Defining Managed Threat Services

As the threat landscape grows more sophisticated, many enterprises are unprepared to protect their most important systems. With easy access to robust hacking tools, threat actors find it easier than ever to effectively target (and compromise) enterprises of every size.

The answer isn’t to invest in yet another tool. Managed Threat Services (MTS) is the best way to gain access to the resources and advanced skill sets you need to protect your organization.

Cyber attackers have increasing access to devastating tools. They’re calculated and deliberate in their tactics. They’re agile and they can avoid detection by traditional technologies and processes.

Combine the persistent nature of advanced threat actors with the proliferation of attack surfaces like mobile devices, IoT, and aggressive cloud adoption, and you have the potential for a serious breach.

Most technologies generate alerts. However, many organizations are overrun by alert volume and valid threats get lost in the noise.

Even with robust defenses in place, IT and cybersecurity professionals often lack sufficient adversary insight. Or they may be generally prepared for a broad spectrum of attacks, but lack the expertise to defend against more malicious, targeted tactics.

Trying to plug the dam, well-meaning analysts sometimes turn to off-the-shelf feeds for better intel or implement static defenses that work for some scenarios but cannot adapt to the aggressive, persistent, evolving nature of advanced attacks.

Your Security Operations Center (SOC) could even have the best tools and technology the industry has to offer, but without the right skill sets and operators, these resources are not going to perform at the level you need to protect your enterprise’s assets.

So how does security fare at your organization? Here are a few categories to help you gauge your program’s health:

1. Cyber Fusion Center techniques: Are you able to ingest threat intelligence about dangers to your environment, turn that intelligence into detection capability, and then turn what you detect into new intelligence that feeds back into the process? This generation and fusion of threat intelligence creates a dynamic set of defensive postures that is constantly being tuned to detect and defend against the threats your organization is facing. MTS services can deliver this capability to your organization in a matter of weeks.
   
   
2. Attracting and retaining the right skillsets: Are you able to attract and retain highly skilled personnel and resources? Is your SOC staffed by professionals with the knowledge to operate and maintain sophisticated threat tools and platforms? MTS offers access to cybersecurity talent with skills such as malware reverse engineering, threat analysis, incident response, and threat intelligence. to provide effective defense when crises occur.
   
   
3. Technology: How confident are you that the expensive technology you’ve already purchased is configured into a comprehensive solution to stop targeted attacks? MTS offers an evergreen technology model and is a true “force multiplier” of existing resources and technology purchases.
   
   
4. Ability to scale: Maybe you want to scale your security efforts, but you lack the budget to purchase new security technology. Sometimes it’s difficult to make a case for a new or augmented line item. An MTS approach could help you justify new expenditures, and Booz Allen’s MTS is delivered with predictable economics and pricing models.
   
   
5. Consistency: What security posture do you take across hybrid IT and OT environments? MTS offers 24/7 coverage that’s constantly watching and protecting.

Managed Threat Services puts a premium on partnerships over products for good reason: Attackers are People℠. People shift and adapt. They exploit weaknesses. That’s why a better defense is critical.

MTS offers a multifaceted approach to cybersecurity that combines the best of intelligence gathering, reporting, technology enablement, capability building, and access to highly skilled talent—all delivered with flexibility and operational excellence.

It’s robust, thorough, and adaptive, with seasoned security professionals at the helm who regularly battle some of the world’s most serious threats.

Many firms say they offer MTS, but enterprises often end up getting just an advanced alert system or at most, a dashboard that organizes all their alerts. Alarms are an essential component of any security program, but flashing lights do little to fight off a well-equipped, deliberate, persistent threat actor.

The landscape has changed, but has your organization adapted? Whether you’re about to embark on an overhaul or you’re looking to enhance the capabilities of your existing SOC, Booz Allen Hamilton’s industry-leading MTS offers you a force-on-force solution to the ever-evolving threats your enterprise is facing.