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Definition of Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP)

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Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP)

All kinds of businesses in modern times have an online presence to keep their records and manage their operations. Whether it is a Large-scale organization or medium to small scale enterprises, they are all at high risk of falling victim to the ever-increasing online threats that are rising at an alarming pace, and according to many researches, are virtually doubling in intensity every few months.

Typically to deal with these online threats and ensure overall security of your business you would require hiring an MSSP. It is therefore not surprising that Managed Security Services are in the highest demand as of late in the Managed Services market in the recent years.

A Managed Security Service Provider or MSSP offers Managed security services such as Vulnerability Management, Virtual Private Networks, Managed Firewalls, anti-virus protection, etc. These are usually 24×7 services provided by MSSP to their client organizations, and with this, it helps the organizations cut the number of employees they need especially for security operations since the MSSP would take care of these operations. So the clients are able to increase savings by cost-cutting. Moreover, they also make additional savings on Software and other types of equipment that won’t be required with an MSSP in place.

Many times people confuse MSSP with an MSP which are two very different services altogether. While Managed Security Service mainly deals in cyber-security issues of an enterprise, the MSP or Managed Service Providers deal with providing the overall IT Support to their client which include total database, applications, and network services.

When a company needs security services, it should hire a Managed Security Service Provider as an MSSP specializes exclusively in the cyber-security department and can look after the safety of your data, ensuring protection from viruses, spyware, spam, and other threats, with its continuous monitoring and detection processes as soon as you outsource the IT security operations of your enterprise to the MSSP. Also if your system requires any upgrades or changes, the MSSP does that as well.

In the current competitive global scenario of business, availing of a Managed Security Service is a strategically smart decision for an enterprize to make especially if it is a medium size business, because the MSSP besides providing its professional high quality security services, would also let the enterprize save time and money that would otherwise be needed on training, accommodating and retaining its own security personnel. So it is best for business since not only does it keep you one step ahead in terms of security but is also very cost efficient.

How an MSSP Works and What is Its Mode of Operation:

Managed Security Service includes mainly 6 categories which are On-site Consulting, Product Resale, Compliance Monitoring. Managed Security Monitoring. Perimeter Management of the client’s network, Penetration Testing & Vulnerability Assessments. Let us discuss them in a bit more detail one by one:

On-Site Consulting

On-site consulting involves the assessment of the network security of an organization to determine the risks and vulnerabilities. After identifying these technical and business risks, the MSSP provides help and support to make the required security arrangements.

Product Resale

It isn’t a managed service but rather a purchase deal. The resale of the hardware and security software is made by the MSS provider to the clients. The MSSP offers security devices customized for their client’s needs, and as such also makes a revenue of its own in the process.

Compliance Monitoring

Compliance Monitoring has to do with checking and monitoring the organization’s compliance to the policy standards of data security and ensuring no standards are violated, for which regular scanning is performed by the MSSP.

Managed Security Monitoring

Managed Security Monitoring is the very starting step in the process of security incident response. It involves daily security monitoring of the various network system events like login authorizations and permissions, trend analysis, and DoS.

Perimeter Management of the Client’s Network

It is related to managing the protection of the client’s network. The Perimeter basically involves maximizing the security by managing who accesses the network, or the devices of the organization, As well as management of other security procedures like Intrusion Detection, VPN, also Firewall software, and making other necessary changes for security measures.

Penetration Testing & Vulnerability Assessments

These are techniques for overall security testing in the enterprise infrastructure. Penetration testing or Pen tests involves trying ethical hacking methods in a controlled environment to see how safe the company’s assets are from the hackers, and find out the vulnerabilities if any. It is perhaps the most effective way to assess the level of your security.

Conclusion

So as we can see there are many benefits of Managed Security Services but at the same time the MSSP is exclusively devoted to Security operations unlike an MSP which covers the whole IT infrastructure of a business.

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