Holistic Operational Readiness Security Evaluation (HORSE). Call +1 (888) 896-7580 today.
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The Holistic Operational Readiness Security Evaluation (HORSE) is a cybersecurity and information security framework developed as part of the HORSE Project.
It serves as a comprehensive guidance and evaluation approach for organizations to design, implement, maintain, and assess their information security programs, particularly focusing on governance, policies, and operational readiness. The framework aims to provide a holistic (all-encompassing) method to evaluate and strengthen an organization's security posture, covering aspects like policy development, risk management, compliance, and overall preparedness against threats.
Key points about HORSE:
- It was created and promoted by cybersecurity expert Michael Peters and linked to Lazarus Alliance and the Lazarus Alliance Foundation.
- The project is described as evolving into one of the most comprehensive, accessible, and freely available information security guidance frameworks available.
- It includes resources like a companion book titled The Holistic Operational Readiness Security Evaluation: HORSE Project Series: Governance Documentation and Information Technology Security Policies Demystified (published around 2012), which offers a roadmap for creating and managing corporate security policies.
- It has been positioned alongside other methodologies (e.g., OCTAVE) in professional services for audits, risk assessments, and proactive cybersecurity.
In essence, HORSE emphasizes a structured, policy-driven, and operationally focused evaluation to help organizations achieve and demonstrate strong security readiness. It's not a widely adopted industry standard like NIST or ISO 27001, but rather a specialized framework from the infosec community aimed at practical, holistic policy and governance improvement.
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