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Lansweeper - Navigating CIS Controls in 2025

February 25, 2025 - Cyber threats demand precision, speed, and adaptability. The CIS Controls have evolved from a strong foundation into an essential playbook for securing your IT environments. Whether you manage on-premise systems, cloud workloads, or hybrid environments, these security controls provide a framework to keep you ahead of emerging threats.

What Are the CIS Controls and Why Are They Important?

CIS Controls, also known as CIS Critical Security Controls, are a set of practical cybersecurity guidelines that help your organization protect its systems from attacks. They provide a clear roadmap for your IT team, making it easier for you to focus on the most important security measures without getting lost in unnecessary complexity. With cyber threats growing more advanced, having a structured security approach is more important than ever and CIS Controls provide just that.

The Benefits of Implementing CIS Controls

CIS Controls go beyond compliance — they provide a strategic framework for reducing risk and improving cybersecurity. Organizations that adopt these best practices can expect reduced attack surfaces and more efficient incident response. By enhancing system visibility and streamlining security operations, CIS Controls help you minimize downtime and strengthen your critical infrastructure against evolving threats.

How CIS Controls Help You Navigate Evolving Cybersecurity Threats in 2025

Ransomware, supply chain attacks, and AI-driven threats are forcing organizations to rethink their security strategies. CIS Controls provide a structured, risk-based approach to addressing these challenges by prioritizing defensive measures that deliver the most impact.

Today, the framework consists of 18 key controls, covering everything from asset management and vulnerability mitigation to continuous monitoring and incident response. CIS Controls are designed to align with regulatory requirements and industry standards. It integrates seamlessly with automated security tools which enables your organization to enhance its visibility, reduce attack surfaces, and implement a proactive security strategy.

Common Obstacles Faced When Adopting CIS Controls

CIS Controls offer immense benefits, but implementation isn't always smooth. Resistance from leadership, misalignment with existing policies, and lack of automation can slow down adoption. Here's how to tackle these hurdles.

1. Lack of Executive Buy-In

Security isn't just an IT issue; it's a business imperative. Still, many CISOs and IT teams struggle to secure funding and executive support for CIS Controls implementation. Leadership often prioritizes revenue-generating projects over security investments, viewing compliance as a cost center rather than a strategic advantage.

Why This Matters:

Without executive sponsorship, security teams face budget constraints, lack of staffing, and resistance to new policies. This leads to delayed security projects, gaps in compliance, and increased risk exposure.

How to Overcome It:

• Speak the Business Languag e: Avoid technical jargon when presenting CIS Controls to executives. Instead of saying, “We need to enforce CIS Control 6 (Access Control Management) to manage access permissions,” frame it as, “Without proper access control, a single compromised credential could lead to a company-wide breach, costing millions.”
• Quantify the Impact : Demonstrate how CIS Controls reduce financial and reputational risk. Use case studies of breaches in similar industries to show the cost of inaction.
• Tie Security to Compliance and Revenue : Show how compliance with CIS benchmarks supports regulatory requirements (GDPR, CMMC, HIPAA), reducing legal risks and enabling business growth.

2. Integration Complexities

Many organizations operate with a patchwork of legacy systems, cloud services, and third-party applications, making the integration of the CIS Controls a challenge. Security teams struggle with:

• Adapting CIS Benchmarks to hybrid environments.
• Ensuring compatibility with existing SIEM, SOAR, and identity management solutions.
• Balancing security enforcement with operational efficiency.

Why This Matters:

Poor integration leads to visibility gaps, inefficient security workflows, and inconsistent enforcement of security policies.

How to Overcome It:

• Adopt an API-First Approach : Choose security tools that offer API integrations for seamless implementation of CIS Controls.
• Leverage Configuration Management Tools : Automate security configurations using Ansible, Terraform, or cloud-native security services (AWS Security Hub, Azure Security Center).
• Pilot Small-Scale Deployments : Test CIS Controls in a controlled environment before rolling out enterprise-wide.

3. Manual Processes

Relying on spreadsheet tracking, manual audits, and one-off compliance checks is a recipe for inefficiency. Many organizations still conduct security assessments annually rather than continuously monitoring compliance with CIS standards.

Why This Matters:

• Human error leads to misconfigurations, leaving security gaps.
• Security teams waste time on repetitive tasks, reducing their ability to focus on threat detection and response.
• Delayed patching increases vulnerability windows, exposing critical systems to attacks.

How to Overcome It:

• Automate Compliance Audits : Use tools that continuously scan systems for compliance with CIS Benchmarks, reducing manual workloads.
• Implement Continuous Monitoring : Replace periodic assessments with real-time security validation to detect drift and enforce controls dynamically.
• Standardize Security Policies : Develop automated workflows that enforce CIS Controls at scale across hybrid environments.

Overcoming Challenges CIS Controls Implementation

Successfully implementing CIS Controls requires a strategic approach. Your IT team must automate enforcement, align security with business objectives, and create standardized processes to ensure consistency.

1. Automate Security Enforcement

Scaling security without automation is a losing battle. Instead of juggling manual checks, organizations need automated CIS benchmark assessments that continuously monitor compliance and enforce security controls, saving time, reducing human error, and keeping defenses strong around-the-clock.

Implementation Tips:

• Deploy automated configuration checks using CIS-certified scanning tools such as Tenable, Qualys, and Rapid7.
• Use policy-as-code frameworks (e.g., Open Policy Agent, HashiCorp Sentinel) to enforce security policies programmatically.
• Integrate security automation into DevSecOps pipelines to validate compliance before deployment.

2. Align with Business Goals

Security initiatives stick when they're seen as business enablers, not just technical necessities. Executives care about efficiency, risk reduction, and staying compliant—not the nuts and bolts of security frameworks. To get leadership on board with CIS Controls, security teams need to connect the dots between cybersecurity investments and real business impact, showing how stronger security translates to fewer disruptions, lower costs, and a competitive edge.

Demonstrate Tangible Business Benefits

A strong security framework directly impacts uptime, customer trust, and regulatory compliance. Mapping CIS Controls to business outcomes helps executives see the value beyond IT. For example, improved access controls reduce the likelihood of costly data leaks, while automated threat detection minimizes downtime caused by cyber incidents.

Highlight Cost Savings and ROI

Security investments often face scrutiny because leadership needs to justify expenses. Demonstrating the cost benefits of automation, such as reducing manual security audits or streamlining compliance reporting, strengthens the case for CIS Controls. Reducing breach-related costs, including legal fees, fines, and reputational damage, also resonates with decision-makers focused on financial risk management.

Position Security as a Competitive Advantage

In industries where cybersecurity compliance is a differentiator, a strong security posture can open doors to new business opportunities. Organizations that adhere to CIS Controls demonstrate due diligence, making them more attractive partners for enterprises that require high security standards. This is particularly true for companies in finance, healthcare, and SaaS, where regulatory frameworks and customer expectations demand rigorous cybersecurity practices.

Speak the Language of Executives

Security teams often struggle to gain leadership buy-in because discussions focus on technical risks rather than business impact. Framing security initiatives in terms of risk reduction, operational continuity, and competitive positioning makes it easier to secure executive support. Instead of detailing firewall configurations or encryption protocols, highlight how CIS Controls contribute to long-term business resilience and customer trust.

By aligning CIS Controls with business goals, security teams can move beyond reactive cybersecurity measures and position themselves as strategic partners in the organization's success.

3. Standardize Processes

A fragmented approach to security leads to inconsistent implementations of CIS Controls across departments. Establishing clear security standards ensures uniform adoption across your organization.

Best Practices for Standardization:

• Develop CIS-aligned security baselines for cloud, on premises, and hybrid environments.
• Create automated security playbooks that IT teams can follow for common tasks like access provisioning, vulnerability patching, and network segmentation.
• Train your IT and security teams on CIS Controls to ensure alignment across departments.

Best Practices for Successful CIS Controls Implementation

1. Leverage Security Orchestration (SOAR)

Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) platforms streamline CIS Critical Security Controls management by:

• Automating threat detection and response to enforce security policies in real time.
• Integrating with SIEM and endpoint detection solutions to correlate security events with CIS Controls.
• Reducing alert fatigue by prioritizing high-risk vulnerabilities based on threat intelligence.

How to Get Started:

• Choose a SOAR platform that supports CIS Controls automation.
• Develop automated playbooks for key security incidents like privilege escalation attempts or unapproved software installations.
• Implement event-driven automation to enforce CIS policies dynamically.

2. Prioritize High-Impact Controls

Some CIS Controls have a greater impact on risk mitigation than others. Your IT team should focus on quick wins that provide the most immediate security gains.

Top Controls to Implement First:

• Asset Inventory (CIS Control 1) : Automate discovery of all endpoints, servers, and cloud resources to eliminate shadow IT.
• Vulnerability Management (CIS Control 7) : Deploy automated vulnerability scanning tools to identify and remediate weaknesses.
• Secure Configurations (CIS Control 4) : Apply CIS Benchmarks to harden OS and application configurations across environments.

3. Monitor Continuously

Security isn't a one-and-done process. Continuous validation ensures that CIS cybersecurity controls remain effective as environments evolve.

Key Monitoring Practices:

• Deploy real-time security analytics to track compliance deviations.
• Use deception technologies (honeypots, canary tokens) to detect lateral movement before breaches escalate.
• Conduct regular red team exercises to test the effectiveness of CIS Controls against real-world attack scenarios.

Security isn't static. Neither should your approach to CIS Controls be. Automate where possible, align security with business goals, and keep evolving because cybercriminals certainly will.

Lansweeper solutions are available in UK through Simple IT Distribution LTD, Lansweeper Partner in the UK.

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