Security Metrics That Help Engineering Teams
Good security metrics create clarity and drive action. Bad metrics create noise, blame, and workarounds. The goal is to measure outcomes that engineering teams can influence, then use those signals to improve decisions.
This post outlines a small set of metrics that are practical for product and platform teams.
Context
Problem: Security metrics often create noise instead of action. Approach: Focus on leading indicators tied to engineering workflows. Outcome: Clearer priorities and better collaboration.
Focus on leading indicators
Lagging indicators like “number of incidents” are useful for reporting, but they are hard to improve directly. Leading indicators show whether security is getting better before something breaks.
Five metrics that work
| Metric | Why it matters | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Critical vuln MTTR | Shows whether high-risk issues are addressed quickly | < 14 days |
| CI security coverage | Measures how many repos run SAST/DAST or dependency scans | 90%+ |
| Auth hardening coverage | Tracks MFA, SSO, or strong auth adoption | 100% for admin apps |
| Log visibility for tier-1 services | Ensures you can investigate incidents quickly | 100% |
| Security review throughput | Confirms that new features are reviewed before release | 90%+ |
Keep the list short and review it quarterly.
Define clear data sources
Each metric should have a single source of truth. Examples:
- Vulnerability tracking system for MTTR.
- CI pipeline logs for coverage.
- IdP or access logs for MFA adoption.
- SIEM ingestion for logging coverage.
- Design review tickets for security review throughput.
If you cannot automate collection, simplify the metric.
Avoid vanity metrics
Do not measure what looks impressive but does not change behavior. Examples:
- Total vulnerabilities found (findings without context).
- Number of scans run (volume is not value).
- Lines of code scanned (inflates without improving security).
Share metrics with context
Metrics should start conversations, not end them. Pair each metric with a short narrative:
- What changed this month?
- What blockers exist?
- What is the next action?
This keeps the focus on improvement instead of scorekeeping.
Takeaways
Security metrics are only useful when they drive action. Choose a small set of leading indicators, tie them to real data sources, and review them with engineering teams on a regular cadence.