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Cybersecurity strategy

How Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) comes about?

Traditionally, network security embodies a set of policies and practices that companies adopt to prevent and monitor unauthorized access, misuse, modification, or denial of a computer network and network-accessible resources. When these services are outsourced to a third party service provider, it becomes a managed service.

As the sophistication of cyber attacks develop, more and more companies are turning to professionals to take up the fight. These outsourced service providers are collectively known as Managed Security Services Provider, or MSSP.

Why do you need a MSSP?

Cybersecurity has been a rising concern and there is a very clear trend of escalation. This is not a threat that is going away any time soon. In fact, cybersecurity breaches can create significant commercial and legal liabilities for companies. While it is true that most organisations today have implemented cyber security best practices and invested in tools, the fact is that attackers have also improved tools and resources to work with.

By engaging a MSSP, organisations are able to leverage the skills and expertise of a larger pool of professionals. Also, these specialists have a network of clients and partners, and are able to cross pollinate the learnings and experiences across their network.

Cyber threats have grown to include mobile devices and can attack through malicious apps or compromised devices connected to the company’s network. More targeted attacks have also made cyber threats more sophisticated and harder to combat. New type of threats like Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) can sit dormant in servers and computers for months before being detected.

All these are threats that a lone organisation might find hard put to fight against. But an experienced MSSP would have a much wider pool of expertise and experience to tap into.

Choosing the right MSSP

One of the first consideration when selecting a MSSP is to ensure that they are able to provide a 24/7 support and monitoring. Cyber security threats are usually not confined to any specific geographic region. Therefore, attacks can come at any time of the day or night. Just because your company has closed for the day does not mean that the hackers are stopping their activities.

Cyber security solutions are sophisticated and require expertise to setup and maintain. While many solutions tout ease of use as a selling point, the reality is that a good user interface still requires the operator to have the necessary skills to implement the best solution.

Finally, ensure that the service provider is able to provide a comprehensive suite of solutions. While it is true that your company might not need all of them today, the fact is that you never know when your growing needs will catch up. Even more important, the MSSP that has a comprehensive suite of solution implies that they are aware of more than what you are currently using. It is always good to have a true guru in your corner.

Prevention is better than cure

It is possible that companies believe that cyber security threats are not their biggest threats. Yet, it is also true that prevention is better than cure. No matter the nature of business, all businesses will have confidential data that needs to be protected.

Losing your customer database to a hacker might not only mean a loss of business, malicious use of the information, especially personal information, can lead to other legal complications for the company.

There are sophisticated Cybersecurity solutions out there that could be implemented with the least amount of integration with the enterprise systems to achieve optimal threat protection. So, if you have not already done so, make plans to speak to a Managed Security Services Provider today.

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