOMERS,
PARTNERS, and suppliers, as appropriate.

CYBERSECURITY-related policies/operations
are SYSTEMATICALLY evaluated for
improvement, and learnings are shared,
with some INNOVATION.

KEY CYBERSECURITY-related APPROACHES
are used consistently in appropriate
organizational units and by CUSTOMERS,
PARTNERS, and suppliers, as appropriate,
although some are in the early stages of
use.

Some elements of
CYBERSECURITY-related
policies/operations
are characterized by
EFFECTIVE, well-ordered,
repeatable APPROACHES.

Early

Most elements of

CYBERSECURITY-related policies/operations
are beginning to be SYSTEMATICALLY
evaluated and improved.

KEY CYBERSECURITY-related APPROACHES
are beginning to be used consistently in
appropriate organizational units and by
CUSTOMERS, PARTNERS, and suppliers, as
appropriate.

CYBERSECURITY-related
policies/operations are
beginning to be carried
out with well-ordered,
repeatable APPROACHES.

Reactive

Fact-based, SYSTEMATIC evaluation and
improvement and organizational LEARNING
through INNOVATION are KEY tools;
CYBERSECURITY-related policies/operations
are characterized by refnement and INNOVATION, backed by ANALYSIS and sharing.

CYBERSECURITY-related policies/operations
are in the early stages of a transition
from reacting to problems to a general
improvement orientation.

Improvement in CYBERSECURITY-related
policies/operations is achieved mainly in
reaction to immediate needs or problems.

CYBERSECURITY-related APPROACHES
are not used consistently in appropriate
organizational units or by CUSTOMERS,
PARTNERS, and suppliers, as appropriate.

CYBERSECURITY-related
policies/operations
are characterized by
activities created to fx
problems rather than by
PROCESSES.

Learning

Deployment

Evaluation Factor

Approach

Maturity
Level

Process (Categories 1–6)

CYBER

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

CYBERSECURITY-related policies/
operations in different units work in
total harmony with each other and with
current and future organizational needs
defned by your organization.

CYBERSECURITY-related policies/
operations in different units work mainly
in harmony with each other and with
current and future organizational needs
defned by your organization.

CYBERSECURITY-related APPROACHES are
ALIGNED among work units and with
your organization’s overall needs.

CYBERSECURITY-related APPROACHES are
beginning to be ALIGNED among work
units and with your organization’s basic
needs.

largely through joint problem solving.

CYBERSECURITY-related APPROACHES are
ALIGNED with other areas or work units,
and with organization-wide APPROACHES,

in different parts of your organization or
between CYBERSECURITY-related policies/
operations and those of the rest of the
organization; individual areas or work
units operate independently.

CYBERSECURITY-related policies/operations

There is no coordination among

Integration

Assessment Rubric

CYBERSECURITY-related RESULTS are not
tracked over time or have not improved.

CYBERSECURITY-related
RESULTS are frequently
missing, poor, or not
used.

CYBERSECURITY-related RESULTS
show improvement or sustained high
PERFORMANCE over time in some areas
of importance to your organization’s
ongoing success.
Most CYBERSECURITY-related RESULTS
show improvement or sustained high
PERFORMANCE over time in most areas
of importance to your organization’s
ongoing success.
The full array of CYBERSECURITY-related
RESULTS is TRENDED over time, indicating
improvement or sustained high
PERFORMANCE in all areas of importance
to your organization’s ongoing success.

Many CYBERSECURITYrelated RESULTS are
tracked, and they show
good PERFORMANCE
LEVELS.

Most CYBERSECURITYrelated RESULTS are
tracked, and they show
good-to-excellent
performance LEVELS.

The full array of
CYBERSECURITY-related
RESULTS is tracked,
indicating top
PERFORMANCE.

Developing

Mature

Leading

Exemplary

Some TREND data are tracked, and most
show improvement over time.

Some CYBERSECURITYrelated RESULTS are
tracked, and they show
good performance
LEVELS.

Early

Some TREND data are tracked, and some
show improvement over time.

Trends

Levels

A few CYBERSECURITYrelated RESULTS are
tracked, and they show
early good performance
LEVELS.

Reactive

Maturity
Level

Results (Category 7)

CYBERSECURITY-related RESULTS indicate
top PERFORMANCE relative to information
on other organizations or BENCHMARKS.

Many CYBERSECURITY-related RESULTS show
good PERFORMANCE relative to available
information on competitors, other relevant
organizations, or BENCHMARKS.

Some CYBERSECURITY-related RESULTS show
good PERFORMANCE relative to available
information on competitors, other relevant
organizations, or BENCHMARKS.

Some available comparative information is
tracked.

Little or no available comparative
information is tracked.

Available comparative information is not
tracked.

Comparisons

Evaluation Factor

Most CYBERSECURITY-related RESULTS
that are important to your organization’s
ongoing success are tracked, including
PROJECTIONS of future RESULTS. The
RESULTS are used in decision making.

Most CYBERSECURITY-related RESULTS
that are important to your organization’s
ongoing success are tracked. The RESULTS
are used in decision making.

Many CYBERSECURITY-related RESULTS
that are important to your organization’s
ongoing success are tracked. RESULTS are
beginning to be used in decision making.

Many CYBERSECURITY-related RESULTS
that are important to your organization’s
ongoing success are tracked.

A few CYBERSECURITY-related RESULTS
that are important to your organization’s
ongoing success are tracked.

CYBERSECURITY-related RESULTS that are
important to your organization’s ongoing
success are not tracked.

Integration

CYBER

Glossary of Key Terms
The terms below are those in SMALL CAPS in the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder
categories and assessment rubric.

ACTION PLANS. Specifc actions that your organization
takes to reach its strategic objectives. These plans specify the
resources committed to and the time horizons for accomplishing the plans. See also STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES.
ALIGNMENT. A state of consistency among plans, processes, information, resource decisions, workforce capability
and capacity, actions, results, and analyses that support key
organization-wide goals. See also INTEGRATION.
APPROACH. The methods your organization uses to carry
out its processes.
BENCHMARKS. Processes and results that represent the
best practices and best performance for similar activities,
inside or outside your organization’s industry.
COLLABORATORS. Organizations or individuals who
cooperate with your organization to support a particular
activity or event or who cooperate intermittently when their
short-term goals are aligned with or are the same as yours.
See also PARTNERS.
CORE COMPETENCIES. Your organization’s areas of
greatest expertise; those strategically important capabilities
that are central to fulflling your mission or that provide an
advantage in your marketplace or service environment.
CUSTOMER. An actual or potential user of your
organization’s products, programs, or services. See also
STAKEHOLDERS.
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT. Your customers’ investment in
or commitment to your brand and product offerings.
CYBERSECURITY. The process of protecting information
and assets by preventing, detecting, and responding to
attacks.
CYBERSECURITY EVENT. A cybersecurity change that may
have an impact on organizational operations (including
mission, capabilities, or reputation). A cybersecurity incident
is an event that has been determined to have such an effect,
prompting the need for response and recovery.
DEPLOYMENT. The extent to which your organization
applies an approach in relevant work units throughout your
organization.
DETECT. Develop and implement the appropriate activities
to identify the occurrence of a cybersecurity event. Detect
is one of the fve functions included in the Cybersecurity
Framework Core. The others are Identify, Protect, Respond,
and Recover.

EFFECTIVE. How well a process or a measure addresses its
intended purpose.
ETHICAL BEHAVIOR. The actions your organization takes
to ensure that all its decisions, actions, and stakeholder
interactions conform to its moral and professional principles
of conduct. These principles should support all applicable
laws and regulations and are the foundation for your
organization’s culture and values.
GOALS. Future conditions or performance levels that your
organization intends or desires to attain. See also PERFORMANCE PROJECTIONS.
GOVERNANCE. The system of management and controls
exercised in the stewardship of your organization.
HIGH PERFORMANCE. Ever-higher levels of overall organizational and individual performance, including quality,
productivity, innovation rate, and cycle time.
HOW. The systems and processes that your organization
uses to achieve its mission requirements.
IDENTIFY. Develop the organizational understanding to
manage cybersecurity risk to systems, assets, data, and
capabilities. Identify is one of the fve functions included in
the Cybersecurity Framework Core. The others are Protect,
Detect, Respond, and Recover.
INNOVATION. Making meaningful change to improve
products/services, processes, or organizational effectiveness
and create new value for stakeholders. The outcome of
innovation is a discontinuous or breakthrough change.
INTEGRATION. The harmonization of plans, processes,
information, resource decisions, workforce capability and
capacity, actions, results, and analyses to support key
organization-wide goals. See also ALIGNMENT.
KEY. Major or most important; critical to achieving your
intended outcome.
KNOWLEDGE ASSETS. Your organization’s accumulated
intellectual resources; the knowledge possessed by your
organization and its workforce in the form of information,
ideas, learning, understanding, memory, insights, cognitive
and technical skills, and capabilities.
LEARNING. New knowledge or skills acquired through
evaluation, study, experience, and innovation.
LEVELS. Numerical information that places or positions your
organization’s results and performance on a meaningful
measurement scale.
Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

MEASURES AND INDICATORS. Numerical information
that quantifes the input, output, and performance dimensions of processes, products, programs, projects, services,
and the overall organization (outcomes).
MISSION. Your organization’s overall function.

STRATEGIC ADVANTAGES. Those marketplace benefts
that exert a decisive infuence on your organization’s likelihood of future success. These advantages are frequently
sources of current and future competitive success relative to
other providers of similar products/services.

PARTNERS. Key organizations or individuals who are working in concert with your organization to achieve a common
goal or improve performance. Typically, partnerships are
formal arrangements. See also COLLABORATORS.

STRATEGIC CHALLENGES. Those pressures that exert a
decisive infuence on your organization’s likelihood of future
success. These challenges are frequently driven by your
organization’s anticipated competitive position in the future
relative to other providers of similar products/services.

PERFORMANCE. Outputs and their outcomes obtained
from processes, products/services, and customers that permit
you to evaluate and compare your organization’s results to
performance projections, standards, past results, goals, and
other organizations’ results.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES. The aims or responses that
your organization articulates to address major change or
improvement, competitiveness or social issues, and business
advantages. See also ACTION PLANS.

PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE. An integrated approach to
organizational performance management that results in (1)
delivery of ever-improving value to customers and stakeholders, contributing to ongoing organizational success; (2)
improvement of your organization’s overall effectiveness and
capabilities; and (3) learning for the organization and for
people in the workforce.
PERFORMANCE PROJECTIONS. Estimates of your organization’s future performance. See also GOALS.
PROCESS. Linked activities with the purpose of producing
a product or service for a customer (user) within or outside
your organization.
PROTECT. Develop and implement the appropriate
safeguards to ensure delivery of critical infrastructure
services. Protect is one of the fve functions included in
the Cybersecurity Framework Core. The others are Identify,
Detect, Respond, and Recover.
RECOVER. Develop and implement the appropriate
activities to maintain plans for resilience and to restore any
capabilities or services that were impaired due to a cybersecurity event. Recover is one of the fve functions included in
the Cybersecurity Framework Core. The others are Identify,
Protect, Detect, and Respond.
RESPOND. Develop and implement the appropriate
activities to take action regarding a detected cybersecurity
event. Respond is one of the fve functions included in
the Cybersecurity Framework Core. The others are Identify,
Protect, Detect, and Recover.
RESULTS. Outputs and outcomes achieved by your
organization.
SEGMENT. One part of your organization’s customer,
market, product offering, or workforce base.
SENIOR LEADERS. Your organization’s senior management
group or team.

SYSTEMATIC. Well-ordered, repeatable, and exhibiting the
use of data and information so that learning is possible.
TRENDS. Numerical information that shows the direction
and rate of change of your organization’s results or the
consistency of its performance over time.
VALUE. The perceived worth of a product, process, asset, or
function relative to its cost and possible alternatives.
VALUES. The guiding principles and behaviors that embody
how your organization and its people are expected to
operate.
VISION. Your organization’s desired future state.
VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER. Your process for capturing
customer-related information.
WORK PROCESSES. Your organization’s most important
internal value-creation processes.
WORKFORCE. All people actively supervised by your
organization and involved in accomplishing your organization’s work, including paid employees (e.g., permanent,
part-time, temporary, and telecommuting employees, as well
as contract employees supervised by your organization) and
volunteers, as appropriate.
WORKFORCE CAPABILITY. Your organization’s ability to
accomplish its work processes through its people’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies.
WORKFORCE CAPACITY. Your organization’s ability to
ensure suffcient staffng levels to accomplish its work
processes and deliver your products/services to customers,
including the ability to meet seasonal or varying demand
levels.
WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT. The extent of workforce
members’ emotional and intellectual commitment to accomplishing your organization’s work, mission, and vision.

STAKEHOLDERS. All groups that are or might be affected by
your organization’s actions and success. See also CUSTOMER.

Glossary of Key Terms

CYBER

User Tools

Benefits of Using the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder,
by Organizational Role
Role/Function

Benefit of/Reason for Using the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

Board and
Executive
Management

• Understand how internal and external cybersecurity should support organizational (business)
objectives, including support for customers
• Understand current and planned workforce engagement processes and their success
• Understand opportunities to improve cybersecurity in alignment with organizational objectives
• Understand the potential exposure of the organization’s assets to various risks
• Align cybersecurity policy and practices with the organization’s mission, vision, and values

Chief
Information
Officer
(CIO)

• Understand how cybersecurity affects organizational information management practices and
culture
• Improve communication and engagement with organizational leaders and the cybersecurity
workforce
• Understand how cybersecurity affects the organization’s culture and environment

Chief Information
Security Officer
(CISO)

• Support the organization’s commitment to legal and ethical behavior
• Create and apply cybersecurity policy and practices to support the organization’s mission, vision,
and values
• Respond to rapid or unexpected organizational or external changes
• Support continuous improvement through periodic use of the self-assessment tool
• Support organizational understanding of compliance with various contractual and/or regulatory
requirements
• Understand the effectiveness of workforce communication, learning, and engagement, as well as
operational considerations for cybersecurity

IT Process
Management

• Improve understanding of business requirements and mission objectives and their priorities
• Determine the effectiveness of IT processes and potential improvements
• Understand how aspects of cybersecurity are integrated with organizational change management
processes

Risk Management

• Discern the impact of cybersecurity on internal/external customers, partners, and workforce
• Improve understanding of how workforce engagement in cybersecurity and communication to the
workforce about cybersecurity impact the organization’s overall risk posture
• Improve management of and communication about risk related to external suppliers and partners

Legal/
Compliance Roles

• Understand legal/ethical behavior on the part of the workforce, as well as the overall cultural
environment
• Understand how the organization applies cybersecurity-related policies and operations to ensure
responsible governance, including legal, regulatory, and community concerns
• Understand how the organization integrates external suppliers and partners into cybersecurity risk
management, including contractual obligations for partners’ cybersecurity protection and reporting

Employees
(Workforce)

• Understand leaders’ expectations
• Be better prepared for changes in cybersecurity capability and capacity needs
• Beneft from a workplace culture and environment characterized by open communication, high
performance, and engagement in cybersecurity matters
• Learn to fulfll their cybersecurity roles and responsibilities

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

User Tools

6.1(b): How you protect your assets
and systems
2.1: Your cybersecurity strategy

6.1(c): How you detect cybersecurity
events

6.1(e): How you recover from
cybersecurity events

C.1b(3): Your suppliers for your
cybersecurity operations

C.1a(2): Product Offerings
C.1a(4): Your organization’s major
physical and virtual assets, and your
priorities for protecting them
C.1b: Organizational Relationships

C.1a(4): Your organization’s major
physical and virtual assets, and your
priorities for protecting them

C.1a(4): Your organization’s major
physical and virtual assets, and your
priorities for protecting them
C.1b: Organizational Relationships

Protect your
assets and
systems

Detect
cybersecurity
events

Recover from
cybersecurity
events

Ensure an
effective, effcient
cybersecurity
supply network

7.1, Q4: Your results for
recovering from cybersecurity
events

7.1, Q2: Your results for the
detection of cybersecurity events
7.1, Q5: Effectiveness and
effciency results for your
cybersecurity operations

7.1, Q1: Your results for the
protection of assets and systems

7.1, Q7: Your results for suppliers’
understanding and fulfllment
of their cybersecurity roles and
responsibilities
7.1, Q8: Your results for
management of your cybersecurity
supply network

C.1a(3): Your overall workforce profle

C.2b: Strategic Context
Many other sections in C.1 and C.2

1.1, Q1: How leaders deploy the mission,
vision, and values to suppliers
2.1, Q5: How you decide which key
cybersecurity processes to accomplish
internally and externally
4.2, Q4: How you share cybersecurity
best practices
6.2b: Supply-Network Management

Engage your
overall
workforce in
cybersecurity

Create and carry
out an effective
cybersecurity
strategy

7.3, Q2: Your results for workforce
engagement

… and track these results.

1.1, Q4: How leaders communicate with
and engage the workforce regarding
cybersecurity
5.2: How you engage your overall
workforce in support of cybersecurity
policies and operations

… have these systematic processes in place …

7.5, Q3: Your results for
achievement of your cybersecurity
strategy and action plans

… define these elements …
2.1: How you include cybersecurity in
your organizational strategy
2.2: How you implement cybersecurityrelated elements of your strategy
4.1: How you measure, analyze, and
improve cybersecurity performance

To accomplish this …

The questions in the Organizational Context, the process categories (1–6), and the results category (7) are closely linked. These linkages help you manage your cybersecurity risk
policies and operations as a system by aligning your processes and results with your organization’s unique characteristics and situation. Some examples of these linkages follow.

Examples of Key Linkages in the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

Crosswalk: Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder and
Cybersecurity Framework
Related Sections in the Cybersecurity Framework
Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence
Builder Categories and Items

2.4, Figure 2: Notional Information
and Decision Flows

Appendix A: Framework Core
Functions and Categories1

C Organizational Context
C.1 Organizational Description

Executive Level

ID-AM, ID-BE, ID-SC

C.2 Organizational Situation

Executive Level; Changes in Current
and Future Risk

ID-BE, ID-RM

1.1 Leading for Cybersecurity

Executive Level

ID-BE, RC-CO

1.2 Governance and Societal
Responsibilities

Executive Level

ID-GV, RS-CO

1 Leadership

2 Strategy
2.1 Strategy Development

Business/Process Level; Mission Priority and
Risk Appetite and Budget; Changes in Current
and Future Risk

ID-BE, ID-GV, ID-RA,
ID-RM, ID-SC

2.2 Strategy Implementation

Business/Process Level; Mission Priority and
Risk Appetite and Budget; Changes in
Current and Future Risk

ID-BE, ID-GV, ID-RA,
ID-RM

3 Customers
3.1 Customer Expectations

Business/Process Management;
Implementation/Operations Level

ID-BE

3.2 Customer Engagement

Business/Process Management;
Implementation/Operations Level

ID-AM, PR-AT,
RS-CO, RC-CO

4 Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management
4.1 Measurement, Analysis, and
Improvement of Performance

Implementation Progress

DE-AE, DE-DP,
RS-IM, RC-IM

4.2 Knowledge Management

Business/Process Management;
Implementation/Operations Level

ID-RA, DE-AE,
RS-CO

5.1 Workforce Environment

Business/Process Management;
Implementation/Operations Level

ID-AM, ID-GV, PR-IP,
DE-DP, RS-CO

5.2 Workforce Engagement

Business/Process Management;
Implementation/Operations Level

PR-AT, PR-IP, RS-CO

6.1 Work Processes

Implementation/Operations Level

PR-AC, PR-DS, PR-IP,
PR-MA, DE-AE, DE-CM,
DE-DP, RS-RP, RS-AN,
RS-IM, RS-MI, RC-RP, RC-IM

6.2 Operational Effectiveness

Implementation/Operations Level

ID-AM, ID-BE, ID-SC,
PR-AT, PR-IP

5 Workforce

6 Operations

The Cybersecurity Framework functions are Identify (ID), Protect (PR), Detect (DE), Respond (RS), and Recover (RC). For defnitions of these functions,
see the glossary. For a detailed explanation of the categories within these functions, see the Cybersecurity Framework (www.nist.gov/cyberframework).

(Continued on the next page)

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

Crosswalk (continued)
Related Sections in the Cybersecurity Framework
Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence
Builder Categories and Items

2.4, Figure 2: Notional Information and Decision
Flows

Appendix A: Framework Core
Functions and Categories1

7 Results
7.1 Cybersecurity Process
Results

Implementation Progress

PR-AC, PR-DS, PR-IP,
PR-MA, DE-AE, DE-CM,
DE-DP, RS-RP, RS-AN,
RS-IM, RS-MI, RC-RP, RC-IM

7.2 Customer Results

Implementation Progress

ID-BE, ID-AM, PR-AT,
RS-CO, RC-CO

7.3 Workforce Results

Implementation Progress

ID-AM, ID-GV, PR-IP, DE-DP,
RS-CO, PR-AT, PR-IP, RS-CO

7.4 Leadership and
Governance Results

Implementation Progress

ID-BE, ID-GV, ID-RA,
ID-RM, RC-CO

7.5 Financial and Strategy Results

Implementation Progress

ID-BE

User Tools

Self-Analysis Worksheet
For a spreadsheet version of this worksheet, see www.nist.gov/baldrige/products-services/baldrige-cybersecurity-initiative.
Reactive, Early, Developing, Mature,
Leading, or Exemplary?
Process (Categories 1–6)

Approach

Deployment

Learning

High, Medium,
or Low?

Integration

Importance

1 Leadership
1.1 Leading for Cybersecurity: How do your
senior and cybersecurity leaders lead your
cybersecurity policies and operations?
1.2 Governance and Societal Responsibilities:
How do you govern your cybersecurity
policies and operations and make
cybersecurity-related societal
contributions?
2 Strategy
2.1 Strategy Development: How do you
include cybersecurity considerations in
your strategy development?
2.2 Strategy Implementation: How do you
implement the cybersecurity-related
elements of your strategy?
3 Customers
3.1 Customer Expectations: How do you listen
to your customers and determine their
cybersecurity-related satisfaction?
3.2 Customer Engagement: How do you build
relationships with internal and external
customers around cybersecurity?
4 Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management
4.1 Measurement, Analysis, and Improvement
of Performance: How do you measure,
analyze, and then improve cybersecurityrelated performance?
4.2 Knowledge Management: How do you
manage your organization’s cybersecurityrelated knowledge assets?
5 Workforce
5.1 Workforce Environment: How do
you build an effective and supportive
environment for your cybersecurity
workforce?
5.2 Workforce Engagement: How do
you engage your workforce for high
performance in support of cybersecurity
policies and operations?
(Continued on the next page)

Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

Self-Analysis Worksheet (continued)
Reactive, Early, Developing, Mature,
Leading, or Exemplary?
Process (Categories 1–6)

Approach

Deployment

Learning

Integration

High, Medium,
or Low?
Importance

6 Operations
6.1 Work Processes: How do you design,
manage, and improve your key
cybersecurity work processes?
6.2 Operational Effectiveness: How do you
ensure effective management of your
cybersecurity operations?

Reactive, Early, Developing, Mature,
Leading, or Exemplary?
Results (Category 7)

Levels

Trends

Comparisons

Integration

High, Medium,
or Low?
Importance

7.1 Cybersecurity Process Results: What
are your cybersecurity performance and
process effectiveness results?
7.2 Customer Results: What are your
customer-focused cybersecurity
performance results?
7.3 Workforce Results: What are your
workforce-focused cybersecurity
performance results?
7.4 Leadership and Governance Results:
What are your cybersecurity leadership
and governance results?
7.5 Financial and Strategy Results: What are
your cybersecurity-related fnancial and
strategy results?

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Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology. The unauthorized use of these trademarks and service marks is prohibited.

User Tools

You’ve used the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder
to assess your organization’s cybersecurity program.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Tell Us about Your Experience
Submit feedback on the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder at www.nist.gov/baldrige/products-services/
baldrige-cybersecurity-initiative.

Learn More about the Baldrige Cybersecurity Initiative
See www.nist.gov/baldrige/products-services/baldrige-cybersecurity-initiative to learn more about this initiative.

Learn More about the Cybersecurity Framework
The Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (www.nist.gov/cyberframework) is voluntary
guidance, based on existing standards, guidelines, and practices, for organizations to better manage and reduce
cybersecurity risk.

Download the Baldrige Excellence Builder
The Baldrige Excellence Builder (www.nist.gov/baldrige/products-services/baldrige-excellence-builder) includes
key questions for improving your organization’s overall performance. It is based on the Baldrige Excellence
Framework’s Criteria for Performance Excellence.

Purchase the Baldrige Excellence Framework Booklet
The Baldrige Excellence Framework (Business/Nonprofit, Education, or Health Care; www.nist.gov/baldrige/
products-services/baldrige-excellence-framework) is a comprehensive guide to organizational
performance excellence.

Attend the Quest for Excellence© Conference
At Quest (www.nist.gov/baldrige/qe) and other Baldrige conferences, you will learn best performance
management practices from Baldrige Award recipients.

Contact the Baldrige Program
We’ll answer your questions on these and other products and services.
www.nist.gov/baldrige | 301.975.2036 | [email protected]

#BaldrigeCyber
www.nist.gov/baldrige

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
The mission of NIST, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is to promote U.S. innovation and
industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that
enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program
Created by Congress in 1987, the Baldrige Program is a unique public-private partnership that is dedicated
to helping organizations improve their performance and succeed in the global marketplace. The program
administers the Presidential Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. In collaboration with the greater
Baldrige community, we address critical national needs through

• a systems approach to achieving organizational excellence;

• organizational self-assessment tools and analysis of organizational strengths and
opportunities for improvement by a team of trained experts;
• training, executive education, conferences, and workshops on proven best management
practices and on using the Baldrige Excellence Framework to improve;

• Baldrige-based approaches to cybersecurity risk management and community excellence; and

• support for and partnership with the Alliance for Performance Excellence
(www.baldrigealliance.org), a national network of Baldrige-based programs.

Applied Cybersecurity Division, Information Technology Laboratory
As one of the major research components of NIST, the Information Technology Laboratory has the broad
mission to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science,
standards, and technology through research and development in information technology, mathematics, and
statistics. The Applied Cybersecurity Division (www.nist.gov/itl/applied-cybersecurity) implements practical
cybersecurity and privacy through outreach and effective application of standards and best practices
necessary for the U.S. to adopt cybersecurity capabilities. The Division:

• develops cybersecurity standards and guidelines in an open, transparent, and collaborative way;

• does cybersecurity testing and measurement—from developing test suites and methods to
validating cryptographic modules; and
• advances applied cybersecurity—applications of NIST’s research, standards, and testing and
measurement work.

Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
The mission of the Baldrige Foundation (www.baldrigefoundation.org) is to ensure the long-term financial
growth and viability of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and to support organizational
performance excellence in the United States and throughout the world.

For more information:

www.nist.gov/baldrige | 301.975.2036 | [email protected]

CONNECT WITH BALDRIGE
@BaldrigeProgram #Baldrige

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File Type	application/pdf
File Title	Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder v1.1
Author	Baldrige Performance Exellence Program 2019
File Modified	2019-05-20
File Created	2019-03-12