5 Essential Cybersecurity Services
this sample report. MSPs can offer even more advanced risk assessment services with platforms like ConnectWise Identify, which uses the NIST Cybersecurity Framework to conduct a deep analysis of a customer’s systems and create a comprehensive but easy-to-understand analysis.
- Security Operations Center (SOC) as a Service
Hackers never sleep, so monitoring and addressing threats needs to be 24×7, too. That’s why an around-the-cloud security operations center (SOC) is an incredibly valuable resource for businesses of any size.
Due to budgeting, talent shortages and business needs, a SOC is not something most companies will build internally. This makes a SOC an excellent cybersecurity service for MSPs to offer customers. But the same goes for MSPs—most cannot build a SOC in-house, largely because of budgeting concerns. We did some math at Connectwise and found that building a 24/7 SOC team from scratch costs around $2.3 million on average.
Fortunately, MSPs can still offer SOC-as-a-Service via trusted partners and vendors. For example, ConnectWise’s Stratozen offering includes a robust and 24/7 SOC team. By working with a team like this, MSPs can offer the peace of mind and protection of a SOC, without the high price tag.
- Threat Intelligence
Cybersecurity is a constant race—hackers evolve their tactics every day, and businesses need to keep up. To protect against emerging threats, organizations need to know exactly what the latest techniques are. That’s where threat intelligence comes in.
Organizations can receive information from an Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) or other threat intelligence provider. These organizations share data and information about emerging threats as they are spotted in the wild. With advance notice on a new method of attack or an increase in the incidence of a type of attack, organizations can scan for vulnerabilities, patch vulnerabilities and get ahead of the bad guys.
MSPs can offer threat intelligence as part of a holistic IT management platform, notifying customers of common industry threats (such as phishing attacks), working with the SOC to monitor for emerging threats and taking action to shore up technical defenses.
ConnectWise’s Perch solution integrates with numerous ISACs and providers to bring threat intelligence into the core of a customer’s SIEM, SOC and other threat monitoring and management tools. For example, if an ISAC identifies hackers using a software vulnerability to enter corporate systems, MSPs can take quick action to patch a customer’s software.
- Backup and Disaster Recovery
What happens to a business if their systems crash, data goes missing or workers lose access? Everything comes to a standstill. The organization loses revenue and takes a reputational risk. And, without backups and recovery tools, organizations face an excruciating journey to rebuild from scratch.
MSPs can help customers by offering backup and disaster recovery (BDR) support. Consistent backups keep your customers from sweating over what-if scenarios, and if a disaster does occur, having BDR support in place can reduce downtime and lessen the impact of a disaster.
While disasters can include everything from power outages to storms to systems failure, another source of disaster is cybersecurity attacks. Tools such as ransomware are growing in popularity and often target SMBs. According to the Sophos 2020 State of Ransomware report, just over half (51%) of organizations surveyed had been attacked with ransomware within the last year.
Having a backup can be the difference between desperately paying a ransom to hackers or simply ignoring them. Plus, even if an organization does pay the demand, there’s no guarantee that the hackers will actually release the data, so having a backup also ensures that an organization can recover data, no matter what.
Dealing with ransomware attacks—or any other disasters that have the potential to bring down corporate systems and wipe out data—is costly. By offering BDR services, MSPs can save their customers headaches and offer peace-of-mind that the company can keep going, even in the face of a disaster.
Differentiate your MSP with Cybersecurity Services
Cybersecurity threats are now a normal part of doing business, especially with an increasingly mobile and remote workforce. As organizations contend with more mobile devices, SaaS products and digital workflows, they will continue to turn to trusted IT professionals for help. MSPs have a unique opportunity to expand their offerings to include cybersecurity services.
The services above highlight opportunities to provide more immediate value to your customers and increase revenue via upsells, while also attracting new customers. Having processes in place to address the most common threats your customers face can help drive home your competitive advantage as an MSP—and keep your customers safe.
This guest blog is part of a Channel Futures sponsorship.
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