5 Reasons to Consider Managed Security Services

Recent reports show that cybercrime is the third largest threat to businesses worldwide. Also, there is little indication that organizations comprehend the severity of the risks posed by this type of crime.

In a bid to mitigate these risks, regulators have resulted in threatening businesses with huge fines if they do not get a hold of their online security protocols. The fallout from a cyber-attack goes beyond just losing data and money. The damaging of an organization’s reputation is what most businesses owners need to be concerned about. A bad reputation spreads like a bushfire in the online community, and it is palpable that your establishment could fail to recover from a cyber-attack.

Now, simply deciding to ‘do it yourself’ and tightening your internal security measures could prove to be a grave mistake. Cybercrime is evolving at an incredibly fast rate, and new threats are emerging on a daily basis. Organizations, particularly small businesses, might find that they do not have the necessary security resources and tools to keep up with the constantly evolving threats. Additionally, they may find it hard to curb these crimes as they occur efficiently. Also, recovering from an attack could consume a lot of resources.

In an effort to enhance their measures in cyber security, more businesses are turning to managed security services to not only gain security expertise but to also relieve some pressure off their in-house security personnel.

What are Managed security providers?

Managed security providers are third-party agencies in charge of overseeing and administering an organization’s security processes. These security providers either conduct their services in-house or remotely, usually via the cloud.

They offer a broad range of services, from incident response to setting up network security infrastructure. “Managed security providers might specialize in specific areas while others take up the company’s entire information security program.” says Ian McClarty, CEO of PhoenixNAP Bare-Metal Provider and Services.

Businesses opt to work with security providers for various reasons; usually, this move stems out of a lack of in-house expertise or resources for specific sectors of security or the need to have 24*7 security monitoring and management.

In other instances, establishments will employ the services of managed security providers to perform security audits or to investigate and respond to incidents. This article details the importance of cybersecurity and why you need the services of managed security providers.

Here are reasons to consider managed security

1. Save on costs

Managed security providers offer a wide range of security services. From specialized tasks that cater to specific variables of the company’s security (such as data protection, threat monitoring, regulatory compliance, network security management, forensics, and incident response), to full outsourcing of security programs.

By hiring outside security providers, a business is able to save on costs by doing away with the need to keep a full time, on-site, fully staffed IT security department. Additionally, trained security professionals are scarce and thus employing one full time leads to high costs. When you outsource, you will receive 24hr security monitoring at a much cheaper rate than when you staff in-house.

The reason security providers are more affordable is that they aggregate costs over a broad client base instead of depending on a single revenue stream or a set budget.

2. Cyber-intelligence

Most companies do not have the ability to stay a foot ahead of attackers while responding in real-time to threats. These are the hallmarks of cyber-intelligence which a lot of organizations do not possess due to the lack of skills, resources or infrastructure required. Choosing and analyzing the correct external threat feeds, combining and correlating security incidence log data, applying this information into your business context and proposing the right approach not only requires a highly specialized skill set but also needs around the clock focus to be efficient.

3. Management security agencies deliver on speed to value.

When a company that has in-house security needs to make changes to its security posture, a lot of protocol is followed which will take a fair bit of time before implementation. An attacker, on the other hand, can utilize the latest attack vectors quickly. No corporate processes are restraining them which make the hackers more agile and adaptable.

Enlisting the services of security providers ensures that you stay a step ahead of potential attackers. Your business’s capabilities of security incident management, proactive and protective monitoring and threat detection become enhanced. These enhanced capabilities assist you in combating attacks and achieving government or commercial compliance levels.

4. Experience

Most managed security providers run their operations across the globe. Their primary focus is to monitor the threat landscape. This means that they typically have a distinct advantage over establishments whose core business function is not security or technology.

What other businesses consider as a constituent of their operations is the area of specialty of security providers. This perspective enables the agency to acquire a vast security knowledge base which allows them to act on security threats throughout their entire client base.

5. Continuous compliance

Any kind and size of business will find that the preparation and execution of the increasing number of partner or industry compliance standards are time-consuming. Additionally, these tasks often compete for resources with other business projects. If only your company could not only do away with this resource drain but also increase the confidence of stakeholders, partners and auditors while reducing the costs of continuous compliance – is a question that you might find routinely asking yourself.

Managed security agencies often provide a continuous compliance monitoring package and link you to industry regulators. The benefit of this is that you get the best practical advice and practice guidance. They also assist you in establishing a compliance baseline. After that, you agree on the most efficient way to manage, monitor and respond to incident information in a particular compliance text.

This package not only upholds compliance standards while increasing your establishment’s confidence but also provides actionable data which can be used to plan for future security threats.

It goes without saying that cybersecurity is a crucial element in any business model today. The way intercommunication systems are interlinked nowadays means that not only corporations but also regular businesses are at risk of a cyber-attack.

Security measures that might have done the job internally for an organization may no longer be up to the task. This is because cybercrimes are evolving and getting more complicated by the day. Therefore, considering a managed security provider may be the best course of action. Not only will the agency insulate you from attacks, but will also allow you to have the much-needed peace of mind to focus on your business functions.