How An MSP Can Improve Your Business Security
“During 2019, small business cyber breaches grew more than 5 times when compared to the previous year, mainly because small business has fewer security practices going on and are an easy way to get more money and data.” – Agility SMB
If the above doesn’t make you question the security of your business, you either have a pretty tight handle on your data and your employees’ security awareness or you are still with the percentage of SMB owners who think they won’t be a target for cybercriminals. Hopefully, it’s not the latter.
With a company falling victim to a cyber-attack every 13 seconds, it’s imperative to have the right security measures in place, but how? This is where a partnership with a good MSP comes into play. Since the measures needed to protect your business can be an overwhelming job for just one or two in-house I.T. professionals, it’s not only smart but efficient and budget-friendly to take full advantage of what an MSP has to offer.
Let’s dive into how an MSP can help your SMB with business security.
On average it takes small to medium-sized businesses six months to detect a data breach, however, by that time they usually go out of business. Therefore, it’s important to be on top of detecting threats before they happen, so you can prevent the attack or remedy the problem quicker.
Utilizing endpoint security protection, threats that may have been missed by antivirus or firewall are caught in real-time. And not just during the workday, but your network and systems are monitored around the clock for any suspicious activity or unusual behaviors. Once a threat is detected, the necessary response can be taken. Such as stopping malicious processes, banning malicious files, isolating impacted devices, and analyzing the activity for further insights.
Quick summary:
• 24/7/365 Security Monitoring
• Real-Time Threat Alerts
• Internet Content Filtering
• Threat Remediation
• DNS Blocking
• Endpoint Protection Platform
Backup and disaster recovery are both necessary for the security of your data, and work better together than individually. Take this for example, your data is backed up; however, you have no disaster recovery plan in place. Your time to recovery is much longer than it should be. The resources and materials used to recover are greater than needed. Not to mention the money lost during downtime increases as well. Without a tested plan in place, you’re left to scramble and hopefully you scramble quickly to mend the issue.
But who’s going to figure out the best disaster recovery plan for your organization? And who’s going to remember to backup all that data properly? Say you have someone inside your company to do so, who’s next in line when he’s out sick for a week, on vacation, or quits?
Fortunately, I know the perfect person for the job. The MSP you partner with should be pretty qualified for the above. Not to mention, having partnered with other businesses similar to yours, they will know the best course of action to take when it comes to disaster planning.
Quick summary:
• Scheduled Data Backups
• Cloud Replication
• Private Cloud Hosting
• Recovery of Individual Files
• Remediate & Restore Data
• Disaster Planning
Another way an MSP can help improve your business security is by offering security awareness training to your staff. With 91% of cyberattacks beginning with a phishing email, it’s imperative for everyone in the organization to be well-versed in the latest tactics used by the bad guys. This includes knowing how to identify a sophisticated phishing email, practicing safe internet browsing and social media habits, best mobile practices, and more.
At Omega, we partner with KnowBe4, the cybersecurity company of the decade, to bring our clients the best, and current training resources. The best part is that this training doesn’t just happen once and then it’s over, yet it’s on-going and always changing to keep up with the latest threats.
Quick summary:
• Staff Training Resources
• Simulated Phishing Emails
• Monthly Security Campaigns
• Security Operations Team
Ensuring every device on your network is up to date, secure, and running how it should be can leave open doors for bad actors if you’re not thorough enough. As any hole in your network, like a missed update, can be an entry point for threats.
If your business is backed by a team of I.T. professionals, you won’t have to worry about whether an update was received, the proper patches are in place and future problems that may arise.
With the use of failover testing, your system’s ability to allocate the necessary resources when a failure occurs is validated. Therefore, you’ll know if your system is able to handle extra resources such as additional CPU or servers when there is a failure.
Quick summary:
• Firewall Management
• AV & Patch Verification
• Deploy Remote Updates
• Failover Testing
• Preventative Maintenance
Great, you’re ready to take your business security seriously. By taking the necessary steps to protect your organization, you are already more secure than 60% of SMB owners who believe they are too small to be a target for cyberattacks. I don’t even want to know how shocked they will be once they’ve been hit by a phishing or ransomware attack. Not to mention, 60% will be out of business within six months or have shelled out a hefty ransom to get their data back.
Luckily, you don’t have to worry about that. All you have to do next is find an MSP that aligns with your organization. (If your business is located in Michigan, don’t forget to check us out.) With the right MSP handling the heavy stuff and with you and your staff properly trained on security awareness, such as identifying phishing emails and other good cyber hygiene practices, your business will be less of a target and potential victim than those of your competitors who decided their business wasn’t worth securing in the first place.