Security-as-a-service is any service obtained from a third party to handle and manage cybersecurity needs. As with software-as-a-service (SaaS), security-as-a-service delivers cybersecurity from the cloud, making it a popular choice for organizations to limit their number of in-house security personnel, reduce maintenance costs, and scale security along with business growth.
With security-as-a-service, companies no longer need to purchase security solutions and manage and maintain them locally. Their IT departments no longer need to install antimalware and other security tools on each device or server. All of these would be taken care of by their providers.
Think of it as hiring a professional team of security guards that ensures that no unauthorized personnel or unwanted guests are allowed entry into your premises. You don’t need to hire nor train them yourself.
Other interesting terms…
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What Are the Advantages of Using Security-as-a-Service?
Security-as-a-service offers tons of benefits that include:
Operational Cost Savings
Security-as-a-service is becoming mainstream, primarily because it helps businesses save money. Most third-party providers offer subscription packages with flexible inclusions and payment plans. In short, companies only pay for the services they need when they need them. Moreover, it removes the burden of paying an expert IT team to manage their security because support provision comes with their subscriptions.
Access to the Latest Security Solutions and Updates
Implementing security-as-a-service means that organizations work with updated versions of security software and resources all the time. Providers manage all updates. As such, they worry less about threats.
Increased Accessibility and Scalability
Security-as-a-service provides immediate adjustments to meet users’ needs. Organizations thus are no longer burdened with the hassle of testing and deploying solutions. They can easily add more users, services, and even features to any system or service in real-time. Providers automatically monitor and investigate traffic spikes and check for malicious activity without hampering service performance.
Improved Productivity
Organizations no longer need to worry about security, so teams can focus on tasks that bring value to their business. Security-as-a-service helps them free up resources while remaining threat-free.
What Are Common Security-as-a-Service Offerings?
Security-as-a-service comes in various forms such as:
- Business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) tools: These solutions ensure that all of an organization’s operations smoothly get back on track in case of an attack attempt.
- Continuous risk monitoring: This service lets a company know about all potential risks to its security.
- Data encryption: This service includes the use of tools and solutions that render sensitive data unreadable by unauthorized users.
- Data loss protection (DLP): All security-as-a-service solutions help protect, identify, track, and verify data security in use and storage.
- Email security: This service allows users to use applications that ensure protection against spamming, phishing, and other email-related threats.
- Identity and access management (IAM): These solutions help organizations authenticate and manage users at all times, so only those authorized can access internal servers and files.
- Intrusion management: Third-party service providers also provide tools to detect unusual events and intrusions.
- Security assessment: Organizations can also use security assessment tools to counter-check if the security measures they have in place comply with industry and regulatory standards.
- Security information and event management (SIEM): Most service providers also offer products that log all events and information for anomaly assessment and intrusion detection.
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As more organizations go online, they need to tighten security from all angles. Now that you have an idea of the answer to the question “What is security-as-a-service?,” you know that it is an effective way of ensuring robust security without spending too much on operation and maintenance.