Garth Schwer

Recent Writing

SOC-CMM Implementation at RMIT

2 min read

SOC-CMM Implementation at RMIT

Context

As Strategic Cyber Security Leader at RMIT University, I’m leading the implementation of the SOC Capability Maturity Model (SOC-CMM) across the College of VE. This framework provides a structured approach to assessing and improving Security Operations Center capabilities.

Key Insights

  1. Maturity is Cultural, Not Just Technical: The most significant barriers to SOC maturity aren’t tools or processes—they’re organizational culture and leadership support.

  2. Under-Resourced ≠ Low Maturity: Teams with limited resources can achieve high maturity through focus, discipline, and strategic prioritization.

  3. Trust is the Foundation: In under-resourced environments, team trust and psychological safety are force multipliers that enable higher performance than budget alone.

  4. Competency and Currency: My “Competency and Currency” project addresses the reality that cyber skills decay rapidly—continuous learning must be embedded in operations, not treated as separate training.

  5. Assessment as Transformation: The SOC-CMM assessment process itself drives organizational change by creating shared language and visibility into gaps.

Practical Application

At RMIT:

  • Current Focus: Rewriting cybersecurity policies to align with SOC-CMM Level 3 capabilities
  • Team Growth: Building the Cyber Operations team with emphasis on cultural fit and learning capacity
  • Cross-Cluster Coordination: Implementing consistent competency frameworks across all VE clusters

Industry Patterns:

  • Most educational institutions operate at SOC-CMM Level 1-2
  • The gap between technical capability and strategic alignment is the primary barrier to maturity
  • Successful SOC transformations prioritize people development over tool acquisition

Strategic Bridge

Technical Reality: SOC teams need clear processes, defined metrics, and appropriate tooling.

Executive Language: “We are systematically improving our cyber resilience posture through capability maturity assessment, ensuring our security investments align with institutional risk appetite.”

The Bridge: SOC-CMM provides a common framework that allows technical teams to demonstrate progress in terms executives understand—maturity levels, capability gaps, and risk reduction.

References

  • SECO-Institute SOC-CMM Framework
  • My SOC-CMM Certified Assessor credential (2024)
  • RMIT Competency and Currency Project documentation

Last Updated: 2026-01-19

Graph View

Backlinks