A bar chart represents categorical values with rectangular bars, making differences between categories easy to compare. In cybersecurity dashboards, it turns metrics into decisions about risk, compliance, and resource priorities. section 2.2.2
Choose a bar chart when the goal is to compare categories rather than show change over time or proportional composition:
- Compare compliance percentages across frameworks, such as SOC 2 and HIPAA. section 2.2.3
- Compare mean time to resolve across incident categories, such as phishing and malware. section 2.2.3
- Display the frequency of attack vectors or vulnerabilities by severity. section 2.2.3
Prioritizing likely exploits
A bar chart of exploit counts shows which outcome is most likely during a period. If the tallest bar represents three exploits, security teams can prioritize resources around the vulnerabilities associated with that scenario rather than treating every count as equally probable. section 11.9.1
Table 2.3 Executive dashboard example values
| Metric |
Value |
| Risk exposure score |
7.5 |
| SOC 2 compliance % |
85% |
| HIPAA compliance % |
90% |
| Critical security incidents (Q3) |
5 |
| MTTR (phishing incidents) |
2 days |
| Financial consequences (Q3) |
$150k |
Dashboard values provide concrete categories for comparison, including compliance percentages, incident counts, response times, and financial consequences. section 2.2.3
