Top 6 Reasons Small Businesses Outsource Cybersecurity

2017 has seen several cybersecurity meltdowns so far. If you’d like to get caught up, read “The Biggest Cybersecurity Disasters of 2017 So Far”.  There is an epidemic taking place in the world of technology today. The concerning part is that it’s only getting worse. For every headlining breach in major media, there are thousands that go unreported. Cyber-attacks on small businesses now consist of 43% of all cyber-attacks.

Joseph Steinburg from Inc. summarizes that small business owners continue to believe they have nothing to worry about

“Small business owners frequently assume that hackers have little interest in attacking their organizations- ‘after all,’ they reason, ‘what data do I have that a hacker could consider valuable?'”

Unfortunately some of you out there have learned this hard lesson (about 55% according to Small Business Trends). The odds are ever increasing that most small business owners will have this experience as their business grows and they rely more and more on technology. Your business data doesn’t have to be important to a hacker. If it’s important to YOU and YOUR BUSINESS, then it’s worth the effort on their part to find a way to block you from accessing it (or deleting it completely) to get what they want; money, information, etc.

But if you’re like most small business owners, you have a million things on your plate all the time. The last thing you want to worry about is someone hacking your network. Limited resources might keep your from hiring any IT staff at all, let alone a dedicated security specialist. We wanted to let you know how many small businesses like yours are outsourcing their cybersecurity needs to service providers like us.

A growing number of small organizations are outsourcing to Managed Security Service Providers, or MSSPs.

They offer state-of-the-art technologies and seasoned security professionals at affordable prices because they spread the costs across many clients. Choosing to go this route comes with many perks, including a little less worry on your part. Keep reading to learn more about the many benefits of managed security.

Managed Security Benefits

1. IT Cost Savings – The most compelling benefit is, of course, the cost savings. Salary, benefits, 401K, travel costs; these are just some of the costs associated with hiring a full-time security specialist. With a service provider, your company only pays for a service level agreement with the provider, thus cutting costs in several ways.
2. Partner Relationships – Many MSSPs have vendor relationships with top security manufacturers and stay up to date on the latest technologies for you. Leveraging a service providers partner relationships can save you both time and money.
3. Vigilant Monitoring – This means keeping up to date on new vulnerabilities, hacker tools, security products, software releases and more.
4. Learning from various networks – In summary, being one of the many clients of an MSSP is a huge benefit. The provider learns best practices and innovative techniques through their experience with various other networks. An MSSP has a much broader view of the internet. They can learn from attacks against one client, and use that knowledge to protect all of their clients (Warwick Ashford, Computerweekly).
5. Better Preparation – Maybe you’ve heard a service provider, somewhere, GUARANTEE to keep your network 100% safe 24x7x365.
   We’re here to tell you that it is impossible to make that promise. Look at the US Government as an example of this. Hackers can be successful.
   You can be prepared. A service provider understands how to prepare for a breach, and bounce back from one too.
6. Customer Support – It’s in our best interest to make the relationship successful, as the service provider. Obviously we would like to earn your business, so that we can stay in business!
7. Bonus! We’re adaptable – You don’t have to adopt an all or nothing model. Service plans can be scaled from full security operations center to security event/incident management, or even something as granular as firewall management. Our service plans scale from full security operations center to staff augmentation. Learn more about our Managed Security Services.

Let’s Talk…

We feel strongly that managed security is a great solution for small businesses. Many business owners put this topic in the back of their mind, when it should be made a priority. Cybersecurity isn’t an option anymore. It helps protect what your business creates every day and should be part of each and every single business.

If you would like to discuss options for managed security or ask us anything, contact us for a free consultation.

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