Relentless Cyber Threats Calls For Omnipresent Protec on

RELENTLESS CYBER THREATS CALLS FOR OMNIPRESENT PROTECTION

With the rise of cyber crime attacks on businesses - each more sophisticated than the last, Ian Vickers of METCloud (pictured )speaks about how Security Operations Centre as a Service (SOCaaS) should empower, rather than hinder, modern SMEs.

2020 has been the year that tested the tensile strength of cybersecurity in businesses worldwide. With the migra on of teams working from home en masse, coupled with businesses changing their long term offi ce plans in a new world beyond Covid, it is impera ve that SMEs recognise the need for the evolu on of their cybersecurity measures. According to the University of Maryland, hackers a ack on average 2,244 mes a day. This translates approximately to one attack every 39 seconds. In its Cost of a Data Breach Report 2020, IBM cited that it takes a business in the UK an average of 256 days to identify and contain a cybersecurity breach - that is approximately eight and a half months! As a result, the cost of breaches in the UK has averaged at £3.9 million with the service industry being most aff ected. Traditional cybersecurity measures do not cut it anymore. In a world where cybercriminals do not sleep, neither should the vanguards keeping them at bay. ENTER SECURITY OPERATION CENTRE AS A SERVICE (SOCaaS)

Delivered through a provider via a subscrip on, SOCaaS provides real me monitoring, detec on and analysis of cybersecurity threats. This is accomplished by proac ve detec on of advanced targeted attacks that would have otherwise been undetected by exis ng perimeter controls. SOCaaS marries the strengths of 24/7 surveillance through ML- and AI-based security tools with the

analy cal exper se of a team of highly-skilled cybersecurity specialists. This delivers an effi cient and streamlined way to identify security gaps and eliminate threats through early detec on. HOW TO MAKE SOCaaS WORK FOR YOUR BUSINESS While organisations must build their normal opera ons in order to make an educated choice on what is At the founda on of things, a good SOCaaS provider should be able to scale their services based on what METCloud is a mul -award-winning cybersecurity hybrid cloud pla orm, harnessing sophis cated cyber defence, surveillance, Ar fi cial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies. METCloud recognises the burgeoning value of data and customer insights and so, as a Microso Azure Ecosystem Partner, METCloud provides clients with secure access to an ever-increasing portfolio of cu ng-edge technologies such as AI, ML, Internet of Things (IoT), data analy cs and Block-

robust cybersecurity measures into match the ferocity of modern cybersecurity threats, it is also important to appropriate for their needs. is appropriate for the business. Increased surveillance of activity across a business’ IT estate at this point of me, should really include cloud infrastructures and work from home deployments given the evolu on of a new-normal workplace. The importance of collaboration between the SOCaaS provider and the business is integral in the efficacy of cybersecurity. To ensure this, the SOCaaS should be a service that delivers peace-of-mind and security to the client. It should not fatigue them with relentless repor ng, and action requests that they may not have the me or resource to address.

THE LITMUS TEST TO GOOD SOCaaS

The persistence and ingenuity of cybercriminals today means that on top of cybersecurity, a SOCaaS provider has to help business maintain good cyber resilience. That is, to ensure that they are prepared to respond to and recover from cyber a acks. When seeking out a provider, it is important to ask these ques ons:

Is your SOCaaS provider a cloud-na ve and mul -tenant pla orm?

Rather than provide you a selec on of chain services. pla orms provide end-to-end cohesion and scalability.

To a non-IT expert, how easy is it to understand the data presented to you? Is it easily quan fi able in metrics?

It is important for your SOCaaS provider to help you understand the data and what it means for your business. It should be able to provide you the appropriate economic information and outcomes without bombarding you with technical jargon.

Is your business provided simple and relevant advice to ensuring that your team is compliant to the security guidelines?

Every business and the temperament of their employees are diff erent. It is important that the SOCaaS provider is understanding of that and capable of delivering custom playbooks that fi ts your business priori es.

When threats do emerge from the ether, does your SOCaaS provider eliminate them in a mely manner, without your interven on? The quicker a threat is addressed,

products, cloud-na ve mul -tenant

the less damage it can cause. How equipped is your SOCaaS provider in delivering this? How easy is it to deploy applica ons on the pla orm?

Cyber threats are ever-changing. It is important for the measures to keep up with them. It is important for the SOCaaS provider to be fl exible and allow for swi deployment of security applica ons. Upon the deployment, it is important that it is seamlessly updated and integrated into playbooks and repor ng.

EVOLVING WITH THE TIMES

As the threat landscape to businesses has multiplied exponentially, there has never been a more important me to implement SOCaaS capability. To ensure the effi cacy of SOCaaS, It is crucial to empower business owners to understand and take charge of their cyber resilience.