Why a Managed Security Services Provider Is a Business's Most Critical Partner

A business's network assets are critical to its success. Despite their overwhelming importance, however, too many businesses leave those assets to chance. A managed security services provider can design a unique set of solutions to protect network assets from the relentless threats and attacks that occur on a daily basis.

Left unmanaged, these security risks, which can come from both internal and external sources, can wreak havoc on a business's ability to operate. They pose a very serious and real threat to corporate performance and continuity.

A recent ZdNet commentary titled "IT security and new regulations needed to protect critical infrastructures" shed light on the importance of having a managed security services partner. Pointing out that 2011 is the year that many have dubbed "the year of the hack," the site's commentator suggested business owners may never again think the same way "about the security of networks and systems."

Although he recommended "the deployment of typical preventative technologies (e.g., firewalls, IPS, anti-virus, etc.)," he stressed that such technology in and of itself is not enough. What is required is proper design, implementation and maintenance of a process that allows a business to respond to any network threat in a "timely and effective manner." Of course, most companies don't have the resources to devote to that task, which is a 24/7 job. That's where "a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) [can] help them fill organizational capability gaps."

A managed security services provider can offer the following solutions:

Risk mitigation, so that any threat is stopped before it can turn into a full-blown emergency Improved network visibility with 24/7 monitoring for round-the-clock peace of mind Enhanced network performance, uptime, and utilization so businesses can maximize their effectiveness Flexibility to extend IT resources to strategic projects Simplicity in network management so business owners can devote their attention to more pressing matters Reduced network maintenance expenses for better bottom line A proactive approach to system issue resolutions

With all these benefits, it's hard to argue that a partnership with a managed security services provider isn't worth the investment, but for those CEOs who are still on the fence, "PC Magazine" echoes ZdNet's glowing recommendation of such a partnership. Several years back in an article on the topic of Managed Security Services, the publication said, "If your small business doesn't have full-time IT support staff, and you'd feel safer asking a specialist to handle security than tackling it on your own, consider outsourcing security to a managed security service provider (MSSP). MSSPs can provide a variety of services, such as firewall and VPN, content filtering, spam filtering, virus protection, and intrusion detection/ prevention services."

Today, a managed security services provider can provide all of that and a whole lot more, including (according to Wikipedia) "round-the-clock monitoring and management of intrusion detection systems and firewalls, overseeing patch management and upgrades, performing security assessments and security audits, and responding to emergencies." And in a day and age when network security threats are lurking around every corner, no business owner can afford to be without such protection.

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A Whole New Reason To Secure The Best VPN Services: HTTPS Isn't As Secure As You Thought

On the internet there is a system in place to keep financial and other confidential and sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands: Secure Sockets Layer. This is a method of encrypting and decrypting the data transferred to, and from, the website or server you are communicating with. But according to a report released recently by the Trustworthy Internet Movement (TIM,) you may need to start using the best VPN services you can find to further secure the communications.

What Is This Movement About

One project that TIM undertook was the determination of the security of some 200,000 registered HTTPS websites. They developed a scanning program called SSL Pulse which scans websites for known vulnerabilities and hacking methods including page spoofing, man-in-the-middle, and brute force attacks. The scanner then returned the results to TIM who analyzed them and found that of the 200,000 registered secured websites only 10% were truly secure. This, assuming that the visitor isn't using any of the best VPN services. The scanner checked many SSL protocols, SSL 2.0, SSL 3.0, and TLS protocols, along with all the latest encryption ciphers, and key lengths.

How They Were Rated And The Scores

Websites were rated on a basis of 1 - 100, which was then converted into a grading system... an "A" being a score of 80 or more points. And while at least half received an A, only 10% showed up as totally secure from exploitation. In site of the high ratings though, at least 75%, or 148,000 websites, were found to be vulnerable to a popular exploit called "BEAST." Beast uses cookies and authentication tokens to invade the secured stream. This is a hack revealed in the 2011 security conference in Buenos Aires and will work on SSL/TLS block encryption ciphers such as AES and Triple-DES, but doesn't affect any of the best VPN services protocols like OpenVPN, or PPTP.

How To Tell If Your Communications Are Secured

First of all I want to emphasize: Do not stop using your HTTPS websites. For the most part, they are fairly secure. But you may consider enlisting the best VPN services provider you can afford and using it when you are conducting transactions that you want to keep confidential. A spokesman for the group said that "For your average Web site -- which will not have anything of substantial value -- the risk is probably very small." Then he went on to say that the larger institutions, like financial websites, have a much larger potential for being exploited. By using one of the best VPN services, and always allowing your browser to check the website security certificate, this larger risk can be averted.

An Explanation of CISPA for Small Businesses   Protect Your Privacy With Reputation Management   Top 5 Reasons to Check Website Security   Why Ignoring IDS Could Lead to Substantial Damage for Businesses