Free CIS Ransomware Readiness Assessment

Ransomware attacks cost organizations an average of $5.13 million in 2025 — and most never knew they were vulnerable until it was too late. This assessment uses the official CIS Ransomware Readiness Assessment, now available free inside RealCISO, to evaluate your organization’s defenses across backup and recovery, access controls, network security, employee readiness, and incident response — benchmarked against CIS Controls v8 and NIST CSF 2.0.

✓ Official CIS Assessment — not a third-party approximation
✓ Free — no credit card required
✓ 15–20 minutes to complete
✓ Aligned with CIS Controls v8 and NIST CSF 2.0

“Essential cyber hygiene is the foundation for any good cybersecurity program and removes a critical barrier for small and medium enterprises with limited cyber expertise in defending against ransomware.” — Curtis Dukes, CIS Executive Vice President & General Manager, Security Best Practices

What the CIS Ransomware Readiness Assessment Covers

The CIS Ransomware Readiness Assessment evaluates your organization across five critical control domains — giving you a structured gap analysis, not just a score:

• Backup and Disaster Recovery — Are your backups immutable, offsite, and regularly tested? Can you restore critical systems within your recovery time objective (RTO)?
• Network Security and Segmentation — Is ransomware contained if it enters your environment? Are admin privileges limited and monitored?
• Access Controls and Identity Management — Do you enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all privileged accounts? Is least-privilege access implemented?
• Employee Security Awareness — Can your team recognize phishing attempts — the #1 initial access vector for ransomware?
• Incident Response Readiness — Do you have a tested ransomware-specific incident response plan? Have you run a tabletop exercise in the last 12 months?

Why the CIS Partnership Makes This Assessment Different

Most “free ransomware assessments” online are marketing questionnaires with vendor-pitched recommendations. The RealCISO assessment is built on the official CIS Ransomware Readiness Assessment — developed by the Center for Internet Security, the nonprofit organization behind the CIS Controls and CIS Benchmarks trusted by thousands of organizations worldwide.

Your results are benchmarked against the same framework used by CISA, state governments, healthcare systems, and Fortune 500 security teams. When you complete this assessment, you’ll know exactly where you stand against CIS Controls v8 Implementation Group 1 — the baseline recommended for organizations of all sizes.

How Ransomware Gets In — and Where Your Gaps Are

Ransomware follows predictable paths. Understanding them is the first step to closing them:

Phishing and social engineering remain the #1 initial access vector. A single clicked link can deploy encryption within minutes. The assessment evaluates whether your email controls and employee training are actually reducing this risk — or just checking a compliance box.

Unpatched systems and exposed RDP give ransomware operators easy entry. Many organizations run months behind on patches and have Remote Desktop Protocol exposed to the internet without realizing it.

Weak backup hygiene is what turns a ransomware incident into a ransomware disaster. Organizations with tested, immutable, offsite backups recover in hours. Those without them face weeks of downtime — or pay the ransom.

Privilege escalation is how ransomware spreads from one endpoint to the entire network. If an attacker can move from a compromised workstation to your domain controller, your entire infrastructure is at risk.

Ransomware Readiness Assessment: What You’ll Learn

After completing the CIS Ransomware Readiness Assessment in RealCISO, you’ll receive:

• A gap analysis identifying your highest-risk areas across all five control domains
• Prioritized recommendations based on CIS Controls v8 — so you know what to fix first
• A readiness score you can share with your board, leadership team, or cyber insurance carrier
• A roadmap for improving your posture over 30, 60, and 90 days

Built for IT Teams, MSPs, and vCISOs

Whether you’re an IT director managing security for a 100-person company, an MSP conducting ransomware readiness assessments for clients, or a vCISO building a program aligned with NIST CSF 2.0, this assessment is designed for your workflow.

RealCISO’s platform lets you:

• Run the assessment once and track improvement over time as you implement controls
• Share results with your leadership team or clients in a clean, board-ready format
• Map findings to NIST CSF 2.0 and CIS Controls for compliance and reporting workflows
• Start for free — no sales call, no contract, no enterprise procurement cycle

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the assessment really free?
Yes. The CIS Ransomware Readiness Assessment is available at no cost inside RealCISO. You can complete the full assessment without a credit card or subscription.

How long does the ransomware readiness assessment take?
Most organizations complete the assessment in 15–20 minutes. You can save your progress and return later.

What frameworks does the CIS Ransomware Readiness Assessment align with?
The assessment aligns with CIS Controls v8 and maps to NIST CSF 2.0 functions: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover.

Is this appropriate for small businesses?
Yes — the assessment is designed for organizations of all sizes. CIS Controls v8 Implementation Group 1 (IG1) is specifically designed for SMBs with limited security resources.

What happens after I complete the assessment?
You’ll receive a prioritized gap report and actionable recommendations. You can track remediation progress inside RealCISO or explore the full platform for ongoing compliance management.

Ransomware isn’t an “if” — it’s a “when.” The organizations that recover quickly are the ones that knew their gaps before the attack. Start the free CIS Ransomware Readiness Assessment today and find out where you actually stand.