Contrary to popular belief, hackers don’t target just enterprise-level companies. As per a recent research, small businesses are 350% more likely to be targeted with social engineering attacks when compared to larger organizations. But with CISOs and CIOs out of reach due to budget constraints, the MSSP is coming to the rescue. Let’s take a closer look at this key cybersecurity component.

What is MSSP?

The Managed Security Service Provider, commonly known as a MSSP, is helping small businesses get most CISO or CIO services with smaller budgets. While their time investment and effort is limited when compared to in-house employees, MSSPs are IT service providers that help cover most security requirements, compliance tasks, and prepare SMBs for various cybersecurity challenges.

MSSPs are in demand today because small businesses simply can’t afford full time CISOs or CIOs, not to mention security teams. As per Network Assured survey, the monthly cost of having an in-house CISO can easily reach USD $20,000 per month. Paying a six-figure salary is often impossible for startups and small businesses that are yet to enter their hyper-growth stage. Hence, MSSPs are a better option.

Related: Top 5 US Data Privacy Laws

Hiring a MSSP: Top 5 Requirements

The MSSP needs to bring value to the table. Here are the key requirements.

1. Threat Detection and Response

Well established MSSPs are fully capable of addressing these aspects today. They use a combination of technological solutions and manual monitoring to detect threats in real-time, a key regulatory requirement today. Also, after the data breach or leak is detected, all relevant information is passed on to relevant stakeholders like CTOs, CEOs, and DevOps teams for faster remediation operations.

Furthermore, MSSPs are also responsible for creating a smooth response plan that includes the updating of third-party vendors and coordinating press releases with the relevant information that needs to be provided to customers and partners.

2. Risk Management and Scoring

MSSPs should also be able to reduce your attack surface with the help of Risk Management processes. This especially applies to small businesses because they rely more on third-parties, both open source (OS) and paid solutions. With such complex ecosystems, there are always security blind spots and underlying dependencies. The MSSP should be able to address these issues before it’s too late.

All risk management and scoring results and improvements should be shared with key stakeholders in the company for optimal transparency. The MSSP should essentially convey the current security posture to all sides involved.

Related: Risk Management: A Cybersecurity Essential

3. Compliance and Regulatory Requirements

Data privacy laws are taking center stage in the United States, just like the GDPR did in Europe a few years ago. Data collection, information processing, secure networks, and incident reporting are just a few aspects that need to be taken care of today on an ongoing basis. Failing to comply with these privacy laws and not passing audits can result in hefty fines, especially after data leaks and breaches.

The MSSP should be able to handle all compliance related issues and make sure that Personal Identifiable Information (PII) is safe. This includes SLAs with third-party services (data processors) and keeping a close eye on remote access patterns.

4. Security Training and Awareness

Cybersecurity is a dynamic approach that goes way beyond the obvious activity monitoring and security tool implementation. Social engineering is on the rise and the reason is simple – human beings make mistakes. This can be the usage of leaked or weak passwords, clicking on suspicious links in emails, or the classic case of losing laptops or smartphones (BYOD) while in transit.

All in all, the MSSP has to be in the thick of things when it comes to communicating the importance of cybersecurity and training all employees to steer clear of trouble. Phishing simulations should ideally be implemented along with the training.

5. Planning, Analysis, and Roadmaps

Last but not the least, there’s the need for end-to-end lifecycle management. Small businesses and SMBs simply don’t have the funds and resources to get it done alone. All security tools and solutions need to be running to the vendor recommended standards and all troubleshooting should also be handled by the MSSP. Migrations and changes should also be recommended if required.

Furthermore, the MSSP should understand your business needs and also have a professional support or success team that should be responsive and helpful when issues arise. And they always will. This needs to be a true long-term relationship.

Related: Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Cyber Liability Insurance: Empowering MSSPs Worldwide

MSSPs are playing a big role in securing small businesses today. The ones with proven track records will do their job well and improve your security posture, but don’t expect to gain immunity from phishing attacks, ransomware raids, and supply-chain exploits. Social engineering is getting more and more sophisticated. Unfortunately, the best you can do today is minimize your attack surface.

Also, MSSPs are just like CISOs and CIOs. They, like any other cybersecurity entity, can’t resolve the weak link that’s behind so many successful breaches – human error. There’s also the third-party solution implementation that’s so common in small businesses. For example, your marketing team can install a new tag manager and the MSSP, or any security stakeholder, probably won’t even know about it.

Enter cyber liability insurance.

What if we told you that you can take it one step further and improve your business resilience by being covered against cybercrime? The good news is that you can. All you need to do is login and get a personalized quote in minutes. Mindaro eliminates all loopholes and visibility issues to give you an extra layer of financial protection to compliment your MSSP’s efforts. Cyber insurance is now just a few clicks away.