Security
Data Security Posture & Identity-to-Data Risk Mapping (DSPM)
This control asks one thing: How does the organization identify, classify, and govern access to sensitive data by identities across cloud, SaaS, and on-prem environments?
Low Maturity
What Failure Looks Like
The documented failure mode at level 0 (Absent) on the 0 to 4 maturity scale:
Breach impact is unknowable. Incident response defaults to worst-case disclosure and over-reporting.
High Maturity
What Good Looks Like
The business value the methodology documents at level 4 (Optimized):
Enables growth and analytics while maintaining strict control over sensitive data.
Next Step
A Typical Next Move
For programs sitting around level 0 (Absent), the methodology recommends this as the next rational step:
Implement automated data discovery and sensitivity classification across key platforms.
What reaching level 2 (Developing) unlocks
Prioritized remediation of highest-risk access.
Evidence
Evidence Assessors Ask For
A sample of the artifacts an assessor expects to see around level 2 (Developing):
- Dashboards showing identity-to-data exposure
- Sensitive data access reports per role or user
- Periodic review of high-risk access
Breach Radar
Seen in Real Breaches
These teardowns of public incidents cite SEC-04 as one of the controls that failed. Each one reconstructs the attack chain from public disclosures.
Compliance
Compliance Frameworks That Cite This Control
The bank's regulatory mapping for SEC-04 resolves to 5 frameworks with a researched compliance threshold. Weakness here shows up in audits, not only in incidents.
Where Does Your Program Land on SEC-04?
This page is the teaser layer. The full rubric behind SEC-04 defines 5 scored maturity levels, 0 to 4, each with its own operating model, evidence expectations, and regulatory citations. That rubric is the scoring instrument, so it ships inside the assessment rather than on a marketing page. Running the assessment takes about 20 minutes and no signup is required to start.