Cybersecurity is an increasing concern for organizations worldwide. In the PwC 25th Annual Global CEO Survey, CEOs ranked cyber risk as the No. 1 threat to growth, with healthcare close behind. Like many organizations, your company may find it challenging to fully implement or improve the comprehensive security coverage it needs to stay protected. But there are ways to address cybersecurity challenges head-on.

In Chapter 3 of our new eBook Managed Detection and Response (MDR) for Dummies, we examine some common problems organizations face when trying to strengthen their IT security posture and how MDR often can resolve these problems. The challenges typically fall into two broad categories: organizational and technical. We dive into both categories to help you better understand the right solution for your business.

Organizational challenges

Having the right cybersecurity people to do the job is of utmost importance. More than 1 million people are currently employed in the U.S. cybersecurity workforce, but nearly 600,000 cyber opportunities remain open, according to Cyber Seek. The weighty demand for talented cybersecurity professionals has created many organizational challenges including:

  • Building the security operations team. Lack of workers makes it difficult for organizations to build and keep in-house cybersecurity teams. We explain how the talent shortage is affecting businesses, particularly small to midsize organizations, and why MDR is an obvious solution.
  • Meeting compliance and regulatory requirements. Regulations aren’t only for the financial services and healthcare industries. Legislatures enact new cyber laws and requirements each year, creating a need for additional workers who can keep companies in compliance. We briefly discuss these laws and requirements, including which industries must comply.
  • Documenting processes during an attack. As part of operations management, you need to document incidents and learn from them. We outline the two primary hurdles that prevent organizations from implementing proper incident reporting procedures and explain how MDR can help you clear those hurdles.

Technical challenges

Modern cybersecurity tools are expensive, are tough to manage, and aren’t capable of doing what humans can. We detail a few common technology pain points and discuss the actions you can take to overcome these disadvantages:

  • Security tools are hard to maintain. They can be difficult to deploy, integrate, operate, and maintain, and certifications are often needed to use them. However, MDR can provide these complex tools and the expertise required to put them to work.
  • There’s a lack of visibility. Bad actors constantly find new ways to penetrate and control internal systems like yours. You need visibility across all organizations and tools to see the big, obvious problems and the small, unexpected ones. We discuss the three primary reasons why visibility is crucial yet so difficult to attain.
  • Technology alone can’t deter attackers. Without human intervention, cyberattackers will work around your defenses. That means you need talented people as the foundation of your defense. MDR providers combine modern technology and human ingenuity to defend against attacks.

Your company may face operational and technical cybersecurity challenges when trying to strengthen its IT security posture, but there is a solution. 

Learn more about these challenges and discover how MDR can provide the cyber talent and tools you need to stay protected.