Why Every Organization Needs and Can Afford a Security Operations Center

by Larry Gentry, President and CEO, cStor

It seems like every day we see or hear about another cyber-attack that results in security breaches, loss of critical data, ransomware, denial of service, etc. These attacks usually result in financial losses, loss of business or unplanned expenses to organizations.

To combat cyber-attacks, organizations have been investing in additional and better cybersecurity tools over the last few years. That’s the good news, but there is some bad news – the attacks are going to continue to rise and become more sophisticated. So, what do you do? Buy more tools?

Maybe, but sometimes the best method is to fully utilize the tools you have in place to ensure you are as protected as possible from cyber-attacks. Many organizations are struggling with how to monitor all these tools, and how to ensure they are fully utilized, monitored and protecting their security posture 24x7x365 to ensure they are doing everything they can to prevent their organization from being the next one in the news.

Many large organizations have decided to create a 24×7 Security Operations Center (SOC) that constantly monitors their security posture using all the tools the organization has in place. This decision, while expensive, follows Benjamin Franklin’s advice, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and is easy to see why it’s so necessary. Security breaches can cost millions to fix after the fact, and in some cases cost people their jobs because boards/shareholders believe they didn’t do enough or should have done more.

The benefits of a SOC are:

• Threat Detection
• Behavioral Monitoring
• Security Intelligence
• Vulnerability Scanning
• Platform Maintenance of Tools
• Reporting
• Asset Discovery

That’s great, but what about mid- to small-sized organizations that can’t afford the expense? Since it typically takes at least 8-10 full-time cybersecurity professionals to staff a 24×7 SOC, plus Security Information Management (SIM) software, it can be cost-prohibitive for most companies. Not to mention these professionals are hard to find and retain. A recent search showed more than 20,000 openings in the US alone for cybersecurity specialists. With demand growing, advise your kids heading to college to go into the cybersecurity field, which will see a huge demand over the next 5-10 years.

So, should mid- to small-sized organizations just give up? Say, “I’ve done enough?” Hope for the best? Ransomware is now targeting their attacks on mid-sized companies, which often prove easier targets, have less resistance and will pay their demands. There is an alternative that is quickly becoming popular with organizations of this size – a managed SOC. Instead of hiring all these staff and buying SIM software, you hire a company that manages the SOC and will monitor your security posture remotely, 24×7. There is no need to buy SIM software, as it’s usually included, or conduct a talent search to find all those people much sought after employees. The cost is relatively inexpensive and depends on the amount of traffic they are monitoring for you, but can be as inexpensive than hiring one administrator.

This is great news for mid- to small-sized organizations who want to protect their customers and business-critical data, and who know they need to do more but are just not able to afford an in-house SOC. They can find peace-of-mind through a managed SOC.

cStor has recently partnered with three companies that operate managed SOCs and are experts in this area. This ensures our clients are not left out as they continue to defend themselves from growing cyber-attacks.