Does Your IT Provider Manage Your Cybersecurity?

You may think they do, but they probably don't. Here is why.

There is a disconnect between what a customer thinks they are paying for when it comes to cybersecurity from their Managed Service Provider (MSP) and what the MSP is contracted to deliver. The problem is so big that the Five Eyes intelligence alliance members issued a warning about it in May this year [1].

"Ensuring MSP-customer contracts transparently identify ownership of information and communications technology (ICT) security roles and responsibilities."

What Does an MSP Contract Typically Provide?

MSPs are often providing the "business as usual" tasks which can include

• ?Setting up new users and disabling old ones on all the services you typically use, such as email and application access
• Break-fix of standard business systems such as Endpoints, Local Networks, Operating System, M365 tenancy etc.
• Updating systems software
• Backups

What Does a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) Provide?

Although contracts can typically differ, some of the basics are:

• Managing the Security Information & Event Management system, which includes investigating alerts and resolving security issues
• Managing the Endpoint Protection and Response system, which provides for investigating alerts and resolving security issues
• Managing the Vulnerability Assessment solution and making recommendations
• Managing the asset discovery solution and making recommendations
• Read and digest the threat intelligence feeds and make recommendations
• Provide compliance reporting

Conclusion

An MSP is generally seen as the "outsourced IT function" but is often mistakenly seen as handling all IT-related things. If your business had its own IT department, it would need to hire specialists to manage cybersecurity-related tasks. Unless your MSP has a dedicated MSSP function with dedicated staff, it's unlikely they will be able to manage cybersecurity-related tasks effectively.

It's time to review your MSP contract and ask yourself who's taking responsibility for keeping your business and client information secure

[1] FBI, CISA, and NSA warn of hackers increasingly targeting MSPs (bleepingcomputer.com)