Ways How Managed Security Service Providers Can Benefit from Transparency

MSSPs or managed security service providers are trusted by their clients in protecting mission-critical data as well as systems. It is a responsibility that MSSPs don’t take lightly. The internal processes and policies are held to the highest security standard and the providers say they are very honest with the clients about their security posture. This transparency will become only increasingly important says an industry expert as the market of managed IT services grows.

Experts in managed IT services take things very seriously and they do this very well. Such compliancy certification and regulatory requirements are barely the starting points for what you have to do. Tons of companies were ISO-compliant and PCI-compliant and they got breached, so those are the starting point as far as the experts are concerned.

Other experts also agreed that the way they look at everything from the certifications to awards to compliance is that those are the things you would expect from the provider that has the kind of the access you have. Those are the things minimum bar for anybody in the industry.

Several managed security service providers handle security, tactical intelligence kinds of services and might not be as scrutinized by clients. Nevertheless, providers deliver services that have more control to the environment and have more visibility. Where several MSSPs just throw over the wall email notifications, they determine such areas of concerns and reach into the environment as well as resolve them for clients.

The new clients often inquire about the internal processes of managed security service providers including whether it conducts a background check on employees or how access to the customer systems is managed. The new clients will often tour the data center of the provider. While other providers don’t typically discuss security standards during sales pitch, they are honest about the security posture of the company. They fill with lots of nonsense and platitudes. They do everything they can to be secured. Although it is possible for security breach, some providers try their best to avoid this.

Even if the security processes and policies are documented, clients usually do not ask to see them. They do not often ask to see the audit results. The professionals they spoke to agreed that there’s an attitude held by numerous companies that managed security service providers are by nature of business more secure than the clients. Some of these are because of the fact that the security clients have long standing relationship with the providers. They managed their firewall for years so they’re comfortable already.

Some experts expect that their customers will demand transparency from prospective MSSPs, most particularly as many companies look to leverage their skills in the light of recent breaches. For many years, managed security service providers have gone under the radar for the reason that there’s nobody paid attention. This might be the year that companies start realizing there is this entire group that does nothing yet manages IT.

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