What Is a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP)?

What Do MSSPs Do?

MSSPs deliver a wide range of proactive security management, risk reduction, and expert advisory services, among others. Here are some of the core services MSSPs typically provide:

24/7 Security Monitoring and Threat Detection

By continuously monitoring network traffic, log files, and other data for unusual activity, MSSPs can identify anomalous behavior that could signal an attack. For instance, they might detect suspicious login attempts on user accounts, unusual access requests, large file transfers, and more. By catching these issues early, they can help stop attacks before they turn into data breaches.

Incident Response

If a cyberattack has already happened, MSSPs can step in to investigate as well as guide the customer through containment and recovery. For instance, if a breach exposes sensitive data, the MSSP will help secure affected systems, notify required parties, and restore normal operations. They can also create incident response plans to help their customers know how to act quickly in case of attacks.

Vendor-Managed Services

Many businesses use various tools for endpoint protection, cloud security, access management, and more to keep their operations secure. MSSPs help deploy, maintain, and manage these tools. For organizations weighing their options, MSSPs can recommend solutions that suit their needs as well as provide full lifecycle support to ensure the tools deliver ongoing value.

What Are the Benefits of Using an MSSP?

Working with an MSSP is helpful for many organizations tackling the growing complexity of protecting their users and data. Let’s look at some of the main benefits:

Access to Security Experts

Taking on today's sophisticated cyberthreats calls for specialized knowledge and skill sets. However, amid an ongoing cyber skills shortage, just 14% or organizations are confident their teams can meet their security goals. MSSPs can provide access to experts skilled in protecting sensitive data, spotting malicious activity, engaging hackers, and more.

Lower Costs

A full in-house IT security team is expensive—for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), often prohibitively so. MSSPs let organizations outsource high-quality protection and security management, with no need to hire specialists or purchase equipment. This subscription-based model ensures companies get enterprise-grade security tools for an affordable price.

Flexible Growth

Security needs tend to grow as operations expand. MSSPs strive to provide scalable tools and services that adapt to changing requirements at every stage of an organization's growth. For example, a startup might need basic protections at first, and then need advanced zero trust solutions to accommodate global operations and workers.

Simplified Compliance

Across industries, data privacy regulations are growing more strict and complex, often overlapping. MSSPs that offer compliance assistance can perform regular audits, risk assessments, and reporting to help organizations avoid sanctions, fines, and loss of reputation.

Reduced Burdens for IT Teams

By taking on much of an organization’s security workload, MSSPs can free up in-house IT teams to focus on other tasks. This reduces stress, improves security operations, and helps ensure organizations are well-prepared to handle cyber risks.

MSP vs. MSSP vs. MDR: What's the Difference?

While they have some overlap, managed service providers (MSPs), MSSPs, and managed detection and response (MDR) offer distinct IT and security solutions. MSPs focus on general IT management, while MSSPs specialize in comprehensive security services. MDR providers, meanwhile, offer advanced detection and response tools to combat advanced cyberattacks. Let's examine each one in a bit more detail.

What Is an MSP?

MSPs focus on day-to-day IT operations, such as managing networks, servers, and user support. While some offer basic security features—like antivirus or patch management—advanced security is not their core business. MSPs generally suit organizations that need help with general IT and system upkeep rather than dedicated security or in-depth threat analysis.

What Is an MSSP?

MSSPs specialize in delivering 24/7 network monitoring and cyber risk management services to organizations of all sizes. They also assist with vulnerability management, incident response, and security tool management. MSSPs often serve as an extension of their IT team, helping them adopt modern security approaches like zero trust.

MSSP offerings are ideal for organizations looking for comprehensive, scalable security solutions without the strain of managing them in-house. They help customers:

• Eliminate the need for complex on-premises systems by offering cloud-based security as a service
• Build security policies, categorize sensitive data, and monitor operations to prevent data loss
• Leverage flexible services, whether outsourcing all security or augmenting in-house teams with MSSP guidance

What Is MDR?

MDR focuses on identifying and countering advanced cyberthreats that require deeper investigation and specialized expertise. While MSSPs provide broad security management, MDR providers specialize in detecting threats that may involve complex patterns or behaviors.

MDR is ideal for organizations that want to enhance their existing security efforts with focused threat detection, analysis, and response capabilities. They help customers:

• Leverage advanced endpoint detection and response (EDR), behavioral analytics, identity platforms, digital forensics, and more
• Call on highly skilled analysts and threat hunters to investigate security events in detail, looking for signs of sophisticated attacks such as lateral movement or privilege escalation
• Respond effectively to emerging threats through seamless integration with existing IT workflows

Zscaler and MSSPs

Zscaler partners with MSSPs to deliver best-in-class cybersecurity through the cloud native Zero Trust Exchange™ platform. Built on a unique cloud native zero trust architecture, Zscaler provides MSSPs and their customers with effective tools to solve today's greatest security challenges.

• Scalable cloud native architecture: Our cloud-first design eliminates complex physical hardware, allowing MSSPs to quickly scale services and immediately protect organizations of any size.
• Comprehensive zero trust security: MSSPs can deliver our advanced solutions for cyberthreat protection, access control, data security, and more to enable distributed workforces anywhere.
• Enhanced employee productivity: Zscaler Private Access™, the world's most deployed zero trust network access solution, provides direct, seamless, and secure access to internal apps.
• Tailored security solutions: Our flexible cloud native services enable MSSPs to offer highly customizable zero trust security to suit each customer’s specific needs.
• Ease of integration: Our flexible platform integrates smoothly across existing IT operations, streamlining security for MSSPs and clients alike.