As cyberattacks get increasingly more sophisticated, the capacity for corporations to deal with them has become strained. The majority of IT managers — 54% — say cyberattacks are too advanced for their teams to manage on their own, according to a 2021 survey by Sophos. This included industries ranging from business and professional services to health care. The former, in particular, were the most likely to respond this way, at 63%.
A new industry has been emerging in response: Cybersecurity as a Service (CSaaS). With CSaaS, companies no longer need to spend vast amounts of resources to have competent defenses against cyberthreats.
What is Cybersecurity as a Service?
CSaaS is the outsourcing of cybersecurity professionals and products to guard your business against cyberattacks. Enterprises are beginning to adopt this strategy because of the expanding need for competent cybersecurity professionals — a requirement that many corporations can’t fulfill because of the lack of qualified talent, as well as the continuously increasing cost of hiring such individuals.
With CSaaS, having an in-house team of cybersecurity professionals is no longer necessary. This takes a massive load off the shoulders of small businesses — particularly in the most at-risk fields — and allows them to focus on other aspects of their enterprise.
CSaaS can be practical both from a financial and logistical point of view. Compared to having an in-house team of cybersecurity professionals along with the infrastructure necessary to equip them, this type of service can be much more affordable. Additionally, creating a secure cybersecurity infrastructure takes a significant amount of time and considerable resources — two things that small businesses don’t always have readily available.
Cybersecurity threats ramp up in the Asian Pacific region
The perceived threat of cyberattacks that are too advanced for IT managers to deal with varies across the world, according to the 2021 Sophos survey cited earlier. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the most confident countries are the safest. They merely feel less vulnerable.
Many in the Asian Pacific and Japan lack the awareness to realize the extent they’re facing, according to an April 2022 report by Sophos. It’s not that companies in these areas are more prepared to face cyberthreats; rather, they haven’t been attacked yet, so they feel overconfident in their abilities to stop them.
Malaysia, for example, has suffered severe losses in the past year as a consequence of cyberattacks. 22.5 million people had their personal data stolen from a national registry, there was a payment gateway data breach, and in one instance, a group of hackers broke into a payslip system and stole nearly two million tax forms and payslips. Its government, according to the Malaysia Cyber Security Strategy 2020-2024 report, expects to have economic losses of up to RM51 because of cyberattacks like these.
CSaaS is a potential solution for these companies that lack the preparation necessary to defend themselves. These services are necessarily proactive, not reactive — this is important because by the time cyberthreats are identified, it’s often already too late to stop them.
Sophos’ Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service is the first of its kind
Leading the charge into the potentially lucrative CSaaS field is Sophos with its MDR service. Sophos, like other CSaaS companies, has 24/7 support and real-time defense against cyberthreats. The goal is to nip these attacks in the bud before they become something more deadly such as a data breach or ransomware. MDR — a model that’s being utilized by many other security companies — is notable for being the first CSaaS solution.
MDR combines extended detection and response (XDR) and skilled threat-hunting professionals to create a unique product/service hybrid model. Traditionally, a company would buy a product and then receive support for it. MDR is different: The product and service are both utilized, with the latter serving the former for as long as companies pay the monthly fee.
Cybercriminals know how to get around AI models. It’s become clear that no AI is advanced enough to defend against all cyberthreats on its own. No matter what the cybersecurity product is, none of them are self-sufficient. This makes threat hunters vital, as these individuals are able to detect threats that AI wouldn’t be able to.
CSaaS may be new, but it could serve to scratch the itch that many small businesses have for a comprehensive cybersecurity solution at a reasonable price without excess overhead. Rather than hiring and training a team — which has become harder to find thanks to the cybersecurity talent gap — and purchasing the necessary equipment, companies can outsource the service, either partially or completely, to someone else. Because CSaaS service providers rely on their expertise to sell their products and services, they specialize in doing what traditional cybersecurity hardware and software can’t.
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