managed security services

What is a Managed Services Security Provider (MSSP)?

Andrew Douthwaite

July 23, 2018

Last updated August 19, 2022

Summary:

  • MSSPs are companies that help organizations monitor their networks for suspicious activity and unauthorized use.
  • Organizations often use MSSPs to support their in-house cybersecurity team while gaining cost-effective access to additional tools, resources, and skilled professionals.
  • Strong MSSPs provide numerous services, including Security Information & Event Management, Managed Firewalls, and Endpoint Protection.

What are Managed Security Service Providers?

Managed Security Service Providers are the security guards of the digital world. These companies exist to help you monitor your network traffic and other digital infrastructure for strange behavior, suspicious activity, and unauthorized access.

Should anything fishy be detected the managed security service provider will not only alert you to the possible security breach but help you respond to it effectively, minimizing potential damage and helping you increase security to avoid future breaches.

A good managed security service provider is also able to suggest preventive security measures and help your company implement them effectively, deterring cyber criminals, keeping your data safe, and informing your company about the latest phishing and malware tactics.

3-Minute Video Overview

“What is a MSSP” Infographic

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What is a Managed Security Services Provider Infographic

Why Does my Company Need a Managed Security Service Provider?

Depending on the size of your company you may not have the financial resources to hire a cybersecurity team. Having an in-house security expert can be expensive, and not every security expert is an expert in all cybersecurity fields.

By outsourcing this job to a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) you can keep your security costs reasonable and benefit from the expertise of an entire cybersecurity team. Cybercriminals don’t take weekends and holidays off, so neither should your cybersecurity team.

A quick response time is integral to minimizing damage and limiting the amount of data that is compromised if a security breach occurs. Hiring a company that specializes in cybersecurity ensures that your data is protected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.

What Types of Technologies and Solutions Do MSSP’s Use?

Managed Security Service Providers employ a wide range of technologies to manage, monitor, and maintain your security systems and prevent security breaches before they even happen. As part of the services package, our clients receive Cloudcastr, VirtualArmour’s proprietary reporting platform, which empowers you and your company with 24/7 security visibility.  We secure your business by focusing on three main fronts:

Security Information and Event Management

Using cutting-edge software products and expert-driven services we can provide you with a real-time analysis of any security breaches or alerts. This keeps you in the loop, empowering you and your company.

At VirtualArmour, our team of experts actively hunts for security threats before they become a problem. By acting offensively, instead of defensively, we can help keep security threats at bay, and prevent breaches from occurring in the first place. We repeat this process every 24 hours, 7 days a week.

Should a possible security threat be detected our experts will alert you within 15 minutes, allowing you to respond to threats before they become problems.

Should a breach occur we will conduct a thorough breach analysis, including an incident response. We will determine what type of threat it was, where the vulnerable entry point is and what information the unauthorized user was looking for. A detailed investigation is key to not only stopping the current attack, but also preventing similar attacks in the future.

Read more about our Managed SIEM services.

Managed Firewalls

A building is only as good as the locks on its doors. Our managed firewall services help you keep unauthorized users out, preventing unauthorized access to company systems and avoiding costly breaches. This in turn not only protects your network infrastructure from unauthorized access, it also keeps your trade secrets and other sensitive data shielded from prying eyes.

However, not all threats are external. While firewalls are great for keeping out unauthorized users, but they aren’t able to effectively monitor internal traffic because they are only placed at the ingress and egress points of the network (the entrances and exits of your virtual building).

Read more about our Managed Firewall services.

Managed Endpoint

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) security is an important part of cybersecurity. When we work with you to implement your managed security system we will review all of BYOD  (including laptops, tablets, smartphones and specialized equipment) to ensure they comply with specific security criteria.

Just as your firewall protects your system from external threats endpoint protection keeps your devices safe from any possible internal threats. If an employee’s laptop is compromised the firewall might not notice, since the laptop is already authorized to be inside the firewall.

Endpoint protection acts like a smaller firewall around each device on your network, so that if one device gets infected or compromised (say from a phishing email or a virus from a USB drive) you can keep that device isolated from the rest of the network until it can be fixed.

When we first set up your cyber security we will build a managed endpoint for you. By doing this before we grant your devices access to the network we can help you screen for security breaches before they can do any damage. A managed endpoint works like a security badge for each individual device: It lets the larger system know which devices are, and are not, authorized.

Read more about our Managed Endpoint Protection services.

Why should I choose VirtualArmour?

Your Business is Unique, and So Are Your Cybersecurity Needs

VirtualArmour understands that all businesses are different, and have different cybersecurity needs. That is why we tailor our services to the unique needs of your company, and never subscribe to the “one size fits all” business model. We believe in one-on-one client management, so you know your security is being given the care and attention to detail it deserves.

Our clients are guaranteed a personal response to any support ticket from an engineer within 15 minutes, and all change requests will be implemented within 24 hours. We have teams placed all over the world, so security support is always available.

Stay in the Loop with Your Personal Dashboard

VirtualArmour also provides each client with a personal dashboard, called Cloudcastr, giving you a bird’s eye view of your organization’s security position and keeping you involved in the entire security process.

See more about Cloudcastr.

Unsure How to Respond to a Breach? We Have You Covered

We also provide our clients with proprietary incident response protocols, which are clear and detailed playbooks that are designed specifically for your business and lay out what to do should a security breach occur.

See also: Hacked? Here’s What to Do Next.

Prevent Security Breaches Before They Happen

One of our main focuses is prevention. While no security-focused organization can guarantee total security all the time we can minimize the risks of a security breach by employing a multilayered approach to protection that covers you from cloud to core. Our proprietary technology is built using cutting-edge technology and is personalized to suit your business’s unique needs.

Conclusion

Cybercrime is a real threat, so your business needs a solid cybersecurity team on your side. Hiring your own in-house team can be cost-prohibitive, and may require more staff than you want to hire. By outsourcing this important job to a team of experts you know that your security needs are taken care of, and that you have 24-hour access to expert support should you need it. Contact us if you need help making a plan.

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