The impact of cyber attack depend on the strength of your network security, which involves advance technical skills and resources in order to lunch a capable cyber security framework.

Only a strong cyber security infrastructure can withstand several threats and vulnerabilities within your system. If you can’t pull this off, outsourcing it is a good alternative.

Outsourcing your network security takes the burden of securing your digital environment off your shoulders, but it also has some challenges. What exactly are the pros and cons of outsourcing network security?

What Is Outsourced Network Security?

Outsourced network security is the process of taking a step back and hiring third-party cybersecurity experts to secure your network. Despite the numerous reports about cyberattacks, many people still believe that these attacks are far away from them. It seems like a news story until it actually happens to them.

Outsourcing network security is a proactive security strategy that helps you prepare for cyberattacks beforehand. Even if you are well-versed in network security, your knowledge probably isn’t as in-depth as that of a cybersecurity professional. Bringing an expert on board helps to identify and resolve the minute security loopholes that may not be visible to a non-professional.

3 Advantages of Outsourcing Your Network Security

Outsourcing your network security offers you several benefits including:

1. Enjoy Expert Cybersecurity Services

The growing popularity of digital technology makes more people tech-savvy. It takes one to have an affinity for technology to own a computer network, so there’s a high chance that you are good with computers. But being knowledgeable about information technology isn’t the same as having cybersecurity skills which you need to secure your network.

Outsourcing your network security gives you access to very skilled cybersecurity professionals who dedicate their time and resources to learning how to secure computer networks. If you were to handle it yourself, you can’t say for a fact that you can secure your network effectively because your skills may be basic. A cybersecurity expert would know what they are doing and address threats from their roots.

Read Also: Cyber Security: 6 tips To Hunt Threat, Safeguard Critical Assets

2. Save Costs by Focusing on Critical Security Needs

Outsourcing network security might seem costly on the surface, compared to handling it yourself. But on the contrary, it could help you save costs. When you work with security professionals, they help you analyze your network to identify the most vulnerable areas that require urgent attention via triage—a process of channeling your resources to the most critical areas of your system.

Instead of spending resources on all and sundry within your network, an expert can help you focus on securing your most critical data and network areas. For instance, implementing strong access controls that keep intruders at bay can prevent tons of cyber threats. A professional can guide you better in this direction. Otherwise, you may spend much more than you should.

3. Implement Custom Cybersecurity

No two networks are the same. There’s a tendency for someone who isn’t a cybersecurity professional to approach it from a generic perspective. You may get some results, but they may not be so effective, especially as you lack the expertise to tailor cybersecurity strategies to your system’s unique environment.

A cybersecurity professional has the training to recognize the differences among various networks. They examine a network down to the letter to outline its peculiarities.

Before proffering a solution, an expert may conduct a penetration test, an ethical hacking method to identify vulnerabilities in your network that cybercriminals would exploit. They may even go further to measure your cybersecurity risk appetite to understand your network’s security standing. Even if you know about these methods, you may lack the skills to conduct them effectively.

Having gathered all the information about the current conditions of your network, instead of implementing textbook cybersecurity practices, an expert will break them down to suit the dynamics of the network.

Network Security: 3 Advantages and 3 Disadvantages of Outsourcing

3 Disadvantages of Outsourcing Your Network Security

There are some downsides to outsourcing your network security.

1. Inability to Prioritize Your Network

If you outsource your network security to an agency, you may not be the only one they work with. They probably have a long list of clients, so their attention may be divided as they cater to each client, making them unable to prioritize your network.

That’s not to say that your network security will suffer outrightly, but they may not be able to respond to issues speedily and resolve them head-on. If you were handling your network security yourself, it would be your topmost priority. You could make the effort to tackle any issues without delay.

You can prevent inadequate attention and immediacy with a cybersecurity outsourcing personnel or firm by signing a service level agreement (SLA) stating that they would give your network the outermost attention. If they fail to do this, you can take legal action.

Read Also: 6 Tips To Ensure Your Data Security

2. Limited Knowledge of Your Network

Implementing effective network security requires an in-depth knowledge of the network in question including its cyberattack history, weaknesses, and strengths. This helps in resolving issues beyond the surface and down to the roots. As the owner or administrator of a network with a good understanding of your cyber environment, you are in a position to manage its security well, but only if you have the right skills.

A cybersecurity professional can gain extensive knowledge of your network if you are willing to work with them. You need to give them all documents and other resources containing the history and activities of your network. With your cooperation, they will understand your network beyond the surface level and render their services to suit its specific needs.

3. Privacy Concerns

Data privacy is key in network security. The fewer the number of people with access to your network, the more secure your data is. When you outsource your network security, you grant third parties access to your network data.

In as much as the cybersecurity expert or vendor may claim to operate in utmost confidentiality, the fact remains that they have access to your private information. Even if they don’t have any malicious intentions, someone else could steal your login credentials from them and access your network, so it’s best to limit the number of people who have access to your network.

You can maintain data privacy when outsourcing your network security with access control best practices such as least privilege, where you grant users access to only areas that concern them. Don’t grant the professional complete access to your network. Restrict their access to the scope of their work. Pay close attention to their services, so you can detect any malicious actions or behaviors from them.