Pulse
Every InfosecBrief carries a pulse: one reading from 0 to 100 that shows how much happened in cybersecurity that day, and what kind of news drove it. The pulse is calculated automatically from the text of each brief.
What the pulse reads
Each brief is a roundup of press-release summaries from across the industry. The pulse treats every summary, meaning each section with its own heading, as a separate story. It scores each story on its own, then combines the stories into the day’s reading. A post that covers a single press release is scored as one story.
The six factors
- Threats. Vulnerabilities and CVEs, exploits and proof-of-concept code, zero-days, active exploitation, CVSS ratings, malware and nation-state activity.
- Incidents. Breaches, ransomware, data theft and leaks, outages and DDoS, attacks on hospitals, schools and critical infrastructure, and law-enforcement takedowns and arrests.
- Funding. Funding rounds from seed to Series F, investors and valuations. Larger disclosed amounts score higher.
- M&A. Acquisitions, mergers, IPOs and take-private deals. Larger disclosed deal values score higher.
- Launches. New products, platforms and features, general availability, partnerships and integrations.
- Policy. Regulation and legislation such as NIS2, DORA, GDPR and the Cyber Resilience Act, fines and settlements, directives and deadlines, and indictments and sentencing.
How a story is scored
Each factor has a list of signals, and each signal carries a weight. A story earns the points for every signal it contains, up to a maximum of 100 per factor. For example, “actively exploited” is worth 40 points under Threats, a zero-day 35, and a CVSS score of 9 or higher 35. A ransomware attack is worth 30 under Incidents, and an acquisition 35 under M&A.
Money adds weight to funding and deal stories. Disclosed amounts such as $50M or €1.2 billion are recognised and scored in four bands: under $10M, $10M to $50M, $50M to $200M, and $200M or more. Valuations, market caps and revenue figures are ignored, so a company “valued at $5B” does not count as $5B raised.
How stories add up
For each factor, the strongest story counts in full, the second strongest counts 35%, the third 20%, and every story after that 10%. One major event can move a factor a long way, and several smaller stories of the same kind still add up, without a single busy topic flooding the chart.
The overall reading
The pulse number combines two things in equal parts:
- A weighted average of all six factors: Threats 26%, Incidents 22%, Funding 14%, M&A 14%, Policy 14% and Launches 10%. Security events carry the most weight.
- The average of the day’s two strongest factors, so a day dominated by one big theme, such as a wave of acquisitions, still registers clearly.
Levels
| Reading | Level | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| 0–24 | Quiet | Routine news, mostly product updates and announcements. |
| 25–44 | Steady | A normal news day with some notable stories. |
| 45–64 | Elevated | Significant threats, incidents or market moves worth attention. |
| 65–100 | Intense | A heavy day: active exploitation, major incidents or large deals. |
Reading the chart
The line is drawn as a heartbeat with one spike per factor, in the order Threats, Incidents, Funding, M&A, Launches and Policy. The taller the spike, the higher that factor scored. Below the chart, key figures summarise the brief: the number of stories, exploited or zero-day vulnerabilities, CVEs mentioned, incidents, money raised and deals with their disclosed value. Amounts in euros or pounds are counted at face value, so totals are approximate.
Limits
The pulse is automated keyword analysis, not editorial judgement. It reads words rather than context, so a phrase such as “no evidence of exploitation” can still add to the Threats score. Our editors can adjust any factor, or the overall reading, for an individual brief when the automatic score misses the mark.
Use the pulse as a quick summary of the day’s news, not as risk advice for your organisation. For decisions about your own systems, read the full stories and follow your vendors’ guidance.