Security as a Services

The internet these days is anything but safe.

Hackers are coming up with new and better ways of breaching security on a daily basis.

The main aim of these hackers is to steal data and demand a heavy ransom for its return or sell it for a profit. Unfortunately, small and medium-sized businesses (SMB’s) who cannot afford advanced security tools become easy targets for such attacks.

So, what can these SMB’s do?

Well, thankfully, there is a solution. The advent of the cloud has given rise to the whole ‘as-a-service environment where service providers offer multiple services to companies to meet their IT needs. One such service is Security as a Service(SECaaS), which is a subsection of SOCaaS.

The Verizon Data Breach Investigation Reports state that almost 43% of the cyber-attacks were targeted at SMB’s.

What is Security as a Service(SECaaS)?

Security as a Service is a cloud-based service that provides robust cybersecurity solutions to companies. To better understand it, you can look at it this way. By paying a monthly or an annual subscription fee, SMB’s can outsource all their cybersecurity needs to managed security providers who become fully responsible for the companies’ online security.

What Are The Benefits of Security as a Service?

Here are some of the many benefits of using Security as a Service.

1) Robust security 24/7

With Security as a Service comes a lot of peace of mind. Businesses can be assured that their company is being monitored and protected from any possible cyber threats 24/7. Whether it is malware, ransomware, phishing, data theft, or attacks like DoS(Denial of Service), DDoS(Distributed Denial of Service), and Hacked APIs. SECaaS provides protection from all such security breaches.

2) SECaaS is cost-efficient

On average, SMB’s lose £65,000 to cyber attacks in the form of penalties, business downtime, and damaged assets. Security as a Service, protects the company from the attack itself, hence, saving a lot of money that would have otherwise been lost in the attack.

In addition to this, SECaaS also eliminates the need for buying complex security hardware, software licenses, or paying a hefty fee to security experts. The subscription-based model is far cheaper and can save a lot of money in the long run.

3) Saves time

Time is money they say and rightly so. By employing SECaaS for their security needs, businesses can save their IT teams and administrators a lot of time and effort. The teams can use this time to focus on more important tasks like product development, testing, or controlling security within the organization.

4) Access to experts

It is a known fact that in order to get an expert to work for your business, you have to pay a hefty fee. But, that’s not the case with SECaaS. Security as Service providers have the best and most experienced cybersecurity experts at their beck and call. Companies can be assured that the security of their business is in the hands of these experts without actually having them on their payroll.

5) Latest and most advanced security tools

For anti-virus software and other security tools to be fully effective, they need to run on their latest versions at all times. Security as a Service takes care of this. By deploying SECaS throughout the organization, companies get to work with the latest and the most advanced security tools without having to separately pay for them.

SECaaS Examples

Here are some examples of Security as a Service offering.

1) Network security:

Software that helps you manage and monitor traffic that moves in and out of your network to prevent attacks.

Best providers: UTMStack, Qualys, Tripwire

2) Website and app security:

Tools and services that provide protection to all of your company’s digital assets like apps and websites.

Best providers: UTMStack, White Hat Security, Veracode

3) Data loss prevention:

Tools that continuously monitor your data and protect it from loss or theft.

Best providers: UTMStack, SolarWinds, CoSoSys

4) Email security:

A lot of data and internal information travels through your company’s mail. SECaaS provides email security tools that protect your business from phishing, malware, and other security breaches.

Best providers: Proofpoint, Cisco, Barracuda

5) Disaster recovery:

Software and services that ensure that your business and operations are back in no time in case of an attack.

Best providers:  UTMStack, Software: Zerto, Carbonite. Services: IBM, Microsoft Azure Site recovery

How Should I Choose My Security as a Service?

Choosing the right Security as a service provider is extremely crucial to the success of your business. A SECaaS provider can make or break your business so, here are a few things you need to consider before choosing your Security as a Service provider.

1) Certifications

Before anything, you need to make sure that your service provider is certified and complies with all the regulatory requirements in your industry and country. Some industries even require HIPAA and PCI-DSS certifications for the management and storage of customer data. Make sure that you double-check before taking the plunge.

2) Security requirements

As an initial task, you need to jot down all the cybersecurity requirements of your business. Knowing your requirements will help you shortlist a few SECaaS providers who specifically appeal to your specific needs.

3) Service level agreement (SLA)

This is an important document that lays down important things like the services, available support, attack response time, service fee, and non-compliance consequences of the service provider. It is important to go through this document thoroughly to see if the SECaaS provider matches your needs.

4) Identity and Access Management (IAM)

IAM is yet another important policy that documents who has and who does not have access to some specific areas of your network. It is extremely important to review this document with your service provider. Otherwise, unauthorized people from the service provider’s end or your end might end up getting access to your systems.

5) Security expertise

Your security as a service provider is responsible for employing professionals who take care of your security. You might want to do a little research and find out if your provider has qualified and experienced professionals working for them. After all, you do not want to give your business into inexperienced hands, do you?

Frequently Asked Questions?

Are SECaaS and SaaS the same?

Security as a Service(SECaaS) and Software as a Service (Saas) are not quite the same. SECaaS can be thought of as a subset of SaaS. SaaS delivers a variety of applications over the internet on a subscription basis. SECaaS is also based on a similar model but, is limited only to providing security services.

Is SECaaS Dangerous?

Giving up the security of your business into the hands of a third-party service provider can be quite daunting and seem dangerous. But, there are trusted providers, such as UTMStack, in the market and businesses have had success with SECaaS. It all boils to down choosing the right provider. While choosing a SECaaS provider, a little research into their background and history can go a long way.

SECaaS Recap

In today’s times, both SMB’s and large enterprises are leaning towards outsourcing their cybersecurity. This can be attributed to the fact that SECaas provides convenient, affordable, and easy solutions to all their security needs. Besides, in a world where cyber threats are increasing by the day and security resources are not sufficient, security as a service provides a sense of peace and reliability to companies.