Cybersecurity threats are much more sophisticated than they were just a few years ago, and many of today’s cyber-criminals target businesses that can’t afford full-time, in-house security staff. Most small-to-midsize business owners are aware of the importance of cybersecurity, but they push it to the side as a “nice to have” and de-prioritize cybersecurity as an issue to deal with in the future. Unfortunately, this attitude towards cybersecurity posture is why cyber-criminals target smaller businesses, and companies that de-prioritize it are the targets of almost half of ransomware and phishing attacks.
Every compromise results in expensive incident response, but ransomware is a good example of the dangers of de-prioritizing good cybersecurity posture. For companies without in-house security staff, ransomware has the potential to put them out of business. Most attacks target small-to-midsize businesses, and a reported 60% of companies are put out of business after becoming a victim of ransomware. Ransomware authors often ask for a six-figure payment in exchange for keys to decrypt critical business files. The only recovery option requires backups, and small businesses usually lack the disaster recovery strategies to withstand a sophisticated attack with an effective backup solution. This perfect storm leaves business owners with only one of two options – pay the ransom or lose all their data.
Small business owners might then look to hire security professionals in-house. While the salary demands of a good security staff member varies by state, it can cost a business anywhere from $80,000 to $120,000 per year. This salary cost for only one professional is usually too high for a business that must pour all its available resources into growth and day-to-day operations.
Some business stakeholders think their only option is to have a current employee take over cybersecurity, but this is also a mistake if the person does not have the education and experience to keep up with the latest trends, technology, vulnerabilities, and exploits. Instead, an effective alternative at a fraction of the in-house staff cost is a managed service provider. Aside from the tremendous cost benefits, having a team of consultants help with cybersecurity has several more advantages:
Several professionals with decades of experience in multiple specialties. Just like any other industry, the cybersecurity industry has various specialties (e.g., cryptography vs. data loss prevention). One staff person cannot specialize in the numerous different aspects of cybersecurity, but MSPs have multiple professionals that bring their specialized expertise to your business.
More threat protection coverage and faster incident response. Monitoring your environment requires the right infrastructure and staff to receive alerts and investigate incidents. Your business is under attack 24/7/365, so you need the right professionals available to respond to any anomalies regardless of the time and day of the week. Consultants bring this expertise and availability to your organization.
Reduced cyber-risk with better infrastructure to detect and prevent a compromise. Building secure infrastructure to protect data takes a professional. People without the know-how could give you a false sense of security with ineffective infrastructure or poorly designed configurations. Managed service providers work with your stakeholders and IT staff to build security infrastructure, review current configurations, and design network resources for better data protection.
Bring your company to current compliance standards. Most organizations have at least one regulatory body overseeing the way consumer data is managed, stored, and accessed. Any non-compliant policies resulting in a data breach could mean hefty fines for an organization, but consultants at your MSP can help you identify gaps and remediate any current violations.
Answers to any of your cybersecurity and compliance questions. Your IT operations people likely have cybersecurity questions about the best steps to take when creating policies and configuring infrastructure. Working with cybersecurity consultants gives your IT staff a resource for a quick phone call or email without requiring research on the internet, which could lead to misinformation and mistakes.
Scalable solutions to improve cybersecurity posture during business growth. You need solutions that will be flexible enough to allow for business growth without inhibiting employee productivity and revenue. Cybersecurity consultants have seen numerous environments and have experience with building scalable solutions so that any new network resources, staff members, and extensions to your current policies will integrate well with cybersecurity standards and design.
Introduction to the latest trends and cybersecurity technologies. A good cybersecurity consultant follows the latest trends in offensive and defensive strategies. Consultants network with other professionals and spend time researching the latest cyber-criminal activity, including zero-days and emerging threats. Threat intelligence is a full-time job for many MSPs, so your business gets the benefit of the provider’s research efforts without spending time reading information across darknet markets, the dark web, and the clearnet internet.
MSSPs like Access Point Consulting have consultants that offer specialized services in networking, information, IoT, threat management and assessment, offensive research, threat intelligence, and infrastructure design across both cloud and on-premises environments. Our consultants discuss your specific needs and help design solutions that fit your business, any industry compliance requirements, and scalability for your future growth.
In addition to design of future infrastructure, Access Point consultants help with assessment of your current infrastructure and make recommendations to improve your cybersecurity posture. Future-proofing your environment will not only help your current posture, but it gives your IT personnel and stakeholders guidance on future policies and best practices. This guidance from Access Point empowers your staff to make the right decisions when additional resources are added to the current network environment, including cloud integrations.
Every business environment has its own design and requirements, but de-prioritizing cybersecurity can lead to a data breach and millions of dollars in lost revenue, brand damage, litigation, incident response and investigations. Let Access Point assess your current risk and help you reduce the chance of being the next victim of a compromise.
On this episode of the CyberWatch podcast, there are updates to software across the application and OS spectrum. New malicious campaigns are threatening victims of all sizes, and researchers have performed dissections on malware to give defenders new clues about just what it is they're fighting. All this today, in CyberWatch.
As we conclude our 'ransomware readiness week' of this Cybersecurity Awareness Month, it's time to take a critical look at your organization's defenses. Ransomware attacks are becoming more sophisticated, and no business is immune. In our latest article, we explore essential strategies to bolster your ransomware preparedness. Don't miss this vital information to help protect your business from emerging threats.
Ethical hacking has become an essential response to an IT industry kept on its toes by a spectrum of bad actors with malicious intent. This article introduces two prominent methodologies that help the good guys fight back: penetration testing (pen-testing) and red teaming. Learn more here.
Host Geoff Hancock was joined by guests Mike Rush, Director of Threat Intelligence at Access Point Consulting; and Evie Manning, Senior Director of Threat Hunting and Intelligence at Access Point Consulting. Together, they talked about cyber threat intelligence and the applications that can make it work for small and medium-sized businesses.
