Security Standards Organization

The Benware Standard

Measuring how safe companies actually are -- not how safe they say they are.

Our mission: Every company deploying AI or handling digital infrastructure should have a measurable, independently verified security posture. The Benware Standard makes that measurement possible -- using the same data an attacker would use, scored by a methodology anyone can inspect.

One framework. External attack surface. AI governance. Data protection. Infrastructure. One score.

Attack Surface

AI Governance

Data Exposure

Infrastructure

Incident Response

The Problem

The numbers are getting worse

Compliance frameworks measure documentation. Attackers do not read documentation.

$10.22M

Average US data breach cost
IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report, 2025

175,000

Ollama AI servers publicly exposed
Internet-wide scan, no authentication required

7.7x

Higher breach probability for F-rated companies
vs. companies scoring A on external posture

Existing standards measure hygiene. We measure what attackers actually see.

The Framework

What we measure

Seven domains. Every test vector is observable from outside the organization, without credentials or prior access.

External Attack Surface 25%

What an attacker sees from the outside -- exposed services, open ports, misconfigured DNS, and unpatched internet-facing systems.

AI Governance 20%

Whether AI systems deployed by the organization operate under external authority, with observable controls and bounded behavior.

Data Exposure 15%

What sensitive data is accessible without authentication -- public cloud storage, leaked credentials, exposed APIs, and indexed documents.

Infrastructure Security 15%

Server configuration, cloud security posture, TLS implementation quality, and network hardening observable from external vantage points.

Browser Collection 10%

What your website collects from visitors -- third-party scripts, tracking pixels, data destinations, and consent implementation.

Incident Response 10%

How fast you detect, respond, and recover. Measured through observable signals: published policies, breach history, and response time data.

Hardware Enforcement 5%

TEE-backed AI governance for advanced deployments -- hardware-level controls that constrain AI behavior at the silicon layer.

Methodology

How we score

The Benware Standard runs 75 test vectors across all seven domains. Each test is observable from the public internet, without credentials or prior knowledge of the organization's internal environment.

Results produce a 0-100 score and an A-F grade based on weighted domain performance. Scores are calculated using a proprietary exploitability formula that weights findings by severity, detectability, and remediation complexity.

Exploitability Formula

E = V × D × E_f C × R

VVulnerability severity (CVSS-aligned)

DDetectability (how easily found)

E_fExploitability factor (tool availability)

CComplexity of exploitation

RRemediation factor (how fixable)

Test Vectors

Across 7 domains

0-100

Score Range

Normalized per domain

A-F

Letter Grade

Investor-readable output

EXT

Vantage Point

100% external, no access needed

Benchmark Dataset

What we found

Nine organizations assessed across financial services and insurance. All findings anonymized. Dataset published April 2026.

Sector	Grade	Highest Finding	Annual Risk Range
US-based growth equity fund	D	Server control panel exposed	$35K -- $286K
London angel syndicate, FCA-regulated	C	Zero email authentication	$6K -- $35K
US venture fund, Series A	B	Weak email authentication	$5K -- $33K
European PE firm	A	No verified findings	$6K -- $63K
Mid-market investment firm	A	No verified findings	$6K -- $63K
Global specialty insurance	A	No verified findings	$13K -- $125K
Cyber insurance provider	A	No verified findings	$6K -- $63K
European PE firm	A	No verified findings	$3K -- $33K
Global insurance and reinsurance	A	No verified findings	$13K -- $125K

33% of companies scored C or below. Insurance companies consistently scored highest. The single D-grade finding -- an exposed server control panel -- represented direct, unauthenticated access to infrastructure management.

Certification

Certification tiers

Five levels of certification, from basic tooling to government-grade continuous monitoring. Each tier builds on the previous.

BW-0

No Certification

Basic automated tooling applied. No independent audit, no autonomous action taken on behalf of the organization. Starting point for organizations entering the framework.

Automated scan only No independent audit

BW-1

Basic

Score of 50 or above. Domains 1 through 6 assessed. Annual self-assessment with Benware tooling. Suitable for organizations demonstrating baseline external hygiene.

Score: 50+ Domains 1-6 Annual self-assessment

BW-2

Standard

Score of 70 or above. Requires independent audit by accredited Benware assessor. Includes behavioral testing -- not just configuration review. The tier most enterprises should target.

Score: 70+ Independent audit Behavioral testing

BW-3

Advanced

Score of 85 or above. Hardware enforcement layer (D7) required. Quarterly red team exercises with documented findings. For organizations with material regulatory or fiduciary exposure.

Score: 85+ Hardware enforcement (D7) Quarterly red team

BW-4

Critical

Score of 95 or above. Government-grade controls. Continuous monitoring with automated alerting. Reserved for critical infrastructure, national security applications, and high-value financial institutions.

Score: 95+ Government-grade Continuous monitoring

Published Research

Read the full methodology

The complete test vector library, scoring rubrics, domain weighting rationale, and benchmark dataset methodology are available in the published standard.

View Full Methodology

Published April 2026 · Patent Reference: US Provisional Patent No. 63/986,807 · Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0