Experts believe we’ll see a rise in cybercrime in 2023, costing companies more than 8 trillion dollars worldwide. Outsourcing your cyberdefense to professionals could prevent disasters. The best way to do so is to look for network security as a service options.

Network security as a service is a subset of SECaaS that takes care of network security. It’s the best way to outsource your company’s cybersecurity and protect its data. NSaaS also deals with intrusion detection and suspicious activity monitoring.

Outsourcing your network security sounds like an easy and affordable way to take care of cybersecurity – because it is. However, there are as many benefits as challenges when going down this route.

What’s Network Security as a Service?

Network security as a service (or NSaaS for short) is a way companies have of outsourcing certain areas of their cybersecurity, sometimes all of them. It mostly deals with network and data security.

In other words, NSaaS deals with protecting your data, servers, and network.

Companies choose to go down this route to get the latest technology as well as skilled professionals defending their company at an affordable rate.

NSaaS in a Nutshell

• Encryption. Encrypting your data is the first step in preventing breaches, so it comes as no surprise NSaaS vendors will take care of that for you. Making sure your data is safe, whether at rest or in transit, is one of the pillars of network security.
• Monitoring. A cyberattack takes preparation and time. You can notice the early signs of an attack if you’re paying attention. For that reason, NSaaS experts take the time and effort to monitor your company and check for suspicious activity. They will shut down anything out of place and report it to you.
• Security. There’s more to cybersecurity than protecting your data. You also have to check for open ports, active firewalls, and antiviruses. Of course, that wouldn’t be your job if you hired NSaaS professionals. In that scenario, they’ll take care of everything for you, including installing the latest protection software.
• Recovery. It’s impossible to stop all attacks or mistakes that could happen – but that doesn’t mean you can’t take measures to deal with the issue when it happens. Backups and recovery are a big part of protecting your data.

Who Can Benefit From Network Security as a Service?

Small and big companies alike can reap plenty of benefits from outsourcing their network security.

Small companies don’t have the time, money, or expertise to run a tight cybersecurity department. In other words, they’re exposed to attacks from veteran hackers. Hiring an NSaaS provider gives them a resourceful cybersecurity department at a fraction of the price.

Big companies may have the money but lack the time and expertise to do cybersecurity right. Those who have the time, money, and expertise may also want to free their time and reallocate their resources by hiring a more affordable yet incredibly skillful security choice in NSaaS.

Benefits of NSaaS

• It’s the Cost-effective Approach. Taking care of cybersecurity is a necessary evil. It’d be better if no threat actors existed, so you could do business without worrying. Unfortunately, you have to spend money and time defending yourself – which chips away at your productivity. Outsourcing your cybersecurity efforts will free time and money, helping you focus on your company.
• Get Access to the Latest Technology. There are a lot of NSaaS vendors. They compete to get the most clients possible. These companies have to get the latest software and hardware if they want to offer the best service possible. Unskilled people may not know what software to get – or even forget to update it later on, leaving themselves exposed.
• Flexible Way To Decide Whether To Scale. One of the best things about outsourcing your network security is choosing whether to increase or decrease its role without consequences. Forget about hiring or firing people: you simply agree on a service package and carry on with your day.
• Allows You to Focus On Your Business. Cybersecurity is a stressful area. You have to train employees, prevent insider threats, and defend yourself from external threats. Doing so takes energy from other areas, such as running your company. Outsourcing your security deals with that issue.

Challenges of NSaaS

• You Can’t Have a Hands-on Approach. Outsourcing your security means you lose complete oversight of that area. It’s an “out of mind, out of sight approach” that you’ll have to learn to deal with, especially if you’re running a startup where you have a say in anything. Veteran NSaaS will help you choose the right package for you – but they won’t allow you to tell them how to work.
• Sharing Tech Means Sharing Issues. Most network security providers use the same hardware and software for all their clients. If a hacker decides to target them and finds a vulnerability in their system, they can exploit it, attacking any of their clients in the process (including you).
• Stopping a Data Breach Could Be Out of Reach. Choosing an NSaaS provider drastically reduces the chance of a data breach. There’s no question about that. Unfortunately, it’s more than likely that you will have issues if the company you hired gets breached – and there’s little you can do about it.

3 Signs You Need a New Cybersecurity Strategy

1. You Suffered a Data Breach

Studies show that companies suffer 20 data breaches daily – and around 4000 yearly. That may seem like a small number to worry about, but one breach is enough to bankrupt a small company.

For that reason, your cybersecurity approach is a serious matter. One breach is enough to change your strategy if you’re running an in-house team of security experts.

Looking for a security as a service vendor could be the right move to stop the next data breach from happening, especially if your employees are the ones falling for attacks and leaving your company wide open for trouble.

2. Your Employees Are Falling for Scams

Did you know most cyberattacks succeed because of human error? Infrastructure plays a small part in defending your company (as long as you keep your software and hardware updated).

That means training your employees is a big part of cybersecurity. At the same time, testing their abilities (with and without them knowing) is also key to developing the right security policy.

Going down the NSaaS route is a great way to have the latest training and technology at hand. Instead of worrying about how you’re going to train your employees to avoid phishing scams, you let trained professionals take the wheel.

3. You’re Expanding Your Company

Business expansion is great: it means you’ve been doing a good job and are ready to move forward. However, it doesn’t come without issues.

For example, let’s say your company will expand to the financial niche. You will start to collect sensitive data, including bank statements and similar. Your profit line and responsibilities will grow exponentially.

That expansion will put a target on your back: threat actors will start to attack you more often, pushing you to look for a better cybersecurity strategy, making network security as a service a great way to deal with that.

Takeaways

Network security as a service (NSaaS for short) is a great way to outsource your cybersecurity needs to professionals like U.S. Cybersecurity. Doing so guarantees skilled security veterans take care of defending your company and data. However, this option also removes your chance of a more hands-on approach, which is important for certain companies, especially startups.