Get Better Protection (for less money)
It has never been more important to have robust IT defences in place to protect your data, users and applications. Yet, installing, managing and maintaining a comprehensive security arsenal in-house can be laden with complexity and hidden costs. Gubi Singh explains why, for some organisations, a hosted solution will not only be less expensive, but also more effective in protecting the business. The number of IT security threats facing organisations is staggering – and increasing year after year. The risk of data loss, in particular, is growing all the time, especially in finance and retials industries where hackers are intent on stealing financial and payment card information.
In its 2013 Data Breach Investigations Report, Verizon analyses data from over 47,000 reported security incidents, 621 confirmed data disclosures and at least 44 million compromised records – all of which occurred in a single 12 month period. Of the 621 confirmed cases of data loss, Verizon finds that 52% involved hacking and 40% incorporated malware, while 76% exploited weak or stolen credentials. Reports like this are a shocking reminder of the need for robust security at every level. Many organisations, however, are finding it increasingly difficult to keep their in-house security systems up-to-date and operating to their full potential.
This exposes the business to threats and creates vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit. For example, if IT teams are unable to install new virus signatures and updates immediately, business systems will be open to attack. Equally, busy IT teams rarely have the time to monitor their security systems proactively and therefore may be slow to detect and analyse anomalies. At the same time, the true cost of providing effective IT security in-house is creeping stealthily upwards. The cost of the security products themselves is just the start; added to this, organisations must also invest in hardware, cooling, power and disaster recovery appliances at the primary and back-up sites. What is more, when a business has multi-vendor security products, it will require IT staff with diverse skills, which can increase the need for specialist recruitment and training. A hosted security solution can remove both of these issues. Firstly, it can lead to a far better level of protection, as all available security updates are activated as soon as they become available.
The IT security products are also managed and monitored by security experts around the clock, so if a threat is detected it can be dealt with immediately to minimise business risk. Secondly, a hosted solution removes IT infrastructure and staffing costs. Organisations no longer have to invest either in the hardware and power to deliver their security, or the staff to manage and maintain it. IT teams become more productive, as they have more time available to focus on other projects of value to the business. Redscan’s hosted IT security solution has been designed to help organisations simplify their IT security and strengthen their protection. It includes all of the security, monitoring, support and tools a business requires to:
- Regulate, monitor and cleanse web sites visited
- Route and scan email before it fills the available bandwidth
- Enforce application control even over encrypted channels
- Protect roaming users
- Provide granular control by user, groups, devices, VLANs, IP addresses, ports, and layer 2 addressing
- Generate reports that are relevant to the business
Most importantly, Redscan’s hosted service is delivered by a team of certified security experts who monitor and support the platform in real-time, 24 x 7, 365 days a year. Their knowledge and vigilance enables Redscan to deliver high quality protection and support, for a cost effective monthly fee.
