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Is automation the remedy for MSSP challenges in scaling operations?
Without doubt, both individuals and organizations today are spoilt for choice. As customers, the luxury of choice is to our advantage, but if we switch the lens for a moment, service organizations and brands the world over are grappling with how to stay competitive in an increasingly congested market.
Managed security services providers (MSSPs) are no stranger to this pressure. Forged in the 1990s, MSSPs have been critical to defending small-to-medium sized businesses who cannot afford enterprise security license fees. However, times are changing and MSSPs today are also an increasingly attractive proposition for larger organizations looking to outsource security operations. While this is driving significant growth, competition is now fierce and the MSSP battlefield, complex.
Not only are MSSPs expected to work with the latest cybersecurity technology; increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, the need for contextual threat analysis and an expanding list of use case demands from clients are just a few of the many internal difficulties faced. Pair this with MSSPs challenges in scaling at a time when there is a shortage of skilled workers, and it becomes clear how MSSPs are starting to feel the pinch.
Is threat intelligence automation (AI) the answer to every MSSP’s prayers?
Scaling up MSSP services without investing in more resources is easier to achieve today than ever before. Threat intelligence automation and AI has rapidly streamlined manual tasks and is quickly enabling junior team members to undertake more skilled work. Although there are varying quality levels of AI in existence which cause MSSPs to be concerned about data verification and security, there are vendors like Cybersixgill, who can be trusted.
However, AI and automation on its own is not the panacea to MSSP’s challenges in scaling operations. For MSSPs to reach their full potential, they need access to contextualized, real time threat intelligence from the clear, deep and dark web. When threat intelligence automation relies solely on publicly available information, its recommendations may be outdated or inaccurate without the necessary data.
Harnessing automation to scale and monetize new services
With the right threat intelligence vendor, MSSPs can broaden their service offering while harnessing AI to streamline activities. Whether you are breaking new ground as an MSSP, or developing into a mature service provider, here are our top 10 AI-enhanced threat intelligence revenue generators for consideration:
Leaked Data and Credentials
Identifying leaked data and credentials is a well-used service and a great starting point for new MSSPs to the market. Cybersixgill’s advanced AI algorithms can quickly sift through vast amounts of threat data, identifying patterns and anomalies that point to leaked information, significantly reducing the time it takes to detect breaches. Real-time alerts can be configured to notify MSSPs of emerging threats to protect specific individuals or clients.
Threat Landscape Reports
Report writing is highly valued by clients, but manual report writing is slow and time consuming for MSSPs looking to scale operations. However, automation has changed the game completely. Using tools such as Cybersixgill IQ, MSSPs can generate personalized threat landscape reports, tailored to each client’s industry, geography, and specific concerns in a matter of minutes.
Weekly/Daily News Roundup
Taking the reporting theme one step further, Cybersixgill has introduced Pulse, our latest threat intelligence automation capability which consolidates risk insights, cyber events and news, ransomware reports, and data breaches from hundreds of underground and OSINT sources. Each item of content is instantly structured to include a summary, topic category, threat actor, countries affected, victim organizations and more before it is filtered according to each client’s specific industry, region, technology stack, topic of interest or peer activity via our multi-tenancy platform. The content is instantly sharable, reducing the need for MSSPs to scroll through countless news sites and underground sources to find and report on the latest events relevant to their clients.
Brand Protection
As an MSSP develops, adding services such as brand protection to the portfolio is a logical step. Cybersixgill supports MSSPs with threat intelligence automation, detecting brand misuse, such as typosquatting, or counterfeiting of proprietary technology. The algorithms quickly scan the dark web, underground forums, for brand impersonation attempts. When flagged, MSSPs can take immediate steps to mitigate risks by coordinating takedown actions, protecting the client’s reputation and reducing exposure to phishing or fraud.
Ransomware Monitoring
Ransomware remains a significant threat to organizations around the world. Deploying threat intelligence for MSSPs via a multi-tenancy platform that has been enhanced with AI, it is possible to identify early indicators of ransomware targeting specific client organizations or industries by tracking discussions and patterns in malicious activity at scale. This enables MSSPs to deliver early warnings to clients and support the hardening of their defenses against imminent attacks.
Phishing
As an MSSP matures, adding further services that use natural language processing (NLP) and deep learning to automate the recognition of phishing templates or brand impersonations will complement existing ransomware monitoring offerings. By setting up alerts specific to each client, MSSPs can quickly respond to threats and block phishing attempts before they reach their target.
Vulnerability Exposure
Vulnerability management can be a time consuming and thankless task when undertaken manually and contributes to MSSPs challenges in scaling up. Although it is a critical activity to reduce risk exposure, identifying, prioritizing and remediating vulnerabilities for multiple clients is a near-impossible task without automation. Cybersixgill helps MSSPs to confidently add vulnerability management to their portfolio by continuously scanning client infrastructure for exposed vulnerabilities and prioritizing them based on risk and severity. It also instantly delivers tailored risk mitigation strategies, enabling MSSPs to address the most critical vulnerabilities first and protect clients from potential exploitation.
Third-Party Intelligence
Third-party threats are contributing to an increasing number of attacks, but they can be difficult to monitor. With Cybersixgill’s CTI, mature MSSPs looking to broaden their service offering can now add it to their portfolio. Using threat intelligence automation, MSSPs can continuously monitor their clients’ third-party activities for potential vulnerabilities, track vendor compliance, and even identify compromised credentials associated with partners.
Incident Response Investigations
Due to the criticality and skill required for incident response investigations, this service is highly lucrative for an MSSP. Cybersixgill has tailored our threat intelligence for MSSPs, so they can quickly analyze vast datasets, attribute attacks to specific threat actors, and uncover signs of compromise that might have otherwise gone unnoticed - all from one multi-tenancy platform. This in turn facilitates scale by improving the mean time to respond to incidents, enabling MSSPs to support more clients.
Threat Hunting
No mature MSSP portfolio would be complete without a threat hunting service. Cybersixgill uses AI to enhance threat hunting for MSSPs by continuously monitoring and analyzing network activity for signs of malicious behavior. This allows MSSPs to identify threats proactively before they cause significant damage.
If you would like to learn more about the revenue generation opportunities available to MSSPs by partnering with Cybersixgill, get in touch with one of our experts and book a personalized demonstration.
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