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Imagine discovering ransomware on your network at 9:00 AM. Your team needs to know what happened, which systems are affected, whether data has been compromised and what action to take next. The problem is that cyber threats do not wait for business hours.
Managed IT security gives businesses access to specialist security expertise, monitoring and response capabilities without having to build and maintain a complete security operation in-house.
A Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) can monitor your environment, identify suspicious activity, support incident response and help strengthen your security controls. For organisations without the resources to manage these activities continuously, managed IT security can provide an additional layer of protection and expertise.
In FY2024–25, the Australian Signals Directorate's Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD's ACSC) received more than 84,700 cybercrime reports and responded to more than 1,200 cyber security incidents. The ACSC also responded to 138 ransomware incidents during the year.
Managed IT security is a specialised service where an external provider known as a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) monitors, manages, and strengthens your organisation’s cyber defences. It combines 24/7 threat detection, compliance support, and expert response into one subscription-based solution, giving you enterprise-grade protection without the overhead of an in-house team.
Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) work extensively with every aspect of security. For companies, they offer consultation and assessments on current practices, they can train internal staff, and they can install and monitor security measures to protect data and networks.
Your managed IT security provider can work remotely and there are several benefits for companies who contract third-party MSSPs. Your managed IT security service can monitor around the clock, which is often not realistic for in-house teams. Their expertise is in cybersecurity. This means that your experts will be up to date on the latest trends and threats and well versed in every possible scenario. MSSPs bring strong cybersecurity expertise and deliver comprehensive cybersecurity and information security services to protect your organisation.
Does your company need managed IT security? If your company needs to make security a major priority, due to regulation requirements or due to the data your organisation handles, an MSSP offers the advanced knowledge and skill that you need, at a fraction of the cost of an in-house team.
Managed IT Security is a service offered to an organisation that chooses to outsource specific elements or the entirety of their security requirements. Organisations may choose to adopt Managed IT Security when they don’t have the skills or capacity internally to manage themselves. The security services can be customised for the business, based on requirements and can range from a full-service turnkey solution provided by your IT managed services provider, or you may opt for specific services to augment current processes and technologies. Managed IT security, is a managed service offering, meaning that the provider takes over ownership of the key tasks, processes and procedures within an organisations IT environment required to achieve and maintain the required level of security. They do this by providing the skilled staff, leading technologies and tools, along with the best practices required to keep ahead of cyber threats.
Managed IT Services are tasks that are handled by a third party, a Managed Service Provider (MSP). MSPs can specialize in certain aspects of technology, or they may offer a wide range of IT services and specialties. Managed IT Security Services are the specific security tasks your managed IT security provider manages on your behalf. Some common services that your managed IT security firm may provide include managed firewall protection, monitoring and maintaining your network and infrastructure, intrusion detection and remediation, vulnerability management, and endpoint management.
One of the benefits that managed IT services offer is the ability to add talent that specialises in the type of disciplines needed for tasks or ongoing services. Your MSP might offer managed cloud services, help desk services, network managed services, cybersecurity, data management, backup and recovery, next-generation firewall services, and other services, such as consulting on applications and tools.
Managed IT security services are a subset of managed IT services. Where MSPs offer more general IT services, MSSPs specialize in security. Managed IT security services provide the benefit of expanding your team with knowledgeable experts and cutting edge processes to protect your data and infrastructure.
Cybersecurity is an umbrella term that discusses the protection and best practices of protecting digital information, networks, and data. It concentrates on protecting networks and IT infrastructure from security threats.
Often managed security services and cybersecurity services are terms that are used interchangeably because they both concentrate on security services. However, managed security services are entirely managed by a third party that monitors your network continuously.
Often cybersecurity services might include applications or programs to help monitor your network against unauthorized users.
A managed IT security service can help design a strong strategy for your cybersecurity process. This includes assessing networks, endpoints, and IT infrastructure management. But it might also include full consultation on all the protocols that are integral to maintaining best practices within the organisation.
Your managed IT security services might include cloud security, network security, application security, backup, and disaster recovery. These cybersecurity protocols also need to include education for your internal users. It’s important that all users understand best practices and maintain heightened security when accessing your system. While cybersecurity services monitor and protect your network, managed IT security services go further, to include full scale strategy and protocols to protect every aspect of your business.
Managed Services Providers (MSPs) are similar to MSSPs. They do often provide some cybersecurity or security services, but they don’t specialize in security. That is the major difference between managed service providers and managed security service providers. MSSPs specialize in security services and offer much greater knowledge in this field.
Let’s take a closer look at each.
A managed service provider is a third-party IT resource. They can provide IT support, act as an extension of your team, and provide specific managed services according to a customized contract. These services might include a help desk, infrastructure, software support, and more.
The benefit of working with an MSP is that it offers cost savings while extending your internal IT department. Often MSPs can offer more advanced tools and provide best practice services for your business. MSPs generally concentrate on business continuity and making sure that your IT solutions work optimally.
An MSSP is also a managed service, but they specialize in security services.
An MSSP is also a managed service provider (MSP), but they offer a greater wealth of security services. Hence being called a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP)/ The range of services might include full outsourcing of your security programs and administrative tasks, a discrete subset of your security requirements e.g. firewall, or augmented tasks to support your internal team.
MSSPs prioritize security in your technology and work to proactively design your IT environments for the best security options. Because MSSPs specialise in security, they can often launch processes and handle tasks more efficiently than in-house teams with more generalised knowledge.
Your MSSP will also often provide ongoing management services so that your security is always monitored, protected and secure. A key deliverable will also be reporting and consultation to continuously protect your data as your environment changes.
There are many benefits to working with a managed security service. Here are the top five:
Benefit #1 - Specialist security skills on demand
Working with a Managed IT security provider means you have access to a team of security experts, with a broad and deep set of security skills and experience across leading technologies, tools, processes and best practices.
Benefit #2 - Deep security expertise at a fraction of cost
Recruiting a team with all the skills and experience you need to protect your business is a costly exercise and not one many businesses can afford. Working with an MSP means you can tapping into a the talent and experience required at a fraction of the cost.
Benefit #3 – Faster response time
An MSSP is always on, which means a much faster response time to mitigate damage and stop threats.
Benefit #4 – Greater technology
Your MSSP can provide leading-edge technology to maintain best practices and keep your data and networks protected.
Benefit #5 – Mitigate risks and maintain compliance
Your MSSP will maintain regulatory compliance to protect your business and data by establishing the best line of defense, meeting compliance requirements, and reducing risk.
What types of services do MSSPs offer? Here are some of the most common.
Vulnerability management is a continuous process that identifies vulnerabilities in your network, hardware, and software to mitigate threats.
Endpoints are any device that connects to your network. Today’s endpoint management is complicated and comprehensive to continually identify and monitor all points of access.
Next-Gen firewall management gives you greater oversight to defend cloud networks from more complex threats.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) can collect all of the data and logs that relate to your security and analyse it. This information can then be used to proactively monitor and identify activity that might be a threat to your network and system.
IT security compliance is a main feature of your managed security service provider. This is particularly true in highly regulated industries, such as finance, healthcare, and government.
Your organisation may benefit from managed IT security if:
Cybersecurity incidents can occur outside normal business hours. If your internal team does not have the resources to continuously monitor alerts and investigate suspicious activity, external security support can provide additional coverage.
A large number of security alerts can make it difficult for internal IT teams to identify which events require immediate attention. Managed security specialists can help monitor, investigate and prioritise potential threats.
Cybersecurity requires specialist knowledge across areas such as threat detection, vulnerability management, endpoint security, identity and incident response. An MSSP can provide access to these skills without requiring an organisation to build every capability internally.
Businesses operating with sensitive information or specific regulatory requirements may need stronger security controls, reporting and evidence. Managed security services can help organisations assess and improve their security posture.
Cloud services, remote working, new applications and additional devices can increase an organisation's attack surface. Managed security support can help security controls keep pace as the IT environment changes.
If your organisation does not have a clear process for detecting, investigating and responding to cyber incidents, an MSSP can provide additional expertise and defined response support.
A fully managed service means that the third party will take all of the responsibility for the management and maintenance of your security services. A co-managed security option means that members of your internal team also work with the administrative tasks and other tasks associated with your security services.
The decision on the type of service you employ depends on your company, bandwidth and preferences.
Choosing the right managed IT security service solution is much like hiring a new staff member. You want to choose the provider that offers the right experience, the best services, and deep knowledge of your company’s industry and business model.
At Canon Business Services, we offer a wealth of experience in all facets of managed IT security, including recovery plans, network monitoring and management, and compliance. We offer full-scale services and can provide customisable and scalable solutions built just for your business.
Cybersecurity requirements continue to change as businesses adopt cloud services, remote working, connected devices and new digital technologies. For organisations without the resources to continuously monitor and manage these risks internally, managed security support can provide access to specialist expertise, security technologies and ongoing monitoring.
If you're unsure whether your current security environment provides enough protection, the first step is to assess where your biggest gaps and risks are.
Not sure whether your organisation needs managed IT security? Speak with Canon Business Services ANZ to discuss your current security environment, identify potential gaps and explore the right level of managed security support for your business.
Talk to a Security Specialist.
Sources:https://www.cyber.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-10/Annual%20Cyber%20Threat%20Report%202024-25.pdf
Managed IT security is a service where an external provider helps manage and protect an organisation's security environment. Depending on the service, this can include security monitoring, threat detection, vulnerability management, endpoint protection, incident response and security reporting.
Managed IT security may be useful if your organisation does not have the internal resources or specialist expertise to monitor and respond to security threats continuously. It can also support businesses that need additional security expertise, stronger controls or help managing compliance requirements.
An MSP generally provides broader IT services such as infrastructure, service desk and IT management. An MSSP specialises specifically in cybersecurity, including areas such as threat monitoring, detection, response and security management.
