BSides København – Meaningful Metrics in Information Security
The next BSides København will take place on 9 November 2024. There is one presentation in the schedule about the use of metrics in information security.
Computers allow us to create documents, charts, and statistical values easily from any data collection we like. Therefore, the World Wide Web is full of graphs, tables with numbers, predictions, and all kinds of results. The problem is that not everything you can count is a suitable metric tied to real-life observations. Finding a metric is a science on its own. This presentation will give you some examples of how to measure meaningful attributes of computer systems and networks. You will also get to know the term metric more closely. Using proper metrics and assessing customer-provided reports will help you immensely when dealing with information security decisions. The world of information security is full of bad metrics and careless use of mathematics.
The presentation will guide you through the wonderful world of measuring stuff, selecting appropriate parameters, and how to make sense of the measurements. Not everything you can count or measure carries meaning that justifies the collection of data. The talk will give you some hard guidelines on how to improve your information security data collection.