Keeping Up in a Dynamic World: Outsourcing Cybersecurity Management

Previously, we explored the option of moving cybersecurity to the cloud as one strategy to end the hardware chase. Today, we’ll look at the option of outsourcing cybersecurity management and how it can help you keep up with a dynamic threat landscape.

Cybersecurity is a specialized branch of IT. Trained network security engineers must understand the ins and outs of networking, in addition to implementing and keeping up with security best practices. Between the hiring process, training, and continuing education, outsourcing cybersecurity management to a managed security services provider (MSSP) becomes a plausible option.

Change Management

Your network is vulnerable from the moment it’s brought online and network configurations are far from a one-size fits all process. To ensure that your defenses are ready, it’s critical that your network is expertly configured and that any changes/adjustments to your network are made with cybersecurity front of mind.

Oftentimes, when an IT admin is configuring or making a change to a network, their primary focus is on making sure everything works, which is important in its own right. However, this becomes an issue when a change leaves a network vulnerable.

Outsourcing cybersecurity management separates the roles of the individual requesting the change and the individual making the change. The network security engineer, the individual making the change, is focused on cybersecurity first; fulfilling the request becomes secondary. While this may seem like a roadblock, it’s more of an assurance and an added layer that strengthens your security posture. If an IT admin places a change request that may leave their network vulnerable, the network security engineer can make recommendations on how to safely approach that change before implementing it.

24×7 Monitoring

Outsourcing cybersecurity management can prove invaluable when it comes to monitoring your network. We constantly hear that the Internet never sleeps and, in turn, cybercrime never sleeps. It’s true. Regardless if it’s a weekday or weekend, holiday or not, there is always the potential threat of an attack.

To maintain around-the-clock monitoring in-house, a company would need to hire a minimum of 3 full-time network security engineers. Along with salaries, a company would incur the costs associated with training and continuing education. After all, network security engineers need to stay on top of the latest threats and methodologies that hackers use. By outsourcing cybersecurity management, the cost of hiring, training, and continuing education of network security engineers becomes the MSSP’s responsibility.

In-house monitoring also has its limitations; in-house network security engineers’ view of the cyber landscape is usually confined to their own network. This presents a problem in that not all cyberattacks are targeted. Oftentimes, we find that hackers will send something out into the wild in hopes that it sticks. How can a company protect itself from a vulnerability it didn’t even see coming?

MSSPs are often backed by a Security Response Center (SRC) that, in addition to creating threat protection, monitors clients’ networks globally. They have a global view of threats impacting other networks and can create all the protection necessary.

The threat landscape may be ever-changing and static solutions are, oftentimes, outdated before they’re installed. Even so, there are steps you can take to leverage resources and create cybersecurity strategies that are both flexible and up-to-date. After all, cybersecurity is not just a solution; it’s a strategy.