Even before the pandemic struck last year, cybercrime was on a meteoric rise. And along with it, increased cybersecurity risks to businesses of all sizes. Last year, the average price tag of a data breach in the U.S. was $3.86 million, according to industry figures. The overall projected cost of cybercrime in 2021 is in the trillions of dollars. Few companies have the wherewithal to get into the ring with cybercriminals today, and fewer will tomorrow.
Threats Without Borders
The cybercrime landscape has no boundaries. The digital assets that cybercriminals are after are moving targets, with the impacts of successful attacks becoming increasingly dire to businesses worldwide. And hackers stay one step ahead of the curve by changing their methods.
The pandemic-driven scramble to work from home (WFH) left businesses exposed to bad actors, data loss and costly cyberattacks. With more organizations conducting business online with remote workforces, cybercriminals stepped up attacks on networks, data, endpoints and users.
There’s no ability to “set it and forget it” for IT departments when it comes to security. There really never was. But, in a pandemic and post-pandemic world, where work from anywhere (WFA) will define a new work culture, security investments must be strategic, assessed and include the latest tools — zero trust, analytics, automation, and 24/7/365 monitoring and management, among others.
This need is forcing companies to adapt, outsource, and, for many, finally face the reality of what they’re up against in order to give employees secure access to the business data they need. And when security breaches do occur, disruption is significant. First comes the breach, then the discovery, investigation, containment and recovery. This cycle occurs daily across all industries — education, energy, financial, government, healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, retail, transportation, etc. Even government agencies that deal with classified and sensitive data are struggling to keep cybercriminals out of their infrastructure. Witness the Solarwinds breach, which impacted the Department of Defense and the Treasury Department.
The Skills Shortage Strikes Again
The pandemic’s upending of business operations priorities stretched resources thin and forced companies into crisis mode. That’s a big lift in and of itself. But most companies don’t have the IT security talent, skills and resources to protect their businesses. And, given the shortage of IT security pros, the fierce competition to hire these scarce, expensive and talented individuals, IT departments are forced to do too much with too little.
How bad is it? The fourth annual global study by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) and Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) reported that the cybersecurity skill crisis is worse than ever, negatively impacting nearly 70% of organizations.
The implications of this skills shortage include:
- increased workload
- unfilled open jobs
- inability to learn and use cybersecurity technologies to their full potential
- ongoing business risk
Outsourcing as an Equalizer
Despite all of the challenges we’ve discussed so far, organizations must find ways to fight cybercrime with sophisticated, affordable security practices and protection. Outsourcing to experts in managed services providers (MSPs) and managed security service providers (MSSPs) allows companies large and small to stand toe-to-toe with cybercriminals.
In fact, IT security spending is increasing as other IT spending shrinks in the wake of the pandemic. According to IDC, security services will be the largest and fastest-growing segment of the security market over the next several years, accounting for roughly half of all spending through 2024. Managed security services are also a fast-growing segment with a projected five-year CAGR of 13.6%.
The Business Case for SOC-as-a-Service
As with all things tech, not all cybersecurity solutions are created equal. High Wire Overwatch 24/7, the centerpiece of our Overwatch Managed Cybersecurity Platform-as-a-Service, delivers you the most advanced Extended Detection and Response solution with round-the-clock monitoring and remediation by expert analysts in our Security Operations Center (SOC). In short, we offer SOC-as-a-Service. In practice, this means:
- 24/7 data capture from multiple sources
- advanced machine learning algorithms that weed out false alarms
- automatically handling of high-fidelity threats
- expert analysts that proactively inspect and hunt for threats.
As your Cybersecurity Partner, we also help you deliver an end-to-end suite of reliable security solutions – from Patch Management to Manage Detection and Response – that are affordable for your customers yet high margin for your MSP business.
Become an MSSP and Trusted Authority Instantly with Overwatch
Demand for security solutions has never been higher than it is today, and it’s projected to keep growing through the foreseeable future. We back powerhouse, end-to-end security solutions with a lucrative, end-to-end partner program that can help you capture, retain and grow your customer relationships. We’d love to show you how.
Are you looking for an outsourced security operations center?
Email us at overwatchsales@highwirenetworks.com
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