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CIS Consulting

CIS Top 18 Consulting

What is CIS Top 18 Consulting?

Cybersecurity frameworks can feel overwhelming. Many have hundreds of requirements, use technical language, and offer broad advice that leaves businesses unsure where to start. The Center for Internet Security (CIS) Critical Security Controls solve this by giving you a clear set of priorities to reduce the most common and serious cyber threats.

At Tanner Security, our CIS Top 18 Consulting Services review your cybersecurity, find gaps, and help you put controls in place to lower your IT risk. Whether you are starting from scratch or improving what you have, our consultants guide you to align your security controls with a trusted framework.

CIS Controls give you a clear plan to improve cybersecurity without needing big-company resources. By focusing on the controls that cut the most risk, businesses can strengthen their IT security program and get the most from their investments.

Overview of CIS Top 18 Controls

The CIS Top 18 Critical Security Controls are in three categories: Basic, Foundational, and Organizational. Each section focuses on controls or actions to defend against the most common cybersecurity threats.

  • Basic Controls: Fundamental actions to protect against basic threats.
  • Foundational Controls: Essential measures to build a solid security foundation.
  • Organizational Controls: Strategic practices to manage and govern security effectively.

What Are the CIS Critical Security Controls?

The CIS Critical Security Controls, also called the CIS Top 18 Controls, are a set of best practices created by security experts, government agencies, and industry leaders. These controls focus on the safeguards that work best against real-world cyberattacks like ransomware, phishing, credential theft, malware, and unauthorized access.

Most compliance frameworks focus on documentation. The CIS Controls are actionable. They give you specific guidance on asset management, secure configurations, vulnerability management, access controls, logging, monitoring, incident response, security awareness training, and more.

The framework has 18 controls and uses Implementation Groups (IG1, IG2, and IG3) so businesses can choose IT controls that fit their size, complexity, and risk tolerance level.

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Why Businesses Choose the CIS Controls

Many businesses find it hard to know which security steps to take first. The CIS Controls help by focusing on the safeguards that offer the most protection against common attacks.

Instead of implementing every possible IT security control at once, businesses use the CIS framework to build a clear cybersecurity roadmap. This approach strengthens security maturity and maximizes limited resources and budgets. Small and mid-sized businesses, healthcare providers, financial institutions, manufacturers, government contractors, and businesses seeking to comply with standards such as NIST, CMMC, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and SOC 2 frequently use the CIS framework as a starting point.

For many businesses, these Controls are the practical core of their cybersecurity program, enabling implementation and measurement of essential defenses.

CIS Critical Security Controls

The CIS Critical Security Controls offer a prioritized framework of best practices to enhance your business’s cybersecurity posture. Below are a few reasons why you should choose our consulting services:

  1. Expertise: Our CIS consultants have extensive experience, over a decade of professional consulting work, and knowledge of all CIS controls.
  2. Customized Solutions: We tailor our services to align with your business’s needs, ensuring each control works.
  3. Risk Mitigation: We prioritize identified risks, protecting your organization from threats.
  4. Compliance: Implementing the CIS Critical Security Controls will often improve compliance with cybersecurity regulations and standards.

Our CIS Top 18 Consulting Process

Every engagement begins with us learning about your business, technology, security goals, and compliance needs. Our consultants work with your team to select the right CIS Implementation Group and identify what needs to be reviewed.

We then perform an assessment of your existing cybersecurity practices against CIS Critical Security Controls. This includes reviewing technical safeguards, policies, procedures, access controls, vulnerability management processes, security monitoring capabilities, incident response readiness, and governance practices.

After our assessment, we identify your security gaps and prioritize based on risk and business impact. Instead of a technical report, we will give you actionable recommendations and a clear roadmap. We can help you fix gaps, strengthen practices, and confirm improvements over time.

Common Security Gaps Identified During CIS Assessments

Every engagement begins with us learning about your business, technology, security goals, and compliance needs. Our consultants work with your team to select the right CIS Implementation Group and identify what needs to be reviewed.

We then perform an assessment of your existing cybersecurity practices against CIS Critical Security Controls. This includes reviewing technical safeguards, policies, procedures, access controls, vulnerability management processes, security monitoring capabilities, incident response readiness, and governance practices.

After our assessment, we identify your security gaps and prioritize based on risk and business impact. Instead of a technical report, we will give you actionable recommendations and a clear roadmap. We can help you fix gaps, strengthen practices, and confirm improvements over time.

We were fortunate to have collaborated with Tanner IT Security Consultants. From the outset, John’s team exhibited a remarkable depth of knowledge and a clear understanding of our specific requirements.

Andy W. – Chief Information Security Officer

Benefits of CIS Top 18 Consulting

The CIS Controls provide a practical, measurable way to improve cybersecurity. When you align your IT environment with the CIS Controls, you gain better asset visibility, stronger vulnerability management, tighter access controls, improved monitoring, and better incident response.

The framework also supports broader compliance initiatives because many CIS safeguards align with requirements found in NIST CSF, CMMC, HIPAA, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and other widely adopted cybersecurity standards. This allows businesses to improve security while simultaneously supporting regulatory and customer requirements.

Most importantly, the CIS Controls reduce your real-world cyber risk instead of just helping you check compliance boxes.

Why Choose Tanner Security for CIS Consulting Services?

Tanner Security brings years of cybersecurity consulting to each engagement. Our team helps businesses in many industries assess risk, implement controls, enhance compliance, and build cybersecurity maturity.

We know every business is unique in its operations, risk tolerance, and budget. We tailor our recommendations to your needs and goals. Our goal: to help you implement practical IT controls for measurable security improvements.

Whether you’re starting cybersecurity efforts or improving a program, we help you use CIS Controls to build a stronger foundation.

Ensure Your CIS 18 Compliance with Tanner Security

Partner with Tanner Security for expert CIS consulting services to ensure your business meets the highest security standards. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help you achieve PCI DSS compliance.

CIS Top 18 Consulting FAQ

The CIS Critical Security Controls are a prioritized set of 18 cybersecurity best practices designed to help businesses defend against common cyber threats. The controls address areas such as asset management, vulnerability management, data protection, access control, logging, monitoring, incident response, and security governance.

The CIS Controls were developed to provide businesses with a practical, prioritized cybersecurity framework focused on the safeguards that reduce the greatest cyber risk. The framework was built using real-world attack data and industry expertise to help businesses focus their security efforts where they matter most.

A CIS Top 18 assessment evaluates a company’s IT security controls, policies, procedures, and technical safeguards against the CIS Critical Security Controls. The assessment identifies strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement, and provides a roadmap for remediation.

The CIS Controls themselves are not typically mandated by law. However, many businesses use them to support compliance efforts because the controls align closely with frameworks such as NIST CSF, CMMC, PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001, and SOC 2.

Implementation Groups (IG1, IG2, and IG3) help businesses determine which safeguards are most appropriate based on their size, complexity, and risk profile. IG1 focuses on foundational cyber hygiene, while IG2 and IG3 introduce more advanced controls for organizations facing higher levels of risk.

The timeline depends on the size and complexity of the environment being assessed. Smaller businesses may complete an assessment in a week, while larger organizations with multiple locations, cloud environments, and complex infrastructures may require additional time.

The CIS Controls provide specific technical and operational safeguards that businesses should implement, while the NIST Cybersecurity Framework provides a broader risk management framework. Many companies use the CIS Controls as a practical way to implement and support NIST CSF objectives.

Absolutely. The CIS Controls were designed to be scalable and are frequently recommended for small- and mid-sized businesses because they provide a structured, cost-effective approach to IT security and cybersecurity improvement.

A CIS Gap Assessment identifies where your current security practices differ from the CIS Controls. A CIS Implementation Project focuses on helping your company close those gaps by implementing policies, procedures, and technical safeguards that align with the framework.

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