MSSP: Why your business needs it

Introduction

It’s a big luck to live in a technological era and have a chance to watch how the whole world is being transformed. Innovations appear almost every day, so it is even impossible to list them all. Technological advancements revolutionize every aspect of our life. They are changing the way we work, study, socialize, and complete routine tasks. But it isn’t that smooth, really. People tend to be somewhat skeptical of innovations and it’s no wonder – we need some time to get used to new things and start taking them as something normal. 

Talking about new technologies, people have a lot of questions that still lack answers. In other words, there are certain concerns that make us a bit worried. Among them, there are security and privacy concerns, and these must be the most critical. 

Security and privacy concerns are rising

As technology proceeds to evolve, security and privacy concerns are rising too. Innovations are great yet still quite vulnerable to cyberattacks. 

With cyberattacks becoming more prevalent, numerous surveys suggest that organizations all over the globe experience significant losses. Furthermore, security risks repel customers. Overall, in the modern world, businesses face a multitude of security risks that threaten their operations, reputation, and bottom line, and they have no other way out but to cope with them. Technology deals with vast amounts of data – often quite sensitive – so there must be no risk of it being stolen, manipulated anyhow, or whatever.  

All these facts lead us to the conclusion that investing in cybersecurity is a matter of the highest importance as the cyber threat landscape evolves. Cyber threats are becoming more complex, so tackling them is getting harder as well. Increasing the budget isn’t enough. It takes businesses to look for services that can keep up with the pace of changes in cybersecurity. To cut a long story short, in the new reality, every business needs a robust cyber defense strategy to safeguard data and avoid huge losses. A Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) is what you should consider!

In case you have doubts related to an MSSP’s effectiveness and profitability, or just have no idea what it means, we will provide you with all the necessary information here. 

Can’t wait to know more? Then join us and let’s explore the amazing world of technology together!

The notion of MSSP

MSSP stands for Managed Security Services Provider but let’s figure out what it actually means and, eventually, what it is for.

MSSP refers to a third-party organization that provides outsourced cybersecurity services to businesses. MSSPs specialize in managing and delivering an extensive range of security services to protect their clients’ digital assets, systems, and networks from various cyber threats.

The primary goal of an MSSP is to enhance the security posture of businesses by monitoring, detecting, and responding to security incidents. 

Before we move on to details, here is a bit of statistical data:

• 71% of small and medium businesses are not prepared for cybersecurity risks. Those with in-house IT security teams are finding it difficult to keep up. This triggers rapid expansion of the MSSP market.
• Around 83% of organizations opt for outsourcing cybersecurity efforts to a managed service provider.  
• The global MSS market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 12,3% by 2027.
• The key market trends are cloud-based security rise, AI & ML integration, prioritizing endpoint security, and threat intelligence sharing. 

The role of MSSP

The concept of MSSP encompasses a wide range of security services including the following:

• Regular security monitoring and incident response to identify potential incidents timely. This process involves a thorough analysis of security logs, alerts, and other data sources to detect malicious activities and respond properly to mitigate damage.
• Vulnerability management is conducted through regular security assessments. Then recommendations are suggested in order to ensure that systems have strong protection.
• Up-to-date threat intelligence is provided through massive data collection and analysis. This involves monitoring global threat landscapes, tracking emerging cyber threats, and sharing insights on potential risks and attack trends. If you think it does not worth the time and money, we can prove the value of threat intelligence. This way you are kept updated so you can make more informed decisions regarding security strategies.
• Firewall and Intrusion Detection/Prevention System Management is needed to protect networks from unauthorized access and suspicious activities. 
• Endpoint security solutions, which involve securing individual devices such as laptops, desktops, and mobile devices against malware, ransomware, and other threats targeting endpoints.
• Security device management. This relates to the protection of security information and event management (SIEM) systems, log management tools and data loss prevention (DLP) systems. 
• Compliance and reporting mean providing assistance for businesses in meeting their industry-specific compliance requirements. This also involves creating security policies, conducting audits, generating reports, and providing the necessary documentation to ensure compliance with regulations and standards like PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, and others

Why it is good for your business

So now you know that MSSP is extremely beneficial, and if you run a business, you must need it! But why? Well, you should never introduce new solutions spontaneously without deep analysis. It starts with a business current state review and continues with outlining potential issues, main challenges, and key objectives. Reaching the goal is easier as long as you clearly see it and know the best road. 

In this section, we will explain all the numerous benefits of MSSP for your business so you won’t opt for it just because. 

Powerful cybersecurity infrastructure

An MSSP will become your reliable partner in building strong cybersecurity infrastructure. Whether you have a small organization or a large corporation – this will be a winning solution for your business. A team of professionals will identify potential risks and address them in the most efficient way.

Scalability

You expect your business to grow but consider that your security needs keep evolving similarly. And that is when an MSSP comes to your aid! It can either scale up or down as per your changing needs and tailor security solutions based on the organization’s specific requirements. This allows businesses to adapt their security strategies and make sure they have sufficient support without overpaying for unnecessary services.

Access to advanced tools

The best specialists use the best tools! Find an MSSP to enhance your cybersecurity with cutting-edge tools and technologies. The latest security solutions like network surveillance, behavior analytics system, firewalls, and others open up a myriad of opportunities to reach your objectives easier. 

Deep expertise

Everyone should do what they’re the best at, shouldn’t they? That is why you should consider engaging dedicated security service providers with vast expertise in managing and mitigating cybersecurity risks. MSSP can handle a wide range of security issues providing the knowledge and experience your business might lack. You will save valuable resources if you hire an external team instead of trying to do it on your own.

By partnering with an MSSP, you can tap into a team of skilled experts who specialize in security, and help to stay updated with the latest industry trends, technologies, and best practices. Additionally, prolonged experience of working with businesses across a range of industries is yet another convincing argument.

Multi-layered cybersecurity framework

An MSSP covers multiple cybersecurity elements to build a comprehensive and highly secure system network. This ensures active management, patching, and monitoring. This way you can handle issues varying in terms of complexity more efficiently. 

All-in-one solution

It’s highly recommended to partner with an MSSP so a team of professionals will monitor your entire network and take over your security environment management at the same time. You will have everything perfectly sorted out by true experts. 

Ongoing monitoring and immediate incident response

You may predict cybersecurity threats but you never know for sure when they occur. They are often unexpected. That is why involving an MSSP is a good idea – you will get around-the-clock data and systems monitoring. So what? All the potential threats and breaches can be detected early and addressed instantly to minimize the impact on the business and eliminate the risk of data loss or downtime. 

Compliance and regulation support

Security compliance comes down to reaching high-security standards. Non-compliance with such regulatory requirements like HIPAA, GDPR, NIST, and PCI-DSS brings about penalties and hurts your company’s reputation. MSSPs help businesses navigate the complex landscape of regulatory and compliance requirements, and also run assessments and audits to locate any areas of non-compliance and solve the issues asap.

Cost-effectiveness

If you think an MSSP is a too pricey option, we’ve got good news for you! It’s rather a cost-effective way to get the required security support as compared to building an in-house security team and infrastructure, and here’s why.  First of all, you avoid significant training, investment, and recruitment costs. 

By outsourcing security management to an MSSP, you just cover a fixed monthly fee and save thousands of dollars in salaries.

You will be provided with solutions tailored specifically to meet your business needs. At the same time, you don’t need to spend on expensive hardware or software thus saving quite a sum of money in the long run.

Vulnerability management

Regular vulnerability scans are a must-have for organizations of different scales. What is this process for? In simple terms, it involves identifying security weaknesses and gaps in the systems and software programs running on them. Comprehensive vulnerability management means running both external and internal scans of IT infrastructure.

It’s suggested to turn to an MSSP to get web application scans, vulnerability scans, and database scans done with advanced automated scanners. This way even minor vulnerabilities are detected early on. Once the scan is complete, you will get full-fledged reports thoroughly checked and approved.  

The ability to focus on key business processes

Delegating security-related tasks to an MSSp allows you to save a good deal of time and focus on other essential business activities. Your core IT team can handle hardware and software maintenance or any other prioritized business tasks while an MSSP covers security matters. 

Who needs it?

We wouldn’t lie if we said that almost every business requires MSSP. Managed Security Service Providers bring value to a wide range of organizations by offering them all-inclusive and specialized security services. Among the entities that can greatly benefit from partnering with an MSSP, there are 

• Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as they often lack the resources, expertise, and infrastructure to implement and manage robust security measures. 
• Large enterprises with dedicated internal security teams need MSSPs to complement their internal resources with additional expertise, advanced threat intelligence, and continuous monitoring. 
• Government agencies since they deal with vast amounts of sensitive data and therefore face numerous cyber threats. 
• Healthcare organizations require strong protection of patient privacy, compliance with HIPAA regulations, and safeguard against malicious attacks.
• Financial institutions look for MSSPs to aid in aligning with regulatory requirements (such as PCI-DSS), monitoring for fraudulent activities, protecting against financial cybercrime, etc.
• Online retailers and e-commerce platforms partner with MSSPs in order to secure online transactions, protect customer data, mitigate fraud, and ensure a secure e-commerce environment.
• Critical infrastructure providers such as energy, transportation, and telecommunications, need MSSPs to be able to handle attacks targeting industrial control systems (ICS), SCADA systems, and other operational technology (OT) assets.
• Educational institutions hold large chunks of personal information that must be well protected.

These are just a few examples, but in general, any organization that values data security, regulatory compliance, and a strong defense against cyber threats can benefit from partnering with an MSSP.

MSP or MSSP: the groundbreaking difference

We suppose you’re a bit confused now with the two abbreviations. Isn’t it a misspelling? Is there a big difference? We have the answers you want!

Both Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) are third-party service providers that partner with various organizations, but their areas of focus are different. It’s operations vs security – an MSP manages IT on behalf of the organization through general network and IT support, managed telecommunications (telco), or Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms. An MSSP, as you already know, is hired to provide only security services. 

“Operations center” is another factor differentiating MSP from MSSP. An MSP operates a network operations center (NOC) while an MSSP operates a security operations center (SOC).

But it doesn’t mean the two never cross. In fact, they go hand-in-hand with one another. It’s critical to secure operations for the business to be profitable and viable. And basic security services provided by MSPs aren’t enough so some extra help with that extra “S” is needed!

Why is it worth hiring both parties? You can either outsource simple, mundane tasks to an MSP or hire them to help you with more complicated and resource-consuming objectives.

If you are in search of more exclusive security services, you should find an MSSP. They focus solely on security-related issues and not on admin tasks. It goes without saying, that MSSPs have advanced tools at their disposal for effective threat mitigation.

When and how to choose

Hiring a third-party organization to manage your company’s security function was earlier considered too expensive and therefore affordable for large-scale industries or businesses only. But things have changed a lot recently and using MSSP has become quite common. These days many MSSPs offer their services to small as well as medium-sized businesses.

But when do you come to choosing an MSSP? What are the deciding factors? 

Once you have the demand for MSSP help, it’s high time you started looking for the best provider. Spoiler: it’s all up to your specific requirements and objectives. 

You should consider hiring an MSSP if at least one of the following is true:

• You have a small- or medium-sized business lacking an in-house team able to take over security management.
• Your core security team cannot manage all the security requirements due to a lack of skills, experience, tools, or whatever.

Ok, that’s clear. You’ve identified your organization’s needs and the functions which are to be outsourced, planned the budget, etc. Once the demands are mapped out, you can move on to researching your potential options and creating a list of vendors for an evaluation. Now let’s figure out what factors should impact the choice. 

• The range of services each provider offers
• Support for assuring compliance with all of the regulations and policies
• The required level of expertise and experience
• Price and additional investments
• Collaboration model
• Customer security posture 
• Data collection and analysis

It’s not going to be an easy path clear of obstacles. Finding a reliable provider to perfectly fit your needs takes time – but believe us – all efforts will eventually pay off. The right MSSP will give you access to the most suitable technology, tools, processes, controls, and talents to reach your objectives and minimize the impact of cyber incidents.

Conclusion

What you should understand is that cybercriminals are advancing too. They come up with new and ingenious ways to attack business data. It is no secret that cyberattacks cost companies millions of dollars and often – their reputations. This makes businesses seek high-end security solutions, keep an eye on the latest trends, and update their security systems on a regular basis.

Taking all this information into account, we can make the following conclusion: partnering with an MSSP makes big sense for any business that relies on technology. Outsourcing security management to a third-party organization gives you a whole pack of benefits including vast expertise, proactive maintenance, cost-effective solutions, robust security, and scalability.

Once you start your search, you’ll dive into a deep ocean full of MSSPs with various approaches. But take as much time as necessary to choose the MSSP that meets your demands.