Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP), MDR and MSP
Visibility Needed to Secure Client Networks
MSSPs providing IDS and IPS services at client sites require total network visibility to ensure their security protections are effective
Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP), as well as Managed Detection and Response (MDR) teams and Managed Service Providers (MSP) protect companies and institutions that do not have the expertise or resources to oversee in-house security infrastructures. With the relentless onslaught of cyber security threats growing by the minute, organizations can’t afford to do without established security protections. Outsourcing network security to a MSSP is a proven way to overcome budget constraints and lack of institutional know-how. A MSSP has the specialized tools and personnel to fight the malevolent actors working to disrupt networks and cause financial hardship. MSSPs give meaning to the idiom “have someone in your corner.”
MSSPs that install a proprietary sensor or probe onto the client’s network to monitor and protect the network from a staffed Security Operations Center (S.O.C.) require live network traffic to function effectively. The only way to ensure 100% network visibility by an installed sensor is through a network test access point (TAP). Connecting a sensor to a SPAN port on the Switch is risky because dropped packets create blind spots for the MSSP. Also, SPAN ports are easily misconfigured or can be turned off unintentionally, transmitting zero network traffic to the MSSP sensor. Network TAPs are the reliable proven solution by top MSSPs.
MSSPs deployment considerations at the client’s onsite location should include strengthening the visibility fabric. Client installations can be delayed if the proper equipment is not sent to the location prior to the install. Customarily, a MSSP cannot start billing (and, most importantly, earning revenue) until the sensor is up and running. Modular solutions at the network access layer such as network TAP and Packet Brokers can ensure smooth installs and optimize valuable engineering resources at the MSSP.
MSSP Network Visibility Best Practices
Ready to solve an issue? Let's explore network visibility use cases:
Creating a foundation of visibility is key for network management. Once deployed, network TAPs allow you to access that point in your network at any time. Many organizations have adopted the stance of tapping all critical links for easy access during troubleshooting or inevitable security breaches.
MSSP Visibility Resources
TAP vs SPAN
This whitepaper covers best practices to improve your network visibility, and is an in-depth look into network visualization access, and what visibility security, monitoring, management, compliance, capture and auditing of our today’s networks require.
Out-of-Band Visibility
This whitepaper by EMA (Enterprise Management Associates) explores best practices on how enterprises use network visibility technologies for both inline and out-of-band security use cases to support security solutions.
TAP into Technology
Leading the way in Network Technology
MSP Hacks like REvil Highlight Need for Secure Visibility
| July 22, 2021
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Benefits of Installing MSSP Sensors Utilizing Network TAP Visibility
| April 15, 2021
Congratulations on the deal closing! You worked it for several months and convinced Customer A to install your MSSP Sensor. This Sensor’s objective..
MSSPs: The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Network Security
| November 7, 2019
When firewalls emerged to protect networks in the early 1990s, outsourcing cyber security to a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) wasn’t even a..