Every Domain. Every Layer.
One Board-Ready Report.
The Ascend Cyber 360 audit goes beyond a technical posture review. People, process, and technology are evaluated across nine domains — producing a comprehensive risk picture your leadership team can present, defend, and act on.
Built for organizations preparing for regulatory audits, M&A due diligence, board-level risk reporting, or those that need more than a technical baseline to satisfy internal governance requirements.
Ascend Cyber vs. Ascend Cyber 360
When the Baseline Isn't Enough
Ascend Cyber establishes your technical security baseline. Ascend Cyber 360 is for organizations whose risk exposure, stakeholder obligations, or governance requirements demand a complete picture — not just what's technically broken.
Regulatory & Audit Readiness
If your organization is preparing for a third-party audit, regulatory examination, or certification process that requires documented, multi-domain risk evidence — the 360 provides the depth and breadth auditors expect to see.
Board & Leadership Reporting
If your board, executive team, or investors need a risk report they can read and act on — not just a technical findings list — the 360 produces a board-ready presentation alongside the full technical documentation.
M&A & Due Diligence
If your organization is involved in a merger, acquisition, or capital raise where security posture is a material factor — the 360 provides the defensible, documented risk picture that legal and financial teams require.
Not sure which to start with? If your organization has no formal security baseline, start with Ascend Cyber. If you need comprehensive coverage across people, process, and technology — the 360 is the right engagement.
Ask us which fitsAudit Scope
Nine Domains. People, Process, and Technology.
Ascend Cyber 360 covers the six technical domains of Ascend Cyber — plus three additional domains that address the human, operational, and third-party risk dimensions that technical assessments miss entirely.
Threat Exposure & Attack Surface
External-facing exposure review — open services, misconfigured DNS, expired certificates, internet-accessible systems, and known vulnerability indicators. We document what an attacker sees before they reach your perimeter.
Security Control Framework Alignment
Controls evaluated against NIST CSF, CIS Controls, and ISO 27001 where applicable — across Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover. We document what exists, what's missing, and what exists on paper but doesn't function as documented.
Identity & Access Management
Privileged account inventory, MFA coverage, account lifecycle hygiene, shared credentials, and lateral movement risk. Identity is the most commonly exploited attack path — we evaluate whether yours would stop an attacker or accelerate them.
Detection, Response & Recovery
SIEM and log coverage, alerting thresholds, incident response plan maturity, tabletop exercise history, and business continuity / disaster recovery alignment. We assess whether your organization could detect, contain, and recover from an incident.
Endpoint, Network & Cloud Security
EDR deployment gaps, patch management cadence, firewall rule review, network segmentation, east-west traffic visibility, and cloud configuration review. We identify where an attacker who breaches your perimeter can move undetected.
Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)
Security policy documentation, risk register maturity, data classification practices, and alignment with applicable regulatory frameworks — HIPAA, CMMC, SOC 2, PCI DSS, NIST 800-171, and state-level requirements.
Incident Response Program Maturity
Structured review of your incident response plan, escalation procedures, communication protocols, tabletop exercise history, and post-incident review practices. We assess whether your IR program is documented, tested, and executable under real conditions.
Vendor & Third-Party Risk
Inventory and review of third-party vendor access, SaaS application permissions, supply chain risk exposure, and vendor security assessment practices. Third-party relationships are now a primary attack vector — we evaluate how yours are managed and governed.
Security Awareness & Human Risk
Security awareness training program review, phishing simulation history, acceptable use policy enforcement, and human risk indicators across the organization. The majority of breaches involve a human element — we assess whether your workforce is a risk multiplier or a defensive layer.
What You Receive
A Complete Deliverable Package
Every Ascend Cyber 360 engagement produces a layered deliverable set — written for both your technical team and your leadership. Nothing is delivered verbally. Everything is documented and yours to keep.
Executive Summary
A non-technical overview of your organization's risk posture across all nine domains — written for leadership, board members, and investors. Presents risk in business terms, not security jargon.
Full Technical Findings Report
Domain-by-domain findings across all nine evaluation areas — with supporting evidence, control gaps documented, and current-state analysis. Written for your security and IT team to act on directly.
Risk Severity Ratings
Every finding rated Critical, High, Medium, or Low — with documented rationale tied to exploitability and business impact. No vague scores. Each rating is defensible and evidence-backed.
Prioritized Remediation Roadmap
Remediation steps sequenced by impact and effort across all nine domains — so your team knows what to address first, in what order, and who owns it. Includes effort estimates and recommended sequencing.
Multi-Framework Control Gap Matrix
Current-state vs. recommended-state comparison across NIST CSF, CIS Controls v8, and applicable regulatory frameworks. Useful for audit preparation and tracking remediation progress over time.
Board-Ready Risk Presentation 360 Only
A structured slide presentation summarizing risk posture, top findings, and recommended priorities — designed for board meetings, executive briefings, or investor due diligence sessions. No technical background required to present or understand it.
Vendor Risk Register 360 Only
A documented inventory of third-party vendors with system access, their access level, and associated risk rating. Provides a starting point for an ongoing vendor risk management program — formatted for operational use by your team.
Findings Readout Session
A structured walkthrough of all findings with your team — included in every engagement. We walk technical staff through domain findings and present the executive summary to leadership separately if needed. No additional charge.
Why the Full Picture Matters
The Gaps That Don't Show Up in Technical Scans
The most costly breaches aren't purely technical failures. They involve vendor access, human behavior, and the absence of a tested response — none of which appear in a perimeter scan.
$4.88M
Average total cost of a data breach globally — up 10% from 2023, the largest year-over-year increase since the pandemic
IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2024 — Press Release ↗15%
Of breaches involved a third-party or supply chain partner — up 68% year-over-year
Verizon DBIR 2024 — Press Release ↗68%
Of breaches involved a non-malicious human element — credentials, phishing, or error
Verizon DBIR 2024 — Press Release ↗$2.2M
Average savings for organizations using AI and automation in security versus those that don't
IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2024 — Press Release ↗Sources
- 1. IBM Security. Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024. $4.88M global average; $2.2M average savings with AI/automation in security. newsroom.ibm.com — IBM Press Release ↗
- 2. Verizon. Data Breach Investigations Report 2024. 68% human element; 15% third-party involvement (up 68% YoY). verizon.com — DBIR 2024 Press Release ↗
Need the complete picture across cyber, compliance, infrastructure, AI, and physical security? The Ascend Enterprise combines all eight assessment types into one coordinated engagement — one report, one team, one roadmap.
Explore Ascend EnterpriseStart with Ascend Cyber 360
A Complete Risk Picture
Before You Need to Defend One
Schedule a free 30-minute consultation. We'll confirm whether the Ascend Cyber 360 is the right engagement for your situation — and outline what the audit looks like before any commitment is made.
If your needs are narrower — a technical baseline, a compliance gap analysis, or an infrastructure review — we'll identify the right Ascend assessment during the consultation.