You've likely heard of the concept of supply and demand, an important economic model that explains how prices are determined; for example, low supply of a highly demanded product will typically increase its price. That's the exact trend shaping the current market for cybersecurity professionals, who are in short supply and, accordingly, capable of demanding exceptional salaries.
The widely reported cybersecurity skills shortage is the result of a proliferation of credible internet security issues, along with an apparent lack of sufficient – and affordable, in a budgetary context – personnel to mitigate them. A 2017 CSO article even likened cybersecurity to the traditionally lucrative professions of medicine and law, since security analysts et al. perform highly specialized work at a premium.
According to ESG, the share of companies reporting a shortage of skills rose from 23 to 51 percent between 2014 and 2018. Higher demand for expertise combined with low supply of it has likely contributed to this growing problem. So how can organizations defend their networks without large numbers of expert cybersecurity personnel on staff? Start with managed security services.
A managed security services suite typically includes multiple key defenses, all of which are overseen by the provider. With the help of managed security services provider, you can bolster your protection against major threats while streamlining the associated costs and reducing management-related overhead.
Together, the individual components of a managed security platform address a broad spectrum of risks. Here are a few that are especially relevant in 2018 and beyond:
DDoS attacks can exploit many essential network protocols – DNS, NTP, etc. – to overwhelm your network with meaningless traffic. Moreover, they've gotten more intense over time due to the evolution of internet speeds and viable attack vectors, raising the stakes for prevention. Effective DDoS mitigation is possible with Telesystem's DDoS-protected core network, which is offered at no additional cost, to inspects traffic in real-time to detect threats as early as possible.
More than 90 percent of cyberattacks begin with a phishing email, according to PhishMe. It's one of the most reliable attack vectors, since it doesn't require much supporting infrastructure and takes advantage of targets thinking they're receiving legitimate communications. Any time you are urged to open an attachment, click a link or enter information into a form, think carefully about the context and decline to take action if there's any doubt about the safety of doing so. Stopping phishing is never easy, but internet security services like email filtering can help by screening for suspicious content.
A classic man-in-the-middle attack entails, as its name suggests, the interception of a connection. Say you're trying to reach a company website while using a public Wi-Fi network. Since your traffic is unencrypted and possibly compromised by a flaw in the router's security configuration, your sensitive data could be at risk. Along similar lines, there is the man-in-the-browser attack, which involves you being rerouted to a website that looks a lot like a legitimate one but is actually compromised and designed specifically to steal your information. Managed security services help reduce risk through solutions such as site-to-site VPNs and remote access VPN clients, both of which encrypt your connection for a safer experience in all apps.
The growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) has been a boon for botnets. The millions of new networked devices, from smart thermostats to embedded systems, can be enlisted into massive pools of computing power alongside compromised routers and PCs. Botnets help fuel large-scale cyberattacks, especially DDoS campaigns. The advanced DDoS mitigation and botnet protections in managed security services can reduce your risk of becoming a victim. They provide peace of mind that core network traffic is being screened in real time and that other defenses like email encryption and filtering are helping defend against threats.
Cybersecurity is often seen as a struggle against external forces. However, many threats originate within organizations, among insiders with high privileges giving them access to sensitive data. It's crucial to keep tabs on information that may be at risk – and data loss prevention software lets you do just that. It provides a wide range of capabilities, including antivirus scans for detecting Trojan horses and machine learning-driven algorithms for flagging anomalous access attempts of mission-critical systems.
Managed security services are your ticket to safer and more productive operations. As a managed security services provider, Telesystem delivers the protection you need as you modernize your organization with new services like hosted VoIP, SD-WAN, Managed WiFi and Software-as-a-Service. Learn more by visiting our products page today or by reaching out directly to our team.