5 Signs It's Time to Outsource Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity can no longer be considered something straightforward that a small IT department can handle. In fact, security has become a critical business capability. Add to that the continuous evolution of cyber-criminal tools and tactics, and the security needs of small businesses aren’t that much different from what enterprise organizations have. That’s why more and more business leaders are turning to outsourced cybersecurity services to ensure that they’re managing business risk and building resilience into their organizations.

Resilience is the ability to defend against cyber threats and to bounce back if and when a cyber-attack happens. When it comes down to it, resilience also includes your ability to accommodate changing circumstances and there’s a lot of change going on in the cyber landscape. If your organization isn’t set up to handle them, these circumstances could be signs that you need to outsource cybersecurity.

Recognize Any of These Situations?

1. You’ve had a cyber-attack.

If you’ve had a cyber-attack, chances are good that you’ll be dealing with the repercussions of it for a long time after the malware has been cleaned up. Were you surprised that you were attacked? Could be that you didn’t think you were a target, or maybe you thought your IT team had security covered. Either way, this could be a sign that you need to improve your cybersecurity strategy.

2. You have compliance requirements.

Whether you’re just starting down a path to compliance or you’ve been meeting requirements for a long time, you know it’s not an easy task to achieve and maintain regulations for data privacy. Once you interpret the regulations, you have to decide how to implement both technical and non-technical security controls. Once the controls are in place, they need to be monitored and managed. If your IT team can’t handle it and compliance slips, you could lose customers.

3. You want to qualify for and get your best rates on cyber insurance.

Have you looked at a cyber insurance application form lately? Underwriters want to see how you’re managing cyber threats in order to determine how much risk you represent. When you put the items on the application checklist together, what you’re looking at is a sophisticated cybersecurity strategy. However, you can’t just buy a bunch of tech tools and call it good. It takes expertise to build the strategy.

4. You have a small IT team.

You can have some super smart tech minds on your IT team but still have gaps in security. While security is woven into just about every aspect of IT management, cybersecurity is a discipline of its own. Cybersecurity professionals keep up with emerging trends and tactics, both on the attack and defend sides of security. It’s unlikely that a small IT team, or even a small IT support company, can bring the level of expertise that’s needed to create and maintain the level of security you need.

5. You don’t want to be in the security business.

Even though security can be considered the new “department” that every business needs, building that capability in-house is just too inefficient for small businesses. It’s hard to attract and retain good cybersecurity talent, and when you can, there’s no guarantee that they’ll stay. Add to that the expense of tech tools, and the time it takes to monitor and manage them. Think of how that would hijack the focus of your business.

Get a Security Assessment to Validate Your Fears

A cybersecurity assessment is a good way to find out if you have gaps in security and validate that the signs you’re seeing are indeed pointing out that you need a better way to resource cybersecurity. The report will reveal how you may be vulnerable to cyber intrusions and give you actionable recommendations that will get you on track towards a more effective security posture.

When you get a cybersecurity assessment from a managed IT service company that provides outsourced security services, the assessment is a great way to find out what it might be like to work with them in a longer term relationship.

Cybersecurity Assessments from New Orleans Businesses

Bellwether provides cybersecurity assessments and outsourced cyber defense services for businesses in the New Orleans and surrounding area. Get in touch to learn about how we can help you uncover weaknesses that are compromising the way you manage cyber risk. Even if we don’t end up working together, what you learn will help you take steps to improve security.