Protect your company’s data and assets with on-demand, customized cybersecurity services providers. Learn how our cybersecurity experts can help protect you from today’s constantly evolving and pervasive threats.

Computer attacks on corporations of all kinds are the order of the day: in a world hyperconnected to the network, it no longer seems logical but extremely necessary to draw up a cybersecurity strategy to avoid undesirable situations that put the custody and integrity of the data of companies and individuals. In this sense, we consider whether it is worth delegating cybersecurity to IT providers or whether it is more convenient to assume the task with our own resources.

Cybersecurity: an Obligatory Challenge

The advantages (and risks) of a hyperconnected world

 It is a fact that people and companies increasingly base our daily lives on the services offered by the Internet: social networks, browsing, banking, online shopping, corporate applications… all these services naturally converge towards the cloud, abandoning the traditional model of watertight information silos.

However, all the information that is shared or uploaded to the Internet has already escaped the complete control of the user: a PC without a network connection will permanently preserve the integrity of all the data stored on it, but without Internet connectivity, it will not be able to take advantage of the full potential that computer networks offer. In fact, it is currently difficult for us to conceive of a world without the Internet, not only for end users but also (and above all) for companies.

The Evolution of Cybersecurity and Cybercrime

 At a time when the Internet was not widely used, the only way to carry out computer attacks was by installing viruses through physical information supports (floppy disks, optical disks, USB memories); in response, computer security companies developed antivirus software.

 Later, when computers began to be networked, the severe first cybersecurity problems arose, and antiviruses had to be updated frequently to be able to deal with new threats in the form of malicious software or Trojans hidden in files.

 Currently, even the best antivirus does not fully protect users from cyberattacks: cybercriminals (hackers) always find entry points to bypass computer defenses and compromise sensitive data.

Cybersecurity Services Providers bring the Solution to Cybercrime

 The problem is served, and even large companies and public administrations have become the target of cybercriminals, who hijack confidential information and demand million-dollar ransoms to recover it. In Spain, we have very recently, for example, the cyber attack on SEPE, and in the United States, another one directed at the largest network of oil pipelines in the country.

 To support these claims, an Interpol report showed that the number of cyberattacks registered in the private sector had grown to alarming numbers: the COVID-19 pandemic forced almost all companies and individuals to remain connected to the Internet for many hours a day, and this created an open field for hackers to They will deploy all their ingenuity and register, during the first quarter of 2020, thousands of spam emails and malicious URLs.

 Three Reasons to Invest in Cybersecurity

1. Protect sensitive or confidential data. A bank account number, an email password, a medical history, a customer’s contact details… No company can afford to compromise the custody of this information.
2. Comply with the GDPR. The General Data Protection Regulation is very clear when it comes to attributing responsibility for the custody of confidential information: information leaks are heavily penalized by the current legal framework.
3. Preserve the reputation of the company. If customers do not have the maximum guarantee that their data will be secure, it is very unlikely that they will decide to share it. This reality will be an obstacle that is difficult to overcome in order to establish commercial relations with them.

How to face the Challenge of Cybersecurity?

Outsource Cybersecurity to Specialized IT Providers

The option that is creating the most trend is to delegate the company’s cybersecurity to an MSSP (Managed Security Services Provider) service provider.

 The Advantages of Contracting these Services are:

• Provider experience. These figures are specialists in preparing companies’ cybersecurity, and prevention against cyberattacks is part of their day-to-day work. In addition, they usually have official certifications that guarantee the security of their programs and facilities. The guarantees of success, therefore, are multiplied.
• Cost reduction. Software, hardware, and specialized cybersecurity personnel have in common that they are expensive resources. The best way to assume them is by hiring a company that encapsulates the services and provides everything necessary.
• Updates. As we have been able to verify, the world of cybercrime is alive, and what is valid and safe today may become obsolete tomorrow. The alliances established by IT service providers with computer cybersecurity manufacturers put them in an advantageous position to anticipate these changes.

We can mention the sharing of confidential data with a third party as the main negative aspect of this practice: to avoid this problem, many cybersecurity services guarantee data encryption so that designated personnel can deploy the entire strategy without accessing the information. Additionally, there is always the risk of data leakage, despite all the precautions that have been taken and, of course, the dependence on third parties in terms of response times to incidents.

 Take Charge of the Company’s Cybersecurity with your own Resources

This solution is normally only available to companies specialized in technology or large corporations that can afford the hardware, software, and sufficiently qualified human resources.

The great advantage is that everything starts and ends within the company: those responsible for cybersecurity are part of the organization and are not obliged to share the data with a third party. In addition, the response time is immediate since the department will be 100% dedicated to this task.

However, the main drawback will be the high structural cost of assuming responsibility for one’s own cybersecurity strategy; additionally, it is difficult to find independent professionals who have the degree of experience required to guarantee the best performance, especially if they only stick to the particular cases of a company, and lack visibility over the rest of the potential problems they do face. IT providers in their day-to-day.

The decision to delegate or not the cybersecurity of the company to IT providers must respond to an exhaustive evaluation of the risk-benefit binomial. What is not negotiable is the need to protect yourself against the increasingly wide field of action of cybercriminals. Ultimately, each company will have to consider how many resources it will be worth investing in its own cybersecurity or managed by a third party.