In outsourced cybersecurity, business owners get in touch with third-party certified cybersecurity professionals. They use their services in an extremely managed way. In the modern and digital world today, cybersecurity has become one of the major concerns for businesses. You certainly can’t run a business without having strong appliances and applications.
So What is Outsourced Cyber Security? Outsourced cybersecurity is a way of protecting organizations against various ransomware threats. Organizations use the services of third-party certified Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP). Services include methods to protect organizations against DDoS, phishing, and other security threats.
If we go back in time in the early 1990s, there was no concept of outsourcing cybersecurity. But this modern era requires a modern solution. If we just take a look at the percentage of organizations outsourcing IT security worldwide, we’ll notice that it keeps on increasing. The outsourcing segment of the cybersecurity market in the UK was 1.45 billion British pounds in 2017. In 2021, the revenue in the outsourced It security segment is projected to reach $359,832.3M.
Despite all the stats and facts above, the solution for cyberattacks comes differently for each organization. Perhaps, outsourced cybersecurity isn’t a good fit for your business. Nevertheless, we are here to help you make an informed decision in this regard. Let’s dive in.
Outsource Cybersecurity: The Methodology
The methodology of outsourced cybersecurity is as follows. When an organization hires third-party certified cybersecurity professionals for their cyber protection needs. There are some pros and cons to this approach, but one thing that it ensures is that your organization is protected by professionals.
There are many cybersecurity professionals out there that provide this type of service. Understand whether outsourcing cybersecurity is a good fit for your organization. Let’s rebuild the whole concept of cybersecurity and its need and importance today.
The Need for Cybersecurity Today
If we were to define cybersecurity in a sentence, it would be as follows. The ways and methods involved in protecting your organization’s data, networks, and other security needs. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Cybersecurity in depth is a very vast field. As this world is getting more advanced, cybersecurity methods are continuously evolving. Because they need to stay up to date and ready against any damaging ransomware threats.
The underworld of hackers is stronger and deadlier than ever. (Financial loss, bankruptcy, loss of sensitive information). That’s why the top priority of every organization should be to be equipped with strong applications and appliances. If they do come across some situation, they should have a strong incident response plan. This plan should include strong outsourced cybersecurity services.
Cybersecurity by Organization’s own IT Department
Some organizations are under the wrong impression. They think that their IT department is capable of handling cybersecurity needs. This is relatively right (if trained first), but it’s certainly not ideal.
You can consider them as two different fields. Your IT department is responsible for handling all the technical aspects. The department of cybersecurity solely focuses on protection against security threats.
These continuously evolving threats require a team with a focused mindset. If you designate your cyber protection needs to your IT department, their focus will be diverted. This approach could lead to many upsetting outcomes. For instance, security protection gaps, phishing, and breach.
On the other hand, having cyber security professionals makes everything a lot easier. They will use their skills and knowledge with a clear mindset. Your data is better off protected by cybersecurity professionals. There’s no better outcome if you toss these responsibilities to your IT department.
Things to Consider Before you Decide Outsourced or Insourced
Take a look at the following points. They will help you decide whether to outsource cybersecurity fits you or not. Once you have gone through these points, you’ll have enough knowledge to make a decision.
Understanding the Type of Cybersecurity You Need
Cybersecurity is not just about defending your servers. It's about protecting computer networks, data, mobile devices, electronic systems, and much more. As you can see, there are a variety of contexts in this field. You need to find the categories that your organization needs.
Network Security
Network security involves the methods of protecting your networks from intrusion attacks. Such attacks could be opportunistic malware or targeted attackers.
Application Security
When it comes to application security, It’s about keeping your device and software secured. If your applications are compromised, it could pave the way for hackers to access your data.
Information Security
All the data and information stored in your storage and in transit needs to be protected at all costs. Information Security involves protecting the privacy of your data.
Operational Security
The methods for handling and securing digital assets are included in operational security. The processes let you know the whereabouts of storage. They show you where your data was kept and managed, as well as the rights that users have while accessing a network.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
Disaster recovery, Incident Response, and business continuity are two terms in cybersecurity. They are used to describe how a company reacts in the case of a security breach that results in the loss of data.
These terms define how an organization recovers operations and information. How they put everything back to the same operational capabilities as before the attack. Business continuity is the strategy that an organization uses when it is unable to operate due to a lack of resources.
End-user Education
End-user education tackles the most unexpected aspect of cyber-security: humans. If we don't follow proper security procedures, it can be crucial. Anybody might unintentionally introduce a virus into the system.
It is critical for every organization to teach people to delete suspicious email attachments. They should not plug in unfamiliar USB devices, and a variety of other crucial teachings.
Budget for Cybersecurity
You need to perform a cost/benefit analysis and allocate your budget for cybersecurity. It’s quite crucial that you do this even though adding another expense to your budget is quite a hassle.
If we look at the numbers given in IBM’s 2019 report. They have discussed the cost of a data breach, the average budget for cybersecurity would be 5% to 20% for your organization.
It doesn’t matter if you choose outsourced cybersecurity or implement it internally. You need to allocate some budget for this regard. Otherwise, the consequence could bankrupt your organization.
Now that we have understood the need and importance of cybersecurity today and we have gone through some of the prerequisites. Let’s look at the pros and cons of outsourced cyber security.
Pros
Here are some of the benefits of outsourcing your cybersecurity needs.
The 24/7 Service
Usually, cyberattacks occur outside working hours. It is when the system of your organization is vulnerable. Outsourced firms of cyber security offer their services 24/7. They are keenly and continuously monitoring your system and are ready to respond.
If you come across a cyberattack, the first thing that you need to prepare is your rapid incident response. If there’s no professional to look after your system, a small cyberattack will turn into a major problem pretty soon. So, you certainly cannot waste time during an attack.
Cybercriminals are very fast in launching ransomware attacks. It requires a professional cybersecurity team to protect your system around the clock.
Outsourced cybersecurity also offers the hiring organization a hands-on approach with their cybersecurity. Outsourced cybersecurity can add a solution set up which will notify your organization. You’ll be able to play your part in resolving the issues. External service is right there with you as well if things do get out of control.
Ease of Implementation and Scalability
Current security operations must cope with extremely complex IT infrastructures. Implementing in-house cybersecurity is both costly and difficult.
Cybersecurity providers must protect the perimeters of the business. They should also protect remote locations and mobile devices connected to the network. It is difficult to do when an increasing number of workers operate from home offices.
Another issue with in-house cybersecurity is scalability. The company must invest in growing and updating the aspects necessary to maintain protection. That is why contracting external cybersecurity providers give a much higher return on investment (ROI).
Cost-efficient
As we have mentioned above, the cyber protection needs vary with the organization. Outsourced professionals will lay out the costs for the exact services.
You’ll be able to eliminate all the extra charges including the employee benefits package and payroll. You won’t need to waste your time and money on training the already existing IT staff.
You will come across a situation where you need a one-time cybersecurity service. For instance, program development or security architecture view. The fastest and most effective way would be through outsourced professionals.
Specific Expertise in Cyber Security
A dedicated cybersecurity service provider has a clear focus. They are continuously working for this one purpose only and they are well aware of the latest trends in this regard. Your organization should get in business with this type of outsourced service. you’ll be protected against all the current threat landscapes.
You certainly can’t be on top of these threats if you are busy training your current IT staff. It will be no problem for cybercriminals to compromise your entire system in an instant. On the other hand, outsourced cybersecurity providers have tried and tested technology. Tools that are designed only for protecting your system.
Cons
Outsourced cybersecurity comes with drawbacks. Here are some disadvantages of an outsourced security operation center.
Handling Multiple Clients at a Time
If there’s a company that provides cybersecurity services, it will be in business with multiple companies including you. That’s why the workload is spread among different organizations and perhaps your organization won’t be their top priority. But there’s a way around this through service level agreement which is discussed down below.
External Storage for Threat Data
The data collected through monitoring the organization’s system is stored in external storage. The external security operation center is not within the bounds of your organization’s perimeters.
This approach could lead to potential leakage of data. Your cybersecurity service provider does not have strong applications and appliances. Almost all your data is processed outside your perimeters. So, it does not allow you to analyze your data for detected threats and possible security breaches.
Little Knowledge of the Business
The sole purpose of outsourced cybersecurity professionals is to keep your data secured. They are not aware of the changes that your organization makes on a day-to-day basis. For instance, you would have hired new employees. Or you have set up new network configurations.
In short, they are not aware of the ins and outs of your organization. This could become crucial if your industry is specialized. You need specific data protection and regulations.
You may be spending on Cybersecurity Services that You don’t need
We have mentioned that every organization needs a specific type of cybersecurity. Outsourced cybersecurity specialists often provide subscription packages. They involve a bunch of other services that your organization doesn’t even need. The subscription packages are not custom-tailored.
Spending too much on these subscriptions may upset the budget for cybersecurity. It’s best if you ask them to provide a package that is designed specially for your organization. You should find yourself the best-outsourced cybersecurity service providers.
Ensuring that Your Organization gets the Best Cybersecurity Service
If you choose to go with outsourced cybersecurity, you need to create a service level agreement (SLA). Your SLA should be realistic and enforceable. It should feature customization according to your organization’s needs.
You need to monitor your service provider. Have your incident response plan ready for crucial times. Make sure that your service providers are not getting the best of you. They may charge you for unnecessary service. Get a bit of knowledge about your cybersecurity needs. Have your IT department handles all the dealings.
Conclusion
Having outsourced cybersecurity professionals taking care of the security can be handy. You are able to focus on other aspects of your business in a more effective way. But we have also seen some of the drawbacks that it comes with. In the end, it all comes to this.
If your organization is niche-specific. You should consider putting an internal employee in charge of your cybersecurity needs.
However, if your company has a tight budget. You can’t train or have a dedicated internal cybersecurity expert. Then you should go with outsourced cybersecurity.
