Decisions, Decisions - Internal SOC vs MSSP
Navigating the managed IT security landscape can be daunting for businesses, particularly when looking into internal SOC VS MSSP.
Understanding the services offered by cybersecurity providers is crucial, as managed security is essential for protecting against today’s cyber threats and enabling confident business operations. This article explores the differences between MSSPs and SOCs to help you determine the best option for your business.
What is Internal SOC?
A central hub for the investigation, triage and remedy of technical security issues, housed within the company it seeks to defend.
A team of internal people are hard to beat. But there are a multitude of contributing factors, financial and human resourcing, company direction or a lack of understanding of the requirements involved that can lead to outsourcing cyber defence.
Who is Internal SOC for?
Medium to Large Enterprises
For example …
- Federally structured company that needs to provide security services internally and to all of its individual
- operating companies.
- An international company with multiple sites.
- Complex structures benefit most from an internal SOC whom can concentrate solely on themselves.
Pros of an Internal SOC
- Your employees learn your systems and apply security to an environment based on inside knowledge
- One single organisation to investigate and remedy, not relying on one MSSP to manage many customers
- Control over hiring, firing, progression and development
- You control your data, location, architecture and safety
- Dedicated resources
- Freedom of tools
- Company culture
- Reputational benefits of having inside security, depending on your industry
Cons of an Internal SOC
- Responsibility of recruitment & resourcing technologies
- Can take a year or more to become defined
- This does not end when you’ve built the SOC. Many companies make the mistake of turning their SOC
- This does not end when you’ve built the SOC. Many companies make the mistake of turning their SOC in to a 1st line support rather than utilising the team to manage the integration of security in to other areas, ie, projects, devops. SOCs can become underutilized.
- EXPENSIVE
- Political minefield, especially for a new to the company CISO
- Technical responsibility, provisioning of tools and multiple new teams, or the influx of added work on to pre-existing teams.
- Recruiting good candidates in technical fields is notoriously difficult
- Premises, where is this SOC going to be?
What is Managed Security Service Provider? (MSSP)
An outsourced cybersecurity function that replaces the need for an internal team.
Who is MSSP for?
Businesses who require cyber defence but do not have the resources or plans to allocate resources to building a permanent function internally. .
Pros of an MSSP
- Building a SOC is expensive, but an MSSP takes on the pain of recruiting and retaining staff.
- Tight SLAs (Service Level Agreements)
- Can see quicker benefits apposed to building your own SOC
- Access to fully trained and qualified staff, who are experienced in handling a variety of security incidents and are practised at working under pressure.
- A good MSSP service will keep you up-to-date on emerging threats via solid Threat Intelligence and industry information sharing.
- The MSSP will create and maintain comprehensive run-books
- Should be more cost-effective than building a team from scratch
Cons of an MSSP
- Expensive & no dedicated resources
- Demanding SLAs on staff
- You often are required to use the tools MSSP uses
- No mitigation and active remediation
- An MSSP is focused primarily on maximising profits (uncomfortable, but true), which is achieved by delivering repeatable, standard services of limited depth or sophistication. MSSP systems are optimised for scale, not specialisation.
- An MSSP will struggle to understand youre unique business requirements
- The MSSP will be delivering services to a large customer base. You’ll be part of a pool of tickets, the analysts don’t concentrate on a particular industry or environment.
- High rates of staff retention and burnout
Businesses face a critical choice between internal SOC vs MSSP in cybersecurity.
MSSPs offer comprehensive outsourced security services, while SOCs provide proactive defence and real-time threat detection.
Your decision should match your company’s risk appetite, growth goals, and available resources. Both options can enhance digital defences, and a robust cybersecurity strategy may include both. Making an informed choice secures your digital assets and your company’s future in a connected digital environment.
If you need to learn more feel free to check out the pages under visibility and monitoring on our website. If you have direct questions please call us on +44 20 8133 0660 or fill out the contact form below.
