Why Partner with a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP)?

Category: News
Published: 13th January 2023

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There are pros and cons to outsourcing your security operation just as there are with any outsourcing decision. In our experience, the best results come from a hybrid approach to MSSP outsourcing where you outsource some but not all of the operation.  

The key benefits our clients report when using managed security services are that MSSPs allow you to: 

Prioritise effectively and invest in the right tools 

The cyber security market is increasingly hard to navigate. Last year (2022) the UK government estimated there were 1,838 firms active within the UK providing cyber security products and services. Oracle and KPMG have reported that 78 percent of organizations use more than 50 individual cybersecurity products. With so many tools and firms, deciding what to use can be overwhelming.  

Keeping on top of the latest threats and technologies can be a full-time job. MSSPs benefit from working with companies of all sizes and industries, so learn quickly what is most suitable for each.  They will be happy to work to a set brief if you already know what you need to outsource. Equally, they can advise on the best way forward if you have an issue but aren’t sure of the best solution for it.  

Keep your business secure any time of day or day of the week 

Cyber threats are ever-present with criminals timing their attacks differently depending on the type of attack. Phishing attacks are more often timed when criminals know users are most likely to respond to emails, meaning they will prioritise Tuesday and Thursday mornings for work email addresses and evenings for private email addresses.  

Ransomware attacks have become increasingly common outside of working hours on weekends and holidays. Over one-third of respondents to a recent survey reported taking longer to recover from a holiday or weekend attack than attacks on a weekday.  

It’s also likely that your organisation will be targeted after a major security incident. Cyber criminals know a security team will be stretched after a breach and try to capitalise on this.  

These reasons mean it is especially valuable for small and medium sized businesses to outsource their security services to a company working at sufficient scale to resource a 24/7 cyber security team.   

Optimise your set up to save money while improving security

Working across clients means that MSSPs have wider experience than an in-house team. They can advise on what will offer efficiency savings having implemented the same elsewhere.  

For example, many log platforms work on a system of credits. Splitting logs into frequent and infrequent is one way we at Red Helix help our clients to save on their analytics platform costs.  

External teams can also take a more proactive approach to risk management given the breadth of their experience and access to a wider range of tools. Their teams are also able to scale quickly, pulling resource from other accounts if needed to respond to an incident  

Stay ahead of the ever-changing regulations

General and industry specific laws are changing regularly as governments work to protect companies and industries. The UK governments National Cyber Strategy, through tighter legislation, will take a stronger approach to getting at-risk businesses to improve their cyber resilience. Certain sectors have already seen tighter regulations such as the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations for water, energy, transport, healthcare, and telecoms companies. 

Spread the cost with per user, per month pricing 

Not only to organisations need to choose the right tools, but they need to invest in these tools if they are managing their operation inhouse. This investment is significant and new tools often come with high upfront costs.  

These costs are minimised when using a managed security service provider. Many applications offer multi-tenancy agreements allowing MSSPs to manage the same tools for many different clients.  

Most work on a monthly fee, often this is per month, per user. Paying in this way avoids the high upfront costs and risks associated with it. If you are not happy with your service provider, you can cancel having only invested a fraction of what you would have done otherwise.  

Higher motivation and lower staff churn for in-house teams 

The UK government highlights the “immense challenge in meeting 

employers’ recruitment and training needs” in the latest research on cyber security skills in the UK labour market.  According to the research demand for cyber security professionals is increasing with the market becoming increasingly candidate-driven and companies struggling to recruit.  

In response to this, some companies are choosing to outsource the more mundane aspects of the security operation, so keeping their in-house teams more engaged. Others are choosing to support in-house teams with specialist skills provided by MSSPs. 

 

Whether and what you choose to outsource will depend entirely on the challenges you face, the resource available in-house and the priorities of your organisation. But if you are struggling to keep up with the number and variety of cyber threats faced by your organisation, take solace in knowing there are many MSSPs ready to support you. With so many benefits to working with an MSSP, don’t hesitate to reach out and find out how working with a service provider like Red Helix can help.