How to manage the growing costs of cyber security – IT Governance UK Blog

Cyber security is becoming an expensive endeavour for organisations – and in many cases, the costs are so high that they can’t deal with threats appropriately.

In fact, a Kaspersky report has found that only half of organisations have a dedicated IT security team, and only one in five has the tools to monitor and respond to cyber security incidents.

This is despite increased data protection requirements, with the introduction of the likes of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), and a growing number of cyber attacks, many of which have sparked high-profile debates about the importance of an effective defences.

However, it’s one thing to want to invest in cyber security, but something else entirely to set aside the budget to do so.

The costs of anti-virus software, staff awareness training, Cloud services and countless other resources stack up – and even then, you need to find skilled personnel to lead your security strategy, which is easier said than done.

It doesn’t have to be this way, though. In this blog, we look the costs organisations incur when addressing cyber security and explain how you can manage them.

What are organisations spending money on?

Technological solutions aren’t the be all and end all of cyber security, but they do play a major role in an organisation’s defences.

This is truer now than ever, as organisations find innovative ways to use tech. Cloud services have shifted into the mainstream in recent years, and they will only become more popular as businesses embrace remote working.

Consider the fact that employees are now spread across the country or even across the globe, meaning countless new organisational endpoints, each of which is vulnerable to an attack and must be protected.

These defences rely on continuous, end-to-end monitoring and the ability to analyse threat data from multiple sources in real time.

Threat monitoring tools should work in combination with a variety of other technologies – including anti-malware, encryption tools and firewalls as part of a holistic approach to security.

But that’s only one part of the equation. For these tools to be effective, organisations need experts to implement them correctly and respond appropriately to the data they gather.

Unfortunately, many organisations struggle to find qualified staff. The cyber security skills gap has been widening for years, with organisations’ demand for those with expert knowledge outpacing the number of people pursuing a cyber security career.

As such, skilled professionals are commanding higher salaries as organisations compete to attract their services.

Some businesses are responding to this by building an internal security team and encouraging employees in security-adjacent roles, such as IT, to take cyber security training courses.

However, not everyone will be willing to do this, and even if they were, organisations may fear that it compromises the strength of their IT resources.

That’s why many companies go down a different route: cyber security as a service.

What is cyber security as a service?

As the name suggests, cyber security as a service enables organisations to outsource their defence measures to a third party.

Depending on the service, you’ll be assigned a team of experts to manage some of all of your technologies, processes and policies.

It’s an ideal option for organisations that lack the time or resources to manage their cyber security practices – or if they simply want assurances that their defences are compliant with relevant regulations, such as the GDPR.

The service has grown in popularity as organisations weigh up the costs of effective security versus the damage that poor defences can cause.

According to a recent Field Effect Software survey, 27% of respondents said they are looking to outsource some or all of their cyber security operations, compared to 24% that are investing in ongoing cyber security education and 23% that are increasing their IT or security budget.

Those considering an outsourced approach should take a look at our Cyber Security as a Service.

With this annual subscription service, our experts are on hand to advise you on the best way to protect your organisation.

You’ll have access to a wide range of tools, training and support that can be deployed to kick-start your journey.

Our experts will guide you through vulnerability scans, staff training and the creation of policies and procedures, which form the backbone of an effective security strategy.

They are also on hand to help with any questions you have, helping you identify and resolve gaps and regularly checking on your progress.

You’ll also receive insurance cover for up to £500,000 – so you can be sure that no matter how severe the disruption, you’ll have the resources to respond and recover.