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It is long past the time when a firewall was all you needed to keep your network safe. Real network security requires defense in depth—also known as a laundry list of applications and appliances for every layer of your system.
In order to keep this running, companies need a lot of money and a lot of manpower. For enterprises overwhelmed by everything they need to protect themselves, outsourcing network security seems like an obvious choice.
Outsourcing your network security functions to an MSSP doesn’t eliminate your risk entirely, however. A managed security services provider (MSSP) is not a replacement for a network security staff; rather, it is meant to supplement and support it. If you have no in-house cyber security personnel, your MSSP has no one to report to. You must also ensure that your service level agreements (SLAs) thoroughly guard confidential and sensitive information. One careless mistake by an MSSP employee, and private information could be exposed, leading to drastic consequences for your organization.
How often are you actually targeted by attackers? Depending on your industry vertical, the size of your organization, and how much customer data you store, you might be looking at anywhere from a few intrusion attempts per week, all the way up to a few hundred attempted breaches. This particular metric is going to govern a lot about how you go shopping for an MSSP.
The kind of data you store won't just make you a target—it will make you subject to compliance laws. PCI DSS requirements are so stringent, for example, that you may be forced to hire an MSSP out of expedience. It's possible that only an MSSP will be able to provide the kind of 24/7 monitoring that your compliance regime will mandate.
Lastly, you may want to consider the focus of the MSSP you're going to hire. You may have some pre-existing security infrastructure in-house, which means that it might make sense to find an MSSP that handles the duties which that infrastructure doesn't cover, in order to prevent duplication of efforts. If you truly require in-depth security, and you don't have anything already in place, it may still make sense to hire multiple specialists instead of one broad-spectrum MSSP. With multiple sets of eyes on the problem, you'll have a better chance of stopping your attackers.
Choosing an MSSP shouldn’t be about searching for a scapegoat in the event of a breach or finding a service provider that supplies the least amount of protection for the lowest price. If you decide that your security budget dollars should go to an MSSP, you need to identify one that offers tangible value.
Tangible value may mean utilizing the right tools. A network bypass TAP deployed with an inline security appliance such as an NGFW/IPS provides a failsafe solution if the appliance fails. When threats are detected on clients’ networks MSSP staffers can expedite problem resolution by taking the device off-line while maintaining 100% network update with a network bypass TAP.
Garland Technology’s line of bypass network TAPs give you total network visibility to guarantee your client network uptime. See how a bypass TAP supports inline security appliances entire lifecycle and learn why industry leaders like Palo Alto Networks, Cisco and Intel Security have choose Garland Technology's as the bypass network TAP vendor of choice.
Our experienced network designers work with you to create a solution that meets your needs. Garland’s TAPs enable you to see every bit, byte, and packet® that passes through your network.