By Benedicte Houstrup Heltborg | 990 words | Read time: 5 minutter
In today’s complex digital landscape, building a strong cybersecurity posture is non-negotiable. But with a multitude of frameworks available, where do you even begin? We often hear about NIST CSF, CIS Controls, and ISO 27001, but understanding their individual strengths and how they complement each other can be a challenge. Let’s break them down and explore how to choose the right fit for your organization.
But first, why frameworks?
Cybersecurity frameworks provide a structured approach to managing and enhancing your organization’s security posture. They offer a common language and a set of best practices, helping you to effectively organize, prioritize, and communicate your security efforts.
Frameworks are crucial for:
- Governance: Establishing clear structures, roles, responsibilities, and policies.
- Risk management: Identifying, assessing and addressing cyber risks in a systematic way.
- Compliance: Meeting legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements.
- Continuous improvement: Providing a foundation for consistent measurement, reporting, and ongoing enhancement.
1. NIST cybersecurity framework (CSF): Your strategic guide
Think of NIST CSF as your high-level strategic roadmap.
This flexible, outcome-based framework from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology helps organizations, regardless of size and industry, understand, manage, and communicate cyber risks.
It outlines six core functions:
Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, Recover, and Govern (introduced in 2.0).
CSF uses Profiles to define your current and target security states and Tiers to assess maturity, fostering better communication and integration with broader enterprise risk management.
Profiles
A Profile represents the alignment between your organization’s cybersecurity activities and its business requirements, risk tolerance, and resources.
You can create a Current Profile to assess where you stand today, and a Target Profile that reflects where you want to be. This makes it easier to identify gaps, prioritize improvements, and communicate progress clearly to stakeholders – technical or otherwise.
Tiers
Tiers describe how well your organization manages cybersecurity risk; not in terms of maturity levels, but in how deeply risk management is integrated into your culture and processes. There are four tiers:
- Tier 1: Partial – ad hoc or reactive approaches to risk.
- Tier 2: Risk-informed – risk is considered, but not managed consistently.
- Tier 3: Repeatable – risk management practices are formalized and regularly updated.
- Tier 4: Adaptive – the organization actively adapts and improves based on lessons learned and predictive indicators.
Tiers aren’t about passing or failing, they are a way to understand how deeply cybersecurity is woven into your decision-making and operations.
Together, profiles and tiers make the NIST CSF a flexible tool: strategic enough for leadership, yet structured enough for operational planning and cross-functional collaboration.
2. CIS Critical Security Controls (CIS Controls): The Actionable Playbook
If NIST CSF is your strategic guide, CIS Controls are your actionable playbook. Developed by the Center for Internet Security (CIS), this framework consists of 18 control families that offer prioritized, prescriptive security safeguards based on real-world attack data.
The strength of the CIS Controls lies in their prescriptive nature. They don’t just tell you what to do, they provide clear, step-by-step guidance on how to implement security measures.
From asset management and access control to secure configuration and monitoring, the guidance is clear and actionable, making it especially valuable for organizations looking to improve operational security in a structured way.
To help organizations prioritize their efforts, CIS groups the controls into Implementation Groups (IGs) – a practical way to scale security based on your organization’s size, resources, and risk profile:
- IG1: Basic cyber hygiene – aimed at small or resource-constrained organizations. Focuses on essential protections to defend against the most common attacks.
- IG2: Foundational – designed for organizations with moderate resources and risk exposure. Builds on IG1 with more detailed technical defenses.
- IG3: Risk managed – intended for large or high-risk organizations that need advanced capabilities and continuous monitoring.
This approach makes it easier to tailor your security efforts without becoming overwhelmed, especially useful if you are just starting out or operating with limited capacity.
Finally, the CIS Controls map well to other frameworks, including NIST CSF and ISO 27001, making them a strong companion for building or strengthening your overall security program.
3. ISO 27001: The certifiable management system standard
ISO 27001 is the internationally recognized standard for establishing, maintaining, and continually improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS).
Its core purpose is to protect the Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA) of information, not just through technical controls, but by embedding security into your organization’s processes and culture.
What sets ISO 27001 apart is its certifiability. Organizations can undergo formal audits to demonstrate compliance with the standard’s requirements – specifically Clauses 4–10, which outline the management system structure, and Annex A, which lists a catalog of controls to choose from based on risk.
Beyond compliance, ISO 27001 also offers a way to embed security governance into everyday business operations. It encourages a risk-based mindset, continuous improvement, and clear accountability, making it a strong foundation for long-term security maturity.
For stakeholders, certification like ISO27001 offers clear, independent assurance that your security practices meet international standards.
Key differences and synergies
While all three enhance cybersecurity, their focus varies:
- NIST CSF: High-level, outcome-based, flexible, focuses on communication and overall risk management.
- CIS Controls: Prescriptive, technical, action-oriented.
- ISO 27001: Formal management system, process-driven, certifiable.
Choosing the right framework (or combining them) depends on your organization’s specific needs:
- Choose NIST CSF for strategic program structuring, risk communication, and integration with enterprise risk.
- Choose CIS Controls for clear, actionable technical guidance.
- Choose ISO 27001 if you need formal certification and a comprehensive, process-driven ISMS.
Often, the most effective approach is to combine these frameworks. You might use NIST CSF to set your strategic direction and lean on CIS Controls for concrete, technical implementation. If formal certification is a priority, ISO 27001 provides a strong foundation – and CIS Controls can support compliance with its control requirements.
By understanding the unique strengths of each, you can build a layered, robust, and tailored cybersecurity program that aligns with both your risk profile and business goals.
Ready to take the next step?
Choosing a cybersecurity framework isn’t about checking a box, it is about making decisions that support your business. Whether you are starting from scratch or refining an existing program, the right framework (or combination) can bring structure, clarity, and measurable progress.
If you are unsure where to begin (or how to align these frameworks with your organization’s goals) we’re here to help you navigate the path.