Cyber threats and attacks have increased as technology has advanced and businesses have become more reliant on digital mediums. In order to safeguard their operations and their customers, businesses are increasing their spending on security measures. If your company needs to beef up its security, you may want to look into managed security solutions.
Managed security solutions will be discussed, along with their definition, function, and significance to modern businesses. We will also go over what to look for in a managed security solution provider and why it’s beneficial to use one.
Businesses can benefit from a unified strategy for managing their security with the help of a managed security solution. Threat monitoring, vulnerability scanning, and incident response are just a few of the many security services provided. Third-party vendors who focus on cybersecurity and have the resources to implement cutting-edge security protocols typically offer managed security solutions.
Why Should You Use Managed Security Services?
Although there is a growing recognition of the importance of preventative security measures, many companies still wait until they have suffered a loss due to a data breach before implementing any concrete security measures. However, as the number of cyber threats rises, businesses must focus on IT safety. Organizations that lack a mature security programme or simply wish to increase their security capabilities can benefit from working with a managed security service provider.
- Managed security services offer continuous surveillance for the duration of your contract. In-house security management, as opposed to outsourcing, requires a sizable financial and human resource commitment.
- There seems to be no end in sight to the proliferation of cyber threats. Without the right security tools and resources, it may be difficult to keep up with emerging risks, respond to threats as they emerge, and recover from events that were detected too late.
- Compared to companies whose primary function is unrelated to security and technology, MSSPs have a significant competitive advantage due to their global reach and singular focus on threat monitoring. Because of this, MSSPs excel at identifying threats in their early stages.
- Businesses that deal with large amounts of confidential or proprietary data can’t afford to discover a breach after the fact. Managed security solutions don’t just perform random checks; they’re constantly monitoring your system. Thanks to constant monitoring, problems can be identified as soon as they arise. The firewall’s efficacy is then evaluated using a hybrid approach of manual and automated penetration testing.
- Using near-real-time data correlation across industry-standard firewall technologies, MSSPs are able to conduct robust monitoring and administration. Through infrastructure-wide monitoring, alerting, and support for network IDPS, they also stop unauthorised access to the network and data theft.
- Managed security services have many benefits, but one of the most notable is the absence of false positives. Multiple security systems within an organisation can generate numerous cybersecurity alerts, which security professionals must sort through on a daily basis. Sometimes the alerts are meaningless or additional information is needed. The true threat is more likely to be missed because of this false positive.
Enterprise IT is freed up to focus on supervising the security programme and other operations that further the goals of the enterprise when an MSSP is hired to perform vulnerability and penetration testing, conduct regular security scans, and handle other security management tasks.
What Reason Should You Use a Managed Security Service?
Many businesses today prefer to contract with third-party managed security service providers rather than build their own in-house security departments. Some examples:
Perfect for Scaling Security Quickly
Enhanced security measures are a wise expenditure to safeguard your expanding business’s assets. This can be difficult for companies that handle their own security.
A managed security services provider can help make this process simpler by providing the necessary infrastructure and, more importantly, the knowledge your company will need as it expands. Using an MSSP is a sensible choice if you’re having trouble reaching a satisfactory level of cybersecurity maturity.
Spending Cuts in Cyber Defense
By outsourcing to an MSSP, you can save money on cybersecurity without sacrificing protection levels or sacrificing growth. MSSPs typically support multiple clients with a single solution, distributing the associated costs across all of them.
Spending money on cybersecurity may seem like a luxury, but it can become a burden on a growing company. Instead, by contracting with an MSSP for a set fee, you can drastically cut your cybersecurity costs.
Help with Meeting Requirements
Companies have to follow a variety of regulations, such as HIPAA, PCI DSSI, and in some cases, GDPR. Any company dealing with customer information must adhere to these standards.
A managed security service provider (MSSP) can help you avoid major cybersecurity incidents and get ready for audits. In the event of an audit, they can also help businesses show that they are in compliance.
Detecting Weaknesses in a Network
Strong cybersecurity networks evolve over time, patching vulnerabilities discovered through routine self-testing and often staying one step ahead of malicious actors.
When handling cybersecurity in-house, this becomes challenging, especially when resources are scarce. However, MSSPs are able to quickly identify cybersecurity issues and implement fixes because they update and improve their security stack on a regular basis.
Tips for Choosing a Managed Security Service
Choosing the best MSSP is crucial to the safety of your customers, employees, data, and physical assets. The safety measures you’ve taken make all the difference. That’s why it’s so important to find the best MSSP for your company. It can be challenging to decide on an MSSP. Especially if you aren’t sure exactly what it is you need.
Check that an MSSP provides the following seven components before signing a contract and forming a partnership with them, or while searching for a new MSSP to form a partnership with. That way, your overall security requirements can be met with any service you choose.
Support Available 24/7
Even though your employees put in their typical 9 to 5 Monday through Friday, your company’s data, networks, and other assets need to be protected around the clock. That’s why it’s crucial that your MSSP keeps you safe around the clock, 365 days a year, rain or shine, holidays or no holidays. That kind of availability requires human help, not just an automated system. Even at 4 in the morning, you should be able to reach someone at the SOC. Keep away from automated services because they won’t provide the same level of care or address your unique security concerns.
Quick Response
After verifying your MSSP’s availability around-the-clock, enquire about their turnaround time for various requirements and enquiries of varying urgency. When an incident is suspected, or when time is of the essence in general, you should be able to call a hotline provided by your MSSP. You should be able to reach the team via an app and have access to a service delivery manager once you’ve signed up.
A Service Level Agreement (SLA) between you and your provider is required, and it should outline response times and guarantees.
Verifying credentials and prior customer satisfaction is also recommended. An MSSP with accolades from industry leaders suggests they have the infrastructure and expertise to help their customers through any crisis.
Where You Need Them Most
You need to know that your security team has your back in the event of a disaster, pandemic, power outage, theft, or anything else that could put your business in jeopardy. The right MSSP will aid in contingency preparation. They’ll give you advice and recommendations, and they’ll have backup plans ready in case they’re the ones hit by a disaster. In this way, information is protected on both ends and business can proceed as usual, no matter what may arise.
Make sure your MSSP uses a Tier-3 data center, provides disaster recovery, and has high availability. Those who play at a high level have top-notch facilities.
Continual Support
Your MSSP should not only be there for you when major problems arise, but they should be there all the time. Rapid responses to threats require quick answers to security questions, but if your employees are constantly dealing with security issues themselves, they can’t get on with their actual jobs.
Anticipatory rather than Reactive Safety
In the absence of an MSSP, businesses are slow to prioritise security. With the help of an MSSP, professionals can force your company to update properly on the regular, and proactively look for problems before they are discovered and exploited by the wrong people. What you need to pay attention to can be found in your MSSP. You need someone to bring up the tickets, take action on the tickets, and be there to advise you, so stay away from the alerting services.
Your safety is like a trip; it should get better the further you go. Always ask yourself, “I had problems with X, Y, and Z before I got an MSSP; how much more mature am I now that I have one?” And maturity is not the obvious capability, it is not just the technology and people the MSSP will provide or the 24/7 access to resources, but has your MSSP laser-focused you in on what the real issues are as an organisation? Have they provided input on potential design modifications? This is very important background info.
Cooperation with Outside Parties Maintained
One of the best things about a managed security service provider is that it should have established relationships with leading providers of cutting-edge hardware and software. You should also have access to high-end resources and personnel. This means that your MSSP should already have the appropriate processes in place as part of the package, rather than requiring you to outsource for every individual element. Because of this, you and your team will have more time to focus on running the business rather than searching for service providers.
Budget
Setting aside a budget for security is difficult because technology is always developing new vulnerabilities. However, your MSSP’s primary duty is to safeguard your best interests. The best MSSP will sit down with you and your staff to discuss your security concerns and offer recommendations, as well as examine your company’s annual planning needs to identify areas for cost savings and productivity gains. You need a single point of contact for both the technical aspects of delivery and the business aspects, and they should provide you with fixed pricing.
Conclusion
Managed security solutions provide businesses with a unified strategy for managing their security, such as threat monitoring, vulnerability scanning, and incident response. Managed security services offer continuous surveillance for the duration of a contract, providing businesses with a competitive advantage due to their global reach and singular focus on threat monitoring. They also have many benefits, such as the absence of false positives. MSSPs can help companies save money on cybersecurity, meet regulatory requirements, detect weaknesses in a network, and ensure safety of customers, employees, data, and physical assets. Choosing the right MSSP is important for safety.
Verify an MSSP’s availability, quick response, credentials, and prior customer satisfaction before signing a contract or searching for a new partner. Make sure they have the infrastructure and expertise to help their customers through any crisis. MSSPs should provide Tier-3 data centers, disaster recovery, and high availability, continuous support, and proactive security to help businesses prioritise security. MSSP should have established relationships with leading providers, access to resources and personnel, and provide a single point of contact for both technical and business aspects.
Content Summary
- If your company needs to beef up its security, you may want to look into managed security solutions.
- We will also go over what to look for in a managed security solution provider and why it’s beneficial to use one.
- Businesses can benefit from a unified strategy for managing their security with the help of a managed security solution.
- However, as the number of cyber threats rises, businesses must focus on IT safety.
- Managed security services offer continuous surveillance for the duration of your contract.
- Many businesses today prefer to contract with third-party managed security service providers rather than build their own in-house security departments.
- Instead, by contracting with an MSSP for a set fee, you can drastically cut your cybersecurity costs.
- A managed security service provider (MSSP) can help you avoid major cybersecurity incidents and get ready for audits.
- That’s why it’s so important to find the best MSSP for your company.
- It can be challenging to decide on an MSSP.
- Check that an MSSP provides the following seven components before signing a contract and forming a partnership with them, or while searching for a new MSSP to form a partnership with.
- Quick Response After verifying your MSSP’s availability around-the-clock, enquire about their turnaround time for various requirements and enquiries of varying urgency.
- The right MSSP will aid in contingency preparation.
- Make sure your MSSP uses a Tier-3 data center, provides disaster recovery, and has high availability.
- Anticipatory rather than Reactive Safety In the absence of an MSSP, businesses are slow to prioritise security.
- What you need to pay attention to can be found in your MSSP.
- Cooperation with Outside Parties Maintained One of the best things about a managed security service provider is that it should have established relationships with leading providers of cutting-edge hardware and software.
- You should also have access to high-end resources and personnel.
- This means that your MSSP should already have the appropriate processes in place as part of the package, rather than requiring you to outsource for every individual element.
- Budget Setting aside a budget for security is difficult because technology is always developing new vulnerabilities.
- The best MSSP will sit down with you and your staff to discuss your security concerns and offer recommendations, as well as examine your company’s annual planning needs to identify areas for cost savings and productivity gains.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is managed service provider example?
Examples of managed services include application and infrastructure management to provide connectivity, network monitoring, security, virtualization, and disaster recovery. In addition, managed services may also include storage, desktop and communications, mobility, help desk, and technical support.
Who needs an MSSP?
You need an MSSP when you can’t make do with pre-installed anti-virus software and firewalls. You need password managers, network monitoring software, threat detection tools, and more tools.
What unique product or service does an MSSP provide to their clients?
An managed security service provider (MSSP) provides outsourced monitoring and management of security devices and systems. Common services include managed firewall, intrusion detection, virtual private network, vulnerability scanning and anti-viral services.
How does managed services work?
The managed services model is a way to offload general tasks to an expert in order to reduce costs, improve service quality, or free internal teams to do work that’s specific to their business. A company that provides these service offerings is called a managed service provider (MSP).
Are managed services worth IT?
Managed services are important because they reduce risks associated with business technology. They provide many fundamental services like cloud computing, server maintenance, data backup, disaster recovery, network and security monitoring, systems administration, and infrastructure management.