Over the last few years, we’ve seen a steady rise in cybersecurity breaches and the costs associated with protecting your company’s data. If you want to ensure that your business is run as effectively and profitably as possible, cybersecurity should top your list of priorities. If you take the right steps to safeguard your organization, its people, and its customers, your business will be positioned to run smoother with fewer headaches and problems.
In a recent article on USAToday, a Cybersecurity Ventures report stated that the cost of cybercrime hit $8 trillion in 2023 — translating to over $250,000 per second. The total annual cost is projected to rise to $10.5 trillion by 2025. Thankfully consumers and companies are becoming more aware of the threats that are growing.
With cybersecurity, you protect your entire organization, your business, and its assets. But it can be something of a challenge to get right, and you might find that you need to alter how you approach it from time to time, especially if you don’t feel as though it’s working very well at the moment. The ability to keep up with new technology and threats and pivot is essential to keeping your business safe from cyber threats.
With that in mind, here is what might be a better overall approach to your organization’s cybersecurity. As long as you bear the following in mind, you should find that you are able to improve it considerably across the board.
Take An Audit
If it has been a while since you properly looked at your cybersecurity and how it works, you might want to first take a self-audit of the whole thing. The more clearly you do this and the better you figure out what is going on, the easier it will be to improve it and to get the results you would really want. So a self-audit can be a really powerful first step to take here, and it’s certainly something that you are going to want to think about if you are keen on improving your organization’s cybersecurity in general.
This self-audit can take whatever form you feel is necessary, but bear in mind that there are companies you can outsource it to which can ensure that it is done thoroughly and properly. That way, you will be sure to be made aware of all of the potential issues that there might be, as well as the possible solutions that you might be able to come across. So this is something that you should certainly think about if you are going to adopt better methods towards your cybersecurity in general.
The general advice here would be to carry out this audit as soon as possible and start to work on its recommendations right away. That should mean that you will start to notice a considerable change in no time at all, and it’s quite amazing what this can do for your business.
Put Someone In Charge
If you don’t already have someone who is personally in charge of the whole cybersecurity process in your business, then you should put someone into that position as soon as possible. This is something that can be incredibly useful and powerful; there is something about giving someone the responsibility that really starts to bring around the desired change so much more quickly, and that is something that you are definitely going to want to think about here. So it’s a good move to find someone to be in charge of it as soon as possible.
That could be someone who is already internal in the business, and whom you feel knows about the processes well enough to be able to lead the charge, so to speak. Or it might be that you want to look externally for this role. In any case, just make sure that it is going to mean someone is in charge of cybersecurity in your business. The moment you have someone in your role, you are probably going to notice changes right away, and it is really powerful how well this can work.
You should also ensure that you are working alongside them and communicating with them, however. It’s not just a case of leaving them to it and seeing how you go. So this is something that you are going to want to think about too – the more that you stay in contact with them as they do this, the better, and that is going to make for a much better approach to your organization’s cybersecurity too.
Use a MSP, MSSP, or MDP Service
Sometimes a good way to approach cybersecurity is to outsource it to a general IT firm. The best way to do this is to use what is known as a managed services provider (MSP), Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP), or Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service. This is an external IT team that oversees your systems constantly, ensuring that they’re made aware of any issues that might arise and therefore are able to fix them before they become a problem. One of the benefits of this, as you may imagine, is that it is quite a proactive approach to cybersecurity, one which is going to be a lot easier to find problems and fix them, and it stops security issues from getting worse. In some cases, it even stops them from happening in the first place.
So with that in mind, you might want to take a look at some of the providers out there in your area or in your field of expertise. Sometimes it pays to look to an industry-specific team for this kind of cybersecurity help. You might need medical device cybersecurity help, in which case a team that works on that specifically is the best for you. Or you might want those that deal with lawyers if you run a law office. It’s all about keeping it as specific as possible.
If you do that, and you find an MSP that is going to work with you well, it is one of the best things that you can ever do to improve your cybersecurity approach in general. So this is absolutely something that you should be thinking about here as you try to improve your cybersecurity this year.
Types of Managed Security Services
Managed Service Providers (MSPs)
Managed Service Providers (MSPs) oversee an organization’s IT operations, managing both personnel and infrastructure. This includes maintaining and monitoring networks, systems, applications, and various security needs. MSPs offer ongoing support and maintenance, ensuring smooth operation of the entire IT environment. These services can be delivered remotely or on-site, with the organization’s infrastructure hosted in different environments such as in-house data centers, third-party facilities, or cloud platforms.
Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs)
Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) specialize in network security management and monitoring, offering broader protection than MSPs, which typically handle basic security needs. MSSPs provide around-the-clock surveillance of an organization’s IT systems, along with services like security configuration and vulnerability management to prevent and address potential threats.
Co-Managed IT Service Providers
Co-Managed IT Service Providers (Co-MIT) create a hybrid model where the internal IT team collaborates with the service provider. In this approach, the organization’s IT team works closely with the Co-MIT provider, combining their deep knowledge of the company with the provider’s expertise in tools and security strategies. This partnership allows for a more comprehensive approach to managing and securing the IT environment.
Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
MDR providers focus on actively seeking out and identifying security threats, offering real-time alerts on both existing and emerging risks. By utilizing 24/7 monitoring supported by AI and machine learning, MDR services aim to detect incidents before they cause harm. Unlike MSSPs, which may issue alerts without further action, MDR services take a more proactive role by investigating and responding to threats, providing a deeper level of security management.
Conclusion
Adopting a more strategic approach to your organization’s cybersecurity is essential in today’s evolving digital landscape. By leveraging a combination of proactive threat detection, continuous monitoring, and strong collaboration between internal teams and external security partners, you can build a robust defense against cyber threats.
