What are Managed Security Services?

Managed Security Services are network security services outsourced to service providers; the job here for the service provider is curating policies, processes, and practices to detect and prevent unauthorized access to your computer networks or network-accessible resources. That’s the crux of Managed Security Services — Network Security.

These network security services are usually conducted in-house or provided by Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) who partner with organizations and IT professionals to oversee their network and information system security to alleviate the pressures they face daily related to information security such as targeted malware, customer data theft, skills shortages, and resource constraints.

Between the two forms in which network security services are conducted, most organizations gun for engaging Managed Security Service Providers due to cost-effectiveness, the need for 24/7 security service, expert focus on network security, and the need to stay in the loop on developing network security challenges.

Managed Security Services employ a systematic approach to resolving network security issues for organizations by performing the following functions: 

1. Round-the-clock monitoring and management of intrusion detection systems and firewalls

2. Overseeing network security patch management and upgrades

3. Performing cyber security assessments and security audits

4. Emergency response

Difference between MSSPs and MSPs

It’s pretty common for people to have difficulty differentiating between Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) and Managed Service Providers (MSPs). This is because both professions function similarly; however, MSSPs are primarily focused on network or cybersecurity, while MSPs provide a broader range of IT services and are generally less focused and less specialized regarding cybersecurity. 

Additionally, while MSPs frequently establish their Network Operation Centers (NOC) from which they monitor and administrate a company’s operations, MSSPs typically establish one (or more) Security Operations Centers (SOC) from which they monitor and protect a company’s infrastructure (networks, applications, databases, servers, among others).

Why are Managed Security Services necessary?

We live in a digital age, and now, data can easily be labeled as a company’s greatest asset and grows exponentially daily. As the importance of data to business operation grows, so do security risks, threats, and vulnerabilities to such data, especially when such data that a business depends on is not securely configured and managed (resulting in asset compromise due to violations of confidentiality, availability, and integrity). 

As a result, it’s essential to have modern data protection solutions that can help protect your data against cyberattacks, data loss, and ransomware and eliminate downtime for your organization. You get to achieve these through Managed Security Services.

Managed Security Services provides boundless data protection solutions that can increase business resiliency while also being cost-effective, future-proof, and efficient enough to allow you to focus on your core business activities while remaining protected against network vulnerabilities.

To learn more about why Managed Security Services are necessary, you can check out our blog posts on digital security and its benefits for companies. You can also easily schedule a brief and free consultation with us or contact us anytime to discuss the relevance of Managed Security Services to your company’s protection from digital threats, risks, and vulnerabilities that could lead to data and revenue losses.

What to expect from a Managed Security Service Provider

Managed Security Services, as mentioned earlier, have an end goal – ensuring network security; however, that goal will be approached by the Managed Security Service Providers in our network in different forms. 

Before hiring a Managed Security Service Provider, it’s crucial to fully understand what you can expect from the service provider and the scope of the Managed Security Services they plan to offer. Here are the varying services you’re sure to get from the organizations we work with at Security Pro:

1. On-site Consulting

You can expect a Managed Security Service Provider we connect you with to provide peculiar and unique assistance tailored to your company’s needs in assessing your business risks (including technology, business risks, technical risks, and procedures), essential business requirements for your network security and the development of security policies and processes for your company. 

You will also receive on-site assistance regarding comprehensive security architecture assessments and design. security product integration, and on-site mitigation support like emergency incident response and forensic analysis when intrusions occur.

2. All-round management of your Company’s network

Managed Security Services involve installing, upgrading, and managing your firewall, Virtual Private Network (VPN) and intrusion detection hardware and software, electronic mail, and commonly performing configuration changes on your company’s behalf. 

You can expect these from the Managed Security Service Providers we connect you with.

You can also expect adequate monitoring, maintenance of your firewall’s traffic routing rules, and regular traffic and management reports sent to your desk. The service provider will also ensure your company has Intrusion detection management measures in place, either at the network level or at the individual host level, providing intrusion alerts to you, and helping you keep up to date with new defenses against intrusion and regular reports on intrusion attempts and activity.

3. Managed security monitoring

You can also expect day-to-day monitoring and interpretation of important system events throughout your company’s network – including unauthorized behavior, malicious hacks, denial of service (DoS), anomalies, and trend analysis. This is usually the first step in an incident response process.

4. Vulnerability assessments

You will be provided with one-time or periodic software scans or hacking attempts by the Managed Security Service Provider to find vulnerabilities in your company’s technical and logical network perimeter. These assessments will be contained in regular reports sent by the service provider.

5. Compliance monitoring

The Managed Security Service Provider will also conduct change management by monitoring event logs to identify changes to your company’s network or systems that violate formal security policies. For example, an impersonator granting themself too much administrative access to your company’s network or systems.

If you’d like any further clarification on what to expect from the Managed Security Service Providers we connect you with or how we provide you with value for money at Security Pro, kindly schedule a brief and free consultation with us anytime or contact us; we’re ever ready to address your concerns and assist you with making informed decisions about your digital security.

You can also check out our blog for relevant articles on digital security and the best ways to ensure such safety for yourself and your company in any capacity.

How to hire Managed Security Service Providers

Managed Security Services can be a difficult concept to grasp, let alone the process of hiring Managed Security Service Providers that you’re confident can handle your company’s complex digital security needs. However, this is where our value at Security Pro comes in to make the process as easy as it can be for you.

Anyone can pose themselves as Managed Security Service Providers today once they have the required certification or license, but it takes a different understanding to realize that the capacity of a service provider to address your security needs is not contained in a document but in their service quality; that’s what we base our work on here at Security Pro.

We’re in the business of researching, identifying, and connecting you with skilled professionals in the field of security, including Managed Security Services. The organizations and professionals we work with have been thoroughly examined, engaged, and determined as the best the industry has to offer; it’s just a matter of you determining which you believe would be your best option (best of the best, actually).

The professionals in our network possess the expert-level experience needed to help you address your security needs 24/7, from the simplest to the most complex, monitoring and managing security incidents, augmenting your security program with tailored services, including threat, cloud, infrastructure, data, identity and response management, and optimizing, fine-tuning and improving your company’s network security program efficiency for the long-term.

All you need to do is schedule a brief and free consultation with us or contact us to get started. We’ll discuss your security needs with you as soon as you’re available, and from there, we’ll do the work of connecting you with the assured and verifiable best you can get. From there, it’s up to you to decide which service provider you feel would be the best fit for managing your company’s security needs.