What are Managed Security Services?
Threat Intelligence • Jul 18, 2021
Before delving into the myriad of benefits from managed security services we must first examine what this type of service actually is. In general, managed security services provider (MSSP) represents a service provider in the IT sector delivering specialised, IT security capability.
If an organization requires help with some aspect of monitoring or management in cybersecurity, MSSPs fill the gap within the organization’s in-house capability. Examples of services provided by an MSSP could include VPN management, firewall configuration and monitoring, intrusion detection tuning and monitoring, to email and web content filtering. Furthermore, MSSPs may also be equipped to deal with system upgrades and modifications.
Types of Managed Security Services
You will find that there are many varied types of managed security services; these are applied in different situations and in response to the client’s specific needs.
In order to assist you in identifying what kind of managed security services you may need, below are a few examples of typical managed security services and the gap they fill.
In order to proactively manage cybersecurity threats an organization must conduct vulnerability management as an ongoing process. The first step in effective vulnerability management is to perform vulnerability scanning, allowing issues to be identified and subsequently managed throughout the vulnerability management process.
A managed security services provider can assist with the ongoing task of vulnerability scanning an organization’s assets.
Among the benefits of managed security services, you will find that the crucial one is their adaptability. For example — when it comes to penetration testing services, you can apply these to your organization as best you see fit. In other words — these can be an ongoing service, or a simple one-time assessment of the security situation.
The engineers from MSSPs are there to test the information systems of your business for any potential weaknesses and vulnerabilities. If you opt for ongoing services, MSSPs are equipped to provide you with regular penetration tests that continue to examine the cybersecurity of your business environment; for instance, on a yearly or quarterly basis.
In the fast-paced and quick-changing world of cybersecurity, being aware of all new trends is incredibly important. Furthermore, managed penetration testing lets you quantify the progress of any security initiatives that your organization undertakes.
Naturally, MSSP teams don’t just work to detect threats; one of the benefits of managed security services is the agility of incident response teams. Should any incident be detected, your MSSP team is available to quickly remediate an issue.
Adopting an outsourced incident response team can help increase the pace of incident handling within your company or organization. Tapping into an experienced incident response team will enable you to quickly contain threats, minimize any delays in the handling of security incidents and ultimately restore service faster. These teams contain individuals with immense analytics skills and experience across varied customer environments.
A SOC is responsible for analyzing and monitoring the security stance of an organization on a constant basis. This analysis is conducted using system logs and event data collected from various sources, such as endpoints and network security controls – such as firewalls or intrusion detection.
Utilising available telemetry, a SOC team is able to swiftly respond to identified, or potential cybersecurity incidents., A managed SOC will work closely with internal stakeholders, ensuring security issues are addressed quickly.
In order to assist you in identifying what kind of managed security services you may need, below are a few examples of typical managed security services and the gap they fill.
Managed Vulnerability Scanning
In order to proactively manage cybersecurity threats an organization must conduct vulnerability management as an ongoing process. The first step in effective vulnerability management is to perform vulnerability scanning, allowing issues to be identified and subsequently managed throughout the vulnerability management process.
A managed security services provider can assist with the ongoing task of vulnerability scanning an organization’s assets.
Managed Penetration Testing
Among the benefits of managed security services, you will find that the crucial one is their adaptability. For example — when it comes to penetration testing services, you can apply these to your organization as best you see fit. In other words — these can be an ongoing service, or a simple one-time assessment of the security situation.
The engineers from MSSPs are there to test the information systems of your business for any potential weaknesses and vulnerabilities. If you opt for ongoing services, MSSPs are equipped to provide you with regular penetration tests that continue to examine the cybersecurity of your business environment; for instance, on a yearly or quarterly basis.
In the fast-paced and quick-changing world of cybersecurity, being aware of all new trends is incredibly important. Furthermore, managed penetration testing lets you quantify the progress of any security initiatives that your organization undertakes.
Managed Incident Response
Naturally, MSSP teams don’t just work to detect threats; one of the benefits of managed security services is the agility of incident response teams. Should any incident be detected, your MSSP team is available to quickly remediate an issue.
Adopting an outsourced incident response team can help increase the pace of incident handling within your company or organization. Tapping into an experienced incident response team will enable you to quickly contain threats, minimize any delays in the handling of security incidents and ultimately restore service faster. These teams contain individuals with immense analytics skills and experience across varied customer environments.
Managed Security Operations Center (SOC)
A SOC is responsible for analyzing and monitoring the security stance of an organization on a constant basis. This analysis is conducted using system logs and event data collected from various sources, such as endpoints and network security controls – such as firewalls or intrusion detection.
Utilising available telemetry, a SOC team is able to swiftly respond to identified, or potential cybersecurity incidents., A managed SOC will work closely with internal stakeholders, ensuring security issues are addressed quickly.
How to Choose a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP)
Considering all of the benefits of a managed security service provider, the question is — how do you choose the right MSSP?
First of all you need to think about the expectations that your organization has from this relationship. Think about the specific expertise and services which you need for your security program. Then, choose the best MSSP by evaluating different vendors on these merits.
Also, it’s important to note which technology your service providers employ. MSSPs either develop their proprietary software or use third-party products for analysis and examinations. Thus, you want to choose service providers with their own in-house tech for sophisticated threat detection. This is usually the hallmark of an expert company. Finally, you need to consider cost efficiency while choosing between different MSSPs. Pick the service providers that’s the most willing to give you a flexible option, one that aligns perfectly with your organization’s budget constraints.
First of all you need to think about the expectations that your organization has from this relationship. Think about the specific expertise and services which you need for your security program. Then, choose the best MSSP by evaluating different vendors on these merits.
Also, it’s important to note which technology your service providers employ. MSSPs either develop their proprietary software or use third-party products for analysis and examinations. Thus, you want to choose service providers with their own in-house tech for sophisticated threat detection. This is usually the hallmark of an expert company. Finally, you need to consider cost efficiency while choosing between different MSSPs. Pick the service providers that’s the most willing to give you a flexible option, one that aligns perfectly with your organization’s budget constraints.
Managed Security Services for mid-sized and smaller businesses
- Managed security services can be incredibly important for mid-sized and small businesses. Statistics released by the U.S. government state that around half of all midsized and small businesses actually suffer from cyber attacks. In case of serious data breaches, more than half of the smallest companies shut their doors within a year after the breach. That’s why using managed security services is the best prevention tactic from disastrous and unpredictable attacks.
Conclusion
MSSP can provide incredibly useful managed security services for all kinds of companies and organizations. Furthermore, one of the biggest benefits of managed security services is the fact that clients can pick and choose the precise kind of security package which they need.
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