Cybersecurity is increasing demands on every organization. As a business grows and expands its customer base, the potential for compromising data integrity is also growing. The amount of data any organization possesses is increasing every week and, therefore, so does its appeal to cybercriminals.
This article explores the cybersecurity challenges and realities that businesses must cope with, particularly in recruiting qualified and experienced professionals to handle this crucial area. It also discusses how and why outsourcing cybersecurity roles is an increasingly popular solution to this widespread problem.
Today’s cybersecurity challenges
The acceleration of digitalization across all sectors and industries is causing major headaches for virtually every organization. There are two key reasons for this.
First, there’s the increasing and widening challenge that cybercriminals pose. The cybersecurity environment is ever more complex and threats come in multiple ways, with the business landscape constantly changing.
Organizations need to deal with threats from:
- Malware or targeted attacks
- Data theft or compromise
- Digital threats from devices or software
Second, the scarcity of cybersecurity professionals is another major challenge. Many organizations are finding it difficult to recruit and retain the right talent in the number required and at a reasonable cost.
It is not surprising, then, that a recent survey by Neustar International Security Council (NISC) found that 92% of organizations are concerned about rolling out digital initiatives without sufficient attention to the cybersecurity challenges these new initiatives are likely to bring, but that around half of companies are having to press ahead regardless.
What’s the solution?
If you add together growing cybersecurity threats with a shortage of cybersecurity talent, you can see that the problem of talent scarcity and its repercussions can only get worse.
Organizations need to ensure that they have professionals who can protect the organization by creating and monitoring network, application, information and operational security protocols.
In addition, there need to be teams of people who can handle disaster recovery and business continuity, while also educating other personnel on cybersecurity dangers.
When organizations are troubled by recruitment challenges in the realm of cybersecurity, there’s a popular solution: outsourcing in the Philippines or any other area where there is also a large cybersecurity talent pool.
In countries like the Philippines, there’s a great number of English-speaking and highly qualified outsourced talents specializing in IT and looking to work with medium-to-large enterprises across the world while remaining in their home country.
How does outsourcing cybersecurity services work?
Outsourcing cybersecurity, in simple terms, means that a whole department of cybersecurity professionals takes on all the necessary tasks to fulfill security needs but that team is managed and operated outside of the business.
Transferring cybersecurity to an external security services provider means gaining a fully operational and ready-to-go team of professionals to take care of network security and monitoring.
This team can be trained to deliver the organization’s unique requirements. It can be a very cooperative solution, with dedicated team leaders working closely with in-house personnel to make sure goals and values align.
Outsourced teams can take care of every aspect of cybersecurity from the point of data collection and beyond to every level. The team is recruited and employed by the external provider, taking this difficult, time-consuming and costly task for the end user.
Outsourced teams often work from dedicated centers in the Philippines or elsewhere.
From their base, they can take care of a business’ security frameworks and protocols almost anywhere else in the world.
Team members are also able to enjoy the employee benefits provided by their employer, like further cybersecurity training and certifications, health and wellness programs, and modern IT infrastructure and support.
What are the benefits of outsourcing cybersecurity?
There are a number of benefits to outsourcing cybersecurity services, including the ones discussed below.
High levels of expertise
By partnering with a trusted outsourcing agency, businesses can reap the rewards of working with fully vetted, highly qualified professionals working for their organization.
Teams can be built to specification, so whether a business needs people certified in ethical hacking, security managers or data privacy professionals, the right people can be hired.
Cybersecurity service providers have access to a much larger pool of talent from which they can select the most qualified persons for the team. This process should be cooperative and transparent so that a business can be certain that they have regulations and compliance covered and are in a position to move forward securely and confidently.
Cost and time savings
Employee recruitment and retention within cybersecurity tend to come with high costs.
Turnover rates are high and the field changes so quickly, businesses are often left in the position of constantly spending on training multiple recruits to be one step ahead of cybercriminals.
Outsourcing recruitment and retention to external agencies means that businesses can benefit from the expertise of highly trained professionals at more manageable costs and for as long as they need them.
As the business grows or scales back in certain areas, it becomes more straightforward to shrink or grow a cybersecurity team when it is handled by an agency that can redirect personnel from or to other clients. As such, this represents the most agile solution.
Full 24/7 support
When a business hires an outsourced team to take care of cybersecurity, it can benefit from full support as and when needed.
External cybersecurity providers are often able to provide round-the-clock support from their team of cyber experts. This is an appealing solution when cybercrime is international in scope, can cause catastrophic damage at any time of day, and when many businesses are running offices in multiple nations across different time zones.
Get cybersecurity outsourcing done right
While some businesses considering outsourcing cybersecurity report concerns about sharing sensitive data or relinquishing control to an external provider, these fears can be alleviated by partnering with the right organization.
Making sure any outsourcing is set up and managed by a trusted agency is vital so businesses need to research their options carefully and choose a cybersecurity services provider that can prove their experience, expertise and reputation in the industry.
Outsourcing in the Philippines (or any other country) when handled properly, can be the ideal solution to a company’s cybersecurity challenges.
