Top 5 Misconceptions about Outsourced Cybersecurity Programs

Effectively building, implementing, and operationalizing a cybersecurity strategy is no small feat, and often requires significant employee power and resources — resources that many businesses don’t have. The skills needed to develop and implement a security strategy are incredibly technical, and the security labor shortage has meant most talent is scooped up by large enterprises. That leaves many businesses with few options, including outsourcing security to a third party, delegating security tasks to IT, or skipping cybersecurity efforts altogether.

While the first option is the only viable one for businesses without a robust security team, there are some common misconceptions about working with a third-party security partner that lead people to choose options two or three. Here, we’ll cover some of those misconceptions and shed light on why a robust in-house program or outsourced partner are the only ways to properly protect your organization from a cyberattack.

Misconception 1: I don’t need a security program because I’m not being targeted.

Cybercrime has become a virtual pandemic. Roughly 73% of businesses worldwide were affected by ransomware attacks in 2022. Though news outlets cover the major enterprise data breaches that affect millions of customers, breaches against small and mid-sized businesses are happening just as frequently. In fact, 43% of cyberattacks are aimed at smaller businesses, making them the largest target for security breaches.

You may think your business is small enough to fly under the radar, but today’s hackers don’t discriminate. They use advanced techniques to deploy thousands of bots to attack any website they can find — and they often find the companies with a weak security posture.

Between selling your data, holding it for ransom, or threatening to publicly disclose sensitive and damaging information, hackers have plenty of tactics for monetizing your data regardless of your company size or industry. This means every company is a possible target, and the companies without a strong defense system become low-hanging fruit.

Misconception 2: What I have works just as well as an outsourced program.

Are some companies set up to effectively defend themselves in the event of an attack? Absolutely. Those companies, however, often have large departments that are constantly reevaluating and redesigning their security strategies to address the latest threats and vulnerabilities. If you haven’t adjusted your security program in the last 6 to 12 months, it’s already out of date; and, if your defenses are limited to a firewall or network security tool, you’re years behind.

Threat actors use a combination of attack methods targeting the cloud, third-party applications and software, as well as other companies in your supply chain to grab your data. If you don’t have the tools in place to protect against each type of attack, you’re leaving yourself vulnerable.

Furthermore, having tools isn’t enough to stop an attack. You need to operationalize those tools to ensure they are effective.

Misconception 3: Outsourcing cybersecurity is too expensive.

Cybersecurity can be expensive, but businesses need to start looking at cybersecurity as a necessary expense. Modern hackers work smarter, faster, and more effectively. Their tactics leave no business exempt from attack. It’s no longer a matter of if you will be breached, but only a question of when.

When businesses are breached, the costs can be huge and include ransomware payouts, investigative costs, remediation costs, legal fees, fines, reputational damage, and the loss of business. IBM reports that the average global cost of a data breach in 2023 was $4.45 million — a devastating blow for large enterprises and deadly for small businesses. Statistics show that roughly 60% of small businesses go out of business within six months of a cyberattack. So, although cybersecurity programs can be costly, breaches are far more expensive and almost sure to occur if a business remains unprotected.

There are, however, ways to minimize the costs of a security program. It should be noted that curbing security expenses has less to do with the number of tools you choose and more to do with finding the right partner for your industry and business size.

Misconception 4: It’s too complicated to implement or replace our security program.

Historically, standing up a security program or revamping your current one was an intensive, complex, and time-consuming process. Your security program should be specific to your organization, and there are many factors to consider when deciding which solutions are best for your business.

It takes time to learn and understand your security needs; and, even once your needs are determined, there are thousands of security vendors to weed through to find the right match for each point solution. This process used to take years to complete — whether in-house or through a consultant. During that time your business remained vulnerable to attack and may even have experienced a breach.

In recent years, however, the security industry has evolved. Operationalizing security strategies has become easier — assuming you have an experienced, modern, and knowledgeable security partner in your corner. Centralized systems and managed security services have emerged to help organizations get up and running in days, not months, and completely offloading your security program to an outside vendor seamlessly, and in a short amount of time, is now a reality. 

Misconception 5: I don’t have the staff to manage a security program.

Many businesses today are working with small or nonexistent security teams. This is a relatively common challenge that can make managing a security program in-house virtually impossible.  Consequently, many companies choose to outsource their security efforts to MSSPs and MDRs.

Unfortunately, these security providers have proven to be relatively ineffective for companies without an in-house security team. While MSSPs and MDRs provide 24/7 monitoring services, they simply alert you when a potential breach is found. That leaves you to validate the threat and remediate it – usually without the resources to do so.

This gaping hole in operationalizing security tools has led to the rise of managed security services. Managed security service providers supply all the security tools you need, AND they manage those tools for you. This fully eliminates the burden of building and maintaining a cybersecurity program while offering 24/7 detection and response services. The result? Your business is truly protected!

Why managed security is the answer.

Though many companies can’t afford a large in-house security team, skipping security altogether isn’t an option. Buying a series of point solutions is expensive and managing those solutions requires the full-time efforts of several security professionals. Even some managed partners lack response and remediation services making MSSPs and MDRs less effective for companies without an in-house team.

The lack of holistic security solutions has led to the emergence of comprehensive, managed security service providers that can stand up strong security programs in days. These providers allow businesses to fully outsource their security efforts, so they can become secure without adding to their headcount.

SolCyber is the first of its kind managed security service provider. Our Foundational Coverage, MDR++, XDR++ or Security Monitoring services allow businesses to increase their security posture with little to no effort at a price point they can afford.

Ready to increase your security posture? Reach out to the experts at SolCyber today.