What is a Cybersecurity Services Provider and How to Choose One?
If you think your favorite IT guy will be the savior when your company suffers from a data breach or a wild attack then you are missing a very important piece in your valuable security plan.
You need a partner that makes sure your systems are safe, your softwares are patched, your employees’ awareness is high regarding phishing and social engineering, and many other precautions your company needs if it is attacked or suffers from a security issue.
This partner is what we refer to as a cybersecurity service provider (CSSP). But does it mean this is the ultimate solution for your company to be safe from any cyber-attacks? Well, actually NO, there is no one solution that can guarantee your safety even if service providers got attacked like The Kaseya Attack 2021 that was hit by ransomware and around 1,500 businesses have suffered from the attack.
You might be confused by now, should you have a CSSP or not since you can get attacked in either case. The answer is an absolute yes, CSSP will minimize the possibility of getting hacked and will ensure your safety. Also, it will handle your risk plan in case something unexpected happens.
In this article, we will help you to choose your cybersecurity services provider.
What is a Cybersecurity Services Provider?
A brief definition for what is a cybersecurity services provider is:
“CSSP is a third-party organization that provides security services for a company to secure its assets against potential cyber security threats.”
Now, let’s take this definition further, CSSP should put down the security concerns off your IT team's shoulders as it will take care of applying security solutions like firewalls, IPS, IDS, and other solutions that your company needs.
Their rule doesn’t stop at this level, CSSP is responsible for monitoring your devices and systems, providing security awareness for your employees by providing training, periodically vulnerability assessment for your systems so security flaws will be identified.
Moreover, CSSP provides risk management plans for your company to handle different scenarios professionally and with minimum losses. It is offering Rapid Incident Response and Event Investigation, their Incident Response team will quickly figure out the challenges you are facing and recommend specific actions using their experience in such cases. You can also check our other article here discussing what to do if your company gets hacked.
A cybersecurity service provider is providing a day-to-day service so it is totally worth investing your money in a trusted CSSP that will take care of your company assets and ensure your business success is being secured.
Cybersecurity Services List
The services of a cybersecurity services provider may be slightly different from another one. We will discuss the services that Kaspersky introduces which covers the most important services any company needs and any CSSP will provide. Also, we have discussed some extra tips here.
Threat Intelligence
- Threat Data Feeds
- APT Intelligence Reporting
- Tailored Threat Intelligence Reporting
- Financial Threat Intelligence Reporting
- Threat Lookup
- Cloud Sandbox
Security Assessment
- Penetration Testing
- Application Security Assessment
- Payment Systems Security Assessment
- ICS Security Assessment
- Transportation Systems Security Assessment
- Smart Technologies and IoT Security Assessment
Compromise Assessment
- Comprehensive analysis
- Proactive mitigation
Incident Response
- Digital Forensics
- Malware Analysis
Security Training
- Malware Analysis
- Efficient Threat Detection with Yara
- Digital Forensics
- Incident Response
How to Choose a Cybersecurity Services Provider?
Not all companies require the same level of protection. In other words, a startup's assets are much less than a large company. Regardless of your choice of provider, it’s your reputation on the line when your company suffers from a data breach or getting attacked so make sure you make the right call.
Although most of the services are provided by different CSSPs are the same as we mentioned, we are going to mention some tips that can help select a suitable provider for you.
Customer Reviews
It is really important to know other customers that have dealt with this party before to know their pros and cons.
Stability of The CSSP
You are looking for a company that has been doing this activity for a long time, that doesn't mean new ones are not good but can your company's status handle that risk?
Customized Solutions
A CSSP that uses the same strategy to manage security for all customers is not a good one. However, a CSSP that adapts its solutions to the business activity will be a better choice.
Technical Support
Start by looking for local support that’s available 24/7, technical issues are inevitable. And when something happens that requires urgent assistance, you need a security provider that will have your back.
If they’re slow to respond or lack technical or interpersonal skills, you could face cyberattacks, financial losses, and damage to your reputation. [kaspersky]
Cost-Effective
The price of services that are provided by the CSSP must be competitive. Also, it should fit into your company’s budget.
Questions to Ask for Cybersecurity Service Provider
The next step after checking the tips we have mentioned earlier is to communicate with the CSSP and ask some direct questions before you make a deal with them.
In this section, we are going to discuss some questions you should ask to choose the right one.
What technologies are you using?
Even if a CSSP is using the latest solutions that don’t guarantee they are the best choice, it will give you an indication of how updated they are and if they are following a clear vision regarding your security.
You can check here some latest released solutions that you can discuss if you need.
What are the risks to my company?
Depending on the company activity the risks may vary, the CSSP should determine the risks around to secure the company from it.
What is the experience for the team?
You should know the team that will work with you, their experience, certifications, and for how long they have been doing this.
How will we communicate together?
As we have mentioned before, the fast response is an important factor, you should know how to reach them as soon as possible in case you are facing any technical issues.
What is needed from my side?
No matter how good this CSSP is, there should be a part of participation from your side to assist them in doing their job like listing the assets, mentioning previous security issues, expressing security concerns, mentioning weakness points, and other stuff they can need.
You should feel comfortable with their answers to your questions so you can keep dealing with them for the long term as it is not easy to change your cybersecurity service provider.
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