Staying a step ahead of Cyber Criminals

Businesses traditionally purchase a wide variety of perimeter based ‘best of breed’ technologies to ensure their organisation is protected, particularly in direct response to an attack. However, today’s comprehensive, robust and innovative Cyber Security Postures are reflective of the sophisticated and evolving nature of Cyber Criminals.

Technologies, tools and software in isolation cannot protect your organisation from attack in the current cyber threat landscape. Without the right strategy, support and integration in place this approach often leads to a skills gap, poor results and limited return on investment for your organisation.

How can a Security
Operations Centre (SOC) help?

As a response many organisations look to establish a SOC populated with a team of experts and analysts that are available 24/7, 365 days a year to manage and monitor your systems.

However, with a minimum of 8 – 10 employees required to cover three 8-hours shifts a day, every day of the year, the budget for this is prohibitive for many organisations.

Even if the required budget is available to an organisation, in the current market, cyber security skills are high in demand and short in supply, therefore recruitment and retention becomes a significant challenge.

How can a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platform help?

If an organisation has identified that they may need to outsource their SOC, the next step would usually be to work with a third-party who would utilise a SIEM platform to review and prioritise critical alerts.

However, whilst this approach can be effective and provides a proactive approach to monitoring and alerting, the practical application back within your organisation can be a challenge.

Usually once an issue has been highlighted it is passed back to your in-house team for resolution and if the right skills and resource is not available at this point – notification alone has limited value.

How can a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service help

Another option is to introduce an MDR service, this involves an outsourced SOC, the key difference is that the service provider would assist with the resolution of alerts detected and support your organisation with continual improvement as the threat landscape evolves. MDR services are generally simpler to procure and more cost-effective in comparison to a wholly bespoke managed service.

This approach still requires experience and knowledge in-house, but not the multi-disciplinary team associated with other options such as a SOC or SIEM platform.

There is also the option to purchase services in a more flexible way either bespoke or packaged as per your organisation's requirements.

Our digital experts can help your organisation identify the right
approach and strategy for your particular challenges and the threat landscape.

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