Cybersecurity is moving at the speed of light. Threats and technology change on a regular basis. This makes it hard to determine the best course of action. This article explores the future of managed security services to help you decide if outsourcing your 24×7 security operations is right for your organization.
What are Managed Security Services?
Managed security services (MSS) refer to the aspects of an organization’s recurring cybersecurity activities outsourced to a third-party provider. Many organizations take advantage of MSS since they provide access to cybersecurity talent and resources that exceed what the organization could operate internally.
Examples of common services provided by a managed security services provider (MSSP) include:
- 24/7 network and host security monitoring and defense
- Vulnerability scanning
- Incident response
- Direct access to cybersecurity subject matter experts
- Risk assessment and management
- Cybersecurity awareness training and testing
By outsourcing these services to a third-party, organizations can focus more on their core mission while maintaining world-class security.
What is the Key Function of Managed Security Services?
The key function of managed security services is to provide the customer with the information, resources, and access to personnel that they need to appropriately secure their network and resources. To accomplish this, the MSSP needs to provide services for all stages of the attack lifecycle from prevention (including vulnerability detection and employee training) to incident response and remediation.
By using an MSSP, a customer has access to a higher quality of service in all aspects of their cybersecurity defenses.
What are the Major Advantages of Managed Security Services?
Taking advantage of managed security services provides the customer with many benefits, including positive impacts on the business, level of protection, and ability to meet regulatory and legal compliance requirements.
The business impacts of MSS stem from the fact that the organization is no longer solely responsible for managing its own cybersecurity. Employees and management can focus on their core mission without worrying about properly protecting systems. MSS customers also reap the financial benefits of cybersecurity tasks being performed in the most efficient way possible and the price of tools, infrastructure, etc. being spread over multiple customers.
Using an MSSP also has a significant positive impact on the quality of an organization’s cybersecurity defenses. The cybersecurity threat surface is rapidly evolving, and new tools and techniques are necessary for the detection and remediation of the latest threats. An MSSP has the resources and expertise necessary to perform round-the-clock monitoring of an organization’s network with the latest tools and world-class cybersecurity experts, maximizing the probability that potential threats will be detected and remediated as quickly as possible.
Finally, access to an MSSP provides an organization with the resources they need to maintain compliance with all applicable laws and regulations that govern their operations. The regulatory landscape is complex and rapidly changing. Having access to experts on each regulation can make all the difference for an organization developing or maintaining an organizational cybersecurity strategy.
This expertise is also apparent in the quality of cyber awareness training delivered by the organization as an MSSP’s expertise means that they can distill the complexity of the regulations into the rules and requirements that your employees need to know in order to be effective and secure in their roles.
What is the Future of Managed Security Services?
The global managed security services market is expected to exceed $58 billion by 2024.
This is necessary to keep up with a cybersecurity threat landscape that is rapidly changing with new threats and tools emerging every year.
A significant amount of cybersecurity expertise is necessary to stay abreast of the current environment and architect and to maintain an organization’s defenses so that they are secure against the latest threats. This pace is forcing more organizations to come to terms with the fact that cybersecurity is a battle they can’t win on their own.
Compounding the problem is the global shortage of information security expertise. With the growing cybersecurity skills gap, it is becoming more difficult for organizations to recruit and retain the talent they need. As a result, managed security services will become increasingly vital as the demand for cybersecurity talent outstrips the available supply.
With an MSSP, an organization can be confident that they are protected by the best defenses available rather than the best they can maintain in-house.
