MSS and recovering from a cyber attack

The July 2024 outage was a timely reminder of just how vulnerable even the most sophisticated organisations are to catastrophic IT failures. The outage, which impacted critical institutions from healthcare to finance, aviation, and emergency services around the world, showed how widespread downtime can result in financial and reputational damage. In fact the outage was the largest in history, as it disabled almost 8.5 million computers around the world¹ and cost Fortune 500 companies alone more than $5 billion in direct losses². 

Given the scale of the incident and the range of industries that it affected, businesses stand to lose a lot in case the next such outage is the result of a cyber attack. The first step towards addressing this problem is admitting that there is one.

The common wisdom among cyber security experts centres around prevention, and ensuring that systems are free from weaknesses that can result in serious cyber events. However, equally important is the importance of rapid recovery in the face of such catastrophic events. A prolonged outage can have devastating consequences, including financial losses, customer churn, and irreparable damage to brand reputation. 

When such an event is detected, a well-defined incident response must be in place that includes advanced threat detection, monitoring and restoring IT systems and infrastructure. It is important to consider privileged identity management, which can secure access to sensitive systems and data, a vital step in preventing unauthorised access and data breaches during and after a crisis.  

To have peace of mind, it is worth exploring Managed Security Services (MSS) as well where a trusted external partner can support your organisation by taking the detection, response and recovery tasks off your plate.

The recent outage was by all accounts the result of a bug in software and not a deliberate attack perpetrated by a malicious actor. But the scale and reach of the outage as well as the impact it had on institutions around the world prompted various cyber security experts to warn about more serious consequences, including future hacking attempts linked to it. With systems already compromised and defences potentially weakened, businesses face a heightened risk of exploitation.

For enterprises, the first step towards preparing for such events involves admitting that there is a problem. There is a critical need for inherent security and data protection in businesses. This involves a comprehensive approach that encompasses everything from employee training and awareness to advanced security technologies. Building a robust security posture requires a multi-layered defence strategy that addresses vulnerabilities at every level. The good news is that enterprises don’t have to tackle this on their own.

Managed Security Services (MSS) are useful allies in the face of catastrophic cyber incidents. By outsourcing security functions to specialised providers, organisations can significantly improve their resilience and accelerate recovery efforts. This kind of outsourced model can be cost-effective in the long run, augment your IT operational efficiency and also relieve you of the efforts to ensure regulatory compliance, so that you can focus on your business goals. More enterprises are finding the MSS model beneficial as can be seen in the growing valuation for the MSS market, estimated to reach USD 64.73 billion by 2026, according to Statista³.

MSS providers can offer a range of services designed to protect organisations from cyber threats and help them recover quickly from incidents. These can include threat detection techniques, where AI and deep learning algorithms analyse customer behaviour to not only spot anomalous patterns but also diminish the attack surfaces and respond to incidents to recover quickly. You may also have access to security platforms which are capable of proactive threat hunting, incident triaging and containment as well as secure configuration, management and maintenance of devices to ensure compliance and protection against DDoS and other attacks.

MSS providers will often have their own in-house team of world-class security experts specialised in penetration testing, incident readiness, data breach forensic investigations and innovative security research, who can guide you in your incident response.

If you want to be proactive and equip yourselves with the necessary resources and expertise in an MSS model, contact us to find out more.