Currently, cybercrime costs U.S. companies $445 billion every year. One day sometime soon we will look back on that stat, and consider it the good old days. That’s because cyberattacks are skyrocketing while becoming far more expensive for the victims who may not have invested in a cybersecurity company.
Far more disturbing, a whole new underground cybercrime ecosystem has developed worldwide. The solo hacker is as yesteryear as a buggy whip. Today cybercriminals are segmented by expertise. Some write viruses, others steal credit cards, while others mount DDoS attacks or break into corporate networks.
By collaborating, they carry out far more sophisticated and damaging attacks that earn them far more than a single hacker could ever hope to achieve back in the day. This collaborative community is as competitive as the NFL draft and its specialists are just as handsomely rewarded.
Before we list our 11 tips for choosing a cybersecurity company, let’s take a look at what’s at stake.
Common Types of Attacks
Phishing remains the most common form of cybercrime. In 2021, more than 300,000 companies and individuals reported being victims of phishing attacks. During the height of the pandemic, phishing attacks rose by 220 percent.
Ransomware attacks are increasingly a serious threat. More than 236 million ransomware attacks were reported worldwide in the first half of 2022, the most recent statistics available.
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are increasingly their preferred targets. Here at BrightFlow Technologies, we don’t like to fearmonger, but there are some uncomfortable realities in 2024, including:
- Almost half (43 percent) of all cyberattacks are aimed at SMBs, but only 14 percent are prepared to defend themselves.
- 66 percent of SMBs have experienced a cyberattack in the previous 12 months.
- 67 percent of SMBs conclude they don’t have the in-house skills to defeat a sophisticated attack.
As a result of the new worldwide cyber threat, SMBs are collaborating with cybersecurity providers (CSPs), also called managed service providers (MSPs). More and more SMBs are working with CSPs and MSPs to bolster their cyber security. A full 89 percent of SMBs chose MSPs in 2022, up from 74 percent in 2020.
What Is a Cybersecurity Provider?
CSPs and MSPs offer services to protect organizations from online threats. These services include:
- Network and cloud security.
- Intrusion detection.
- Secure application development.
- Vulnerability assessment, including identifying flaws and vulnerabilities in network infrastructure.
- Incident response.
- Cyber threat intelligence.
- Penetration testing.
- Application security assessment.
- Digital forensics.
- Security awareness training for all personnel.
- Detection and mitigation of cybersecurity issues.
A good cybersecurity company provides the expertise, tools and strategies to safeguard a business’s reputation, data and digital assets. This helps prevent data breaches, mitigates risk, ensures compliance with relevant security regulations and helps build customer trust. Most importantly, cybersecurity services can help a business save money.
Here are 11 tips to narrow your choices when shopping for a provider.
Tips for Choosing a Cybersecurity Company
1. Know Your Requirements
Before searching for an MSP, identify your company’s security needs. Most companies need solutions such as data loss prevention, firewalls, anti-ransomware solutions, intrusion detection system, cloud security, network security and IT system security. A good cyber security company will help you identify the existing loopholes in your IT infrastructure through proper auditing and assessment.
2. Rank Your Needs by Priorities to Fit Your Budget
Rank those services that you absolutely need, as well as those services you like to have but may not be in the budget. Then start ranking those providers that can meet your needs. When shopping for providers, discover if their experience and reputation are known within your industry. If you have competitors in your industry you can trust, ask them what companies they have employed for protection. Ask what approaches, technologies and techniques they have implemented to stay safe.
3. Get to Know Their Team
Rather than just getting to know someone who would be a single point of contact for your account, ask to meet the other members of their team. Ideally, you and your team should meet their most important team members individually, to be able to quiz them on what they can do for your organization, the types of tools and technologies available to them, and how security measures would be implemented. Ask about any training or certifications they have earned, to determine if they can handle difficult situations that may arise.
4. Dive Deep Into Services
Cybersecurity providers can claim to provide several services. But in reality, they may lack the technologies and skills required to implement those services. Call or visit them and ask how they would implement their solutions and services. Ask your potential providers for more details about their services, such as pricing, coverage, insurance and flexibility of the contract. Also ask for references.
5. Scalability of the Solution
Before selecting an MSP, make sure that the services offered are scalable. The model should ideally expand with your business without any disruption or business downtime. The contract should also have room for the required changes.
6. Performance Evaluation and Reporting
A good cyber security company should provide you with monthly reports, analytics and performance evaluation. Discuss with them the metrics you will require to evaluate their performance.
7. Compliance Expertise
A complex set of compliance standards regulates data security. A good cybersecurity provider understands and keeps up with the ever-changing regulatory and legislative environment. Moreover, they apply their experience and knowledge to your business and ensure that you are meeting your compliance requirements.
8. Industry Expertise
The best cybersecurity providers have clients across a variety of industries, and they can demonstrate their understanding of industry-specific issues. Moreover, they actively exhibit their expertise in catering to a specific sector.
9. Excellent Collaborative Skills
While searching for a cybersecurity provider, ensure they can integrate with your team. A good cybersecurity company demonstrates excellent collaborative skills and should never exclude your security managers, C-suite, or IT team from the process.
10. Great Interpersonal Skills and Communication
A good cybersecurity company will prove a seamless extension of your organization. They practice regular communication and give updates and information in an accessible, timely manner.
11. Choose the Best Cybersecurity Provider
Once you have determined which company is the best solution for your needs, discuss their proposed solutions. When you are certain that you have the right partner, you can proceed by signing a contract or subscribing to their services. Ensure that there is a service level agreement in place that defines what is required of the security provider and the metrics to measure performance.
BrightDefense to the Rescue
BrightFlow Technologies’ BrightDefense can shield your company against any and all cyber threats.
We are known for our cybersecurity expertise. We have developed a multi-ingredient “secret sauce,” or cyber stack of highly sophisticated tools designed to send the bad guys packing. Our cyber stack wraps a forcefield around your company’s resources and data from all angles.
Our BrightDefense comes standard with:
- Network security monitoring.
- Network access control (network traffic analyzer).
- Network security monitoring.
- Cloud security.
- Website monitoring.
- Application security.
- Web filtering.
- Anti-virus and malware updates.
- Application security patches.
- Information security.
- Email security.
- Spam filter.
- Cloud backup and archiving.
- Email tenant monitoring.
- Operational security.
- EDR (endpoint detection and response).
- Ransomware protection.
- Office 365 security.
- Log security monitoring.
- Disaster recovery.
- End-user education.
Choose a Brighter Future in 2024
Because the threat landscape has changed so dramatically, the solutions you embrace to protect your most valuable asset — your company — should change with the times. Give us a call or reach out to discover a brighter future for your company. One of our team members will be in touch ASAP. We pride ourselves on cultivating calm for every one of our clients.