Welcome to Cyber Exposure Index
The Cyber Exposure Index (CEI) is powerful data for investors and risk management professionals. It is a measure of externally observable cyber exposure of publicly traded companies.
What is Cyber Exposure Index?
The Cyber Exposure Index (CEI) is a powerful dataset that quantifies various indicators of cyber exposure for publicly traded companies. These indicators include:
- Information leaks
- Threat actor discussions
- Presence in third-party data breaches
- Credential compromise severity
- And other related metrics.
It is methodologically important to note that cyber exposure alone does not determine whether a company is secure. Security posture depends on an organization’s awareness of their exposure and the effectiveness of their mitigation measures. While specific countermeasures must be determined by each organization based on their context, companies should maintain visibility across relevant threat surfaces. This may include dark web, deep web, data breaches, malware activity, and threat actor communications in social channels.
Applications of Data
This dataset enables several key applications for stakeholders:
- Comparative risk analysis against industry peers: Understand how a company’s cyber exposure compares to its industry counterparts.
- Early identification of potential breach events: Get ahead of potential threats by spotting signs of breach events early.
- Investment portfolio risk assessment: Evaluate the potential risks within your investment portfolio by assessing the cyber exposure of companies within it.
- Evaluation of security control effectiveness: Measure how well a company’s security measures are addressing their cyber exposure.
- Assessment of management awareness: Gauge the level of awareness among an organization’s leadership regarding its cyber risks.
CEI brings transparency through externally observable data collected without organizational interaction.
Who Benefits from CEI Data?
The data serves multiple stakeholders, including:
- Investors: Informing investment decisions.
- Insurance Companies: Supporting risk assessment for policies.
- Auditors: Evaluating business continuity and digital risk.
- Board Members: Understanding security posture and risk exposure.
The indicators mentioned above represent examples of observable cyber exposure. Organizations should determine which metrics are most relevant to their specific context and maintain comprehensive monitoring beyond these examples.
Collaborative Efforts and Validation
CEI is a joint initiative between Cyber Intelligence House, the data provider, and the National University of Singapore. The dataset has been independently validated by researchers and investment professionals across leading institutions in North America, Asia-Pacific, and Australia.
This collaborative effort has confirmed the dataset’s effectiveness for:
- Anticipating market movements
- Identifying undisclosed incidents
- Optimizing investment allocations
As academic and professional adoption grows, new applications continue to emerge, expanding the frontiers of cyber exposure research and quantitative trading strategies.
Industry based “Exposure Benchmark”
Discover about the unique findings of our Cyber Exposure Index benchmarks, which provide a view into cyber exposure trends across industries.