As data breaches increase in number and severity, governments and industry standards organizations use compliance as a way to ensure security. However, security is not the same as compliance, which may leave organizations struggling to check boxes while still leaving themselves open to data security risks. Thus, many companies look to find strategies to mitigate both risks and costs, are turning to Cybersecurity-as-a-Service providers for the solution to their problems.

What does Cybersecurity-as-a-Service (CSaaS) mean?

As cybercriminals continue to evolve their attack strategies, cybersecurity becomes increasingly overwhelming. CSaaS refers to outsourcing information security tasks to maintain a more robust Cybersecurity stance. Traditionally, CSaaS providers offer a security operations center (SOC), security information and events management (SIEM) system, or both.

What is SOC?

A Security Operations Center (SOC) is a location where security professionals continuously monitor, analyze, and respond to potential threats to systems, networks, and software. While the location may not matter, the team inside does. A SOC team consists of security analysts and engineers who work with a company’s incident response team to respond to and remediate security events.

What is SIEM?

While the SOC team continually detect and respond to threats, the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) is the technology that aggregates alerts and documents responses to provide the audit trail necessary for proving monitoring and governance. In some cases, the SIEM may automate the review of log entries to detect anomalies. More recent evolutions incorporate user behavior analytics or security orchestration and automated response (SOAR) technologies.

What are the benefits of a CSaaS?

CSaaS overcomes several barriers that companies face when trying to secure their information.

Cost Effective

Staffing a SOC and maintaining SIEM can be financially burdensome for many organizations.  The cybersecurity skills gap means that many small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) cannot afford to compete in the job marketplace when looking to hire an in-house analyst. Increased demand for cybersecurity professionals coupled with a lack of well-trained people means that most SMBs either find themselves spending more than they can afford or hiring someone who may not be able to meet their organizational needs.

Moreover, even if an SMB can hire a well-trained professional, it may not be able to afford the tools necessary to enable a robust cybersecurity program.

CSaaS providers offer both the people and technology necessary to create and maintain a data security program.

Scalability

Increasing revenue means increasing technology. The more technology a company adds to its business operations, the more cyber risk it assumes. Even if you can afford to hire staff and purchase tools, you may not be able to do that while growing your business.

CSaaS provides what you need, when you need it, at a price you can afford. CSaaS providers start with what you need now and then allow you to add more services as you grow. Therefore, unlike the fixed in-house model, CSaaS provides flexibility to meet current budgets and allow for future needs.

Digital Transformation

People often think of digital transformation when thinking about customer engagement or cloud migration. While this is true, CSaaS also falls under the digital transformation heading. Digital transformation refers to using new technologies to solve a business problem. For cybersecurity, CSaaS often offers a cloud-based solution to help meet your changing IT needs so that you can monitor and remediate issues across your on-premises and cloud IT infrastructures.

How to decide what level CSaaS you need

Since no “one-size-fits-all” security solution exists, companies can choose from several types of CaaS services. Since different companies require different levels of support, choosing a CaaS provider means knowing your organization’s needs and choosing a solution that aligns with your risk tolerance. To find the solution right for your business, you need to find answers to the following questions.

What hardware or software do I need?

A primary benefit of CSaaS lies in the ability to use your current devices and software which reduces overhead. If a provider needs you to purchase their hardware or software, you may want to understand why they require this before making a final decision.

How clear are the alerts and instructions about what actions to take?

If you’re purchasing a CSaaS, you want easy-to-follow action steps for remediating identified problems. A vendor with false positives or whose alerts do not offer clearly actionable remediation steps may not provide the necessary cybersecurity expertise a small business needs to effectively protect data.

How long does it take to onboard?

Depending on your needs, you may be willing to take longer to get up and running. However, most SMBs need to rapidly mature their cybersecurity programs to meet compliance requirements. As part of your decision-making process, you should consider your timeline needs so that you can find a solution that matches them.

Zeguro Provides End-to-End Cybersecurity-as-a-Service

At Zeguro, we understand more than just cybersecurity. We understand risk. Starting with a security-first approach to cybersecurity, we help you identify risks, create policies, and monitor control effectiveness. However, we go further than other CSaaS companies because we also direct you towards an end-to-end cyber insurance policy that fits your needs. Get a 30-day free trial of our end-to-end Cyber Safety platform and find out first-hand what CSaaS is all about. Sign up here.