An overview of what the term means, what the pros and cons are and the key terms you need to know to get to grips with this service as an option for you.
Data breaches, and ransomware attacks such as the 2023 breach of the UK Electoral Commission that affected around 40 million people in their database, impact organisations’ operations so severely that companies are increasingly looking to experts to minimise the risk of these devastating attacks.
As the threats grow in size and variability, it is becoming increasingly transparent that a single in-house cybersecurity expert or even a small team of experts can’t sufficiently protect companies. This is due to the increasing opportunities cyber criminals are given via new vulnerabilities from remote working, cloud services, BYOD policies, and other emerging security threats.
Deloitte’s Global Outsourcing Survey 2022, found that cyber security was the top external challenge for executives and 81% reported that they use a third-party delivery model. This shows the industry demand for outsourced security specialists to deal with new threats.
What is security as a service and how does it relate to cybersecurity?
Security as a service allows businesses to outsource their cybersecurity needs to a third-party, who will deliver and manage the necessary cybersecurity measures. A SECaaS provider manages and monitors organisation’s security systems remotely. This is run on a subscription basis and usually hosted by cloud providers. They are becoming ever-more popular for businesses as an alternative to in-house IT security teams.
Common benefits include:
- 24x7x365 support
- Cost savings
- Compliance with updated policies and procedures
- Expert advice
- Ongoing maintenance and evolution of tech stack
- Automatic deployment and remediation
Examples of Security as a Service (SECaaS)
- Disaster Recovery
- Proactive threat hunting and detection
- Firewall management
- Email security
- Network security
- Security Information & Event Management (SIEM)
- Threat Monitoring
- Network Detection & Response (NDR)
- Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)
- Vulnerability scanning
- Intrusion detection
What are the main advantages of the SECaaS model?
SECaaS takes away the hassle of daily management of cyber needs, as a result, increasing business’ overall productivity and efficiency. This also reduces stress as some expertise is outsourced, meaning that internal employees can focus on their relevant roles and responsibilities. Your overall skillset is diversified as it gives organisations access to multiple cybersecurity resources with different areas of backgrounds and experiences. The 24x7x365 support means that if an issue arises, these experts are always on-hand to help. As a result, your business continuity remains intact.
Additionally, SECaaS provides flexibility to employees who can work in remote and hybrid workplaces. This can also be applied to the infrastructure of the business as SECaaS offering can be scaled according to the business’ growth. As your business grows, so will your security needs which SECaaS providers, given their scale, can easily adapt to. This means that it is suitable for businesses of all sizes.
SECaaS providers use the latest technologies and best practices to protect your business from cyber threats. This ensures users are up to date with the latest technologies, benefitting the company. In the context of threat monitoring, it provides improved visibility for companies as there is a centralised view of user activity across the network and devices.
Building upon the benefits of centralisation, SECaaS is easy to use, with everything in one package. It is the most cost-effective solution, avoiding the cost of on-premises alternatives. The business only pays for what they need, when they need it, and it reduces the need for paying for ad hoc consultancy. The 2020 CISO Benchmark Study, identified cost-efficiency as the top reason for outsourcing from a pool of 2,800 IT decision-makers.
What are the main disadvantages of the SECaaS model?
As always, when there are positives, there are also negatives. Outsourcing your cyber security can lead to a feeling of a loss of control as it places sensitive data is in the hands of external employees. This could be a concern for some companies. Your business may feel there is a lack of assurance, as it is hard to hold outsourced teams to the same level of accountability as inhouse employees. That said, these companies depend on word of mouth and their reputation. Arguably they will place higher demands on themselves than internal employees might.
Is Security as a Service right for my business?
Outsourcing your cybersecurity needs is a scalable, adaptable, and cost-effective solution to tackling the complex cyber security landscape. It is an increasingly popular solution to navigating new cyber threats and has proven itself to be an efficient and economical option. Although there are issues which may arise as a result of reduced accountability, and diluted control through outsourcing certain roles, this can be solved via good communication and fostering close relationships to your SECaaS provider.
Get in touch with us today to discuss whether these may be useful to your company and how we at Red Helix can help you implement SECaaS to secure your IT infrastructure.
