Stages of Excellence: Understanding Maturity Levels 

Organizations are advised to achieve a consistent maturity level across all eight mitigation strategies before considering moving to a higher level. This ensures a balanced approach to cybersecurity, minimizing weak points that could be exploited by attackers.

The choice of a target maturity level should be informed by a risk-based approach, taking into account the organization's specific circumstances and the evolving nature of cyber threats. This approach helps organizations prioritize their cybersecurity efforts effectively.

📌 Maturity Level Zero: Indicates significant weaknesses in an organization's cybersecurity posture, making it easy for adversaries to exploit.

📌 Maturity Level One: Targets basic cyber hygiene to protect against adversaries using widely available tools and techniques. This level is suitable for organizations looking to protect themselves from general, non-targeted cyber threats.

📌 Maturity Level Two: Provides a more advanced defense against adversaries who are willing to invest more effort and resources to target a specific organization. This level involves tighter controls and quicker response actions.

📌 Maturity Level Three: Represents the highest standard of cybersecurity within the model, aimed at protecting against highly capable adversaries who target specific organizations with advanced tactics.