Complexity Is Poor Bet When Security Stakes Are High

When it comes to security solutions, complexity isn’t just a turnoff for MSPs; it can actually be dangerous. Security products that are difficult to deploy, configure, manage and use are more prone to administrative error–and, all too often, those errors lead to breaches.

Simply put, complexity is the enemy of good security. Considering the high toxicity of the current threat landscape, it is clear that creating unnecessary work for MSPs can be hazardous. Security administrators are more likely to skip sound security practices if their tools are difficult to manage or interfere with their established business processes.

For example, firewalls have been known to cause problems such as blocking the wrong data or hindering performance. This can cause administrators to make broad exceptions in firewall protection, or to disable firewalls altogether, thus rendering this vital security layer essentially useless.

Disabling security tools is more than a gamble; it’s virtually Russian roulette, given that cybercriminals are constantly releasing new malware variants or looking for new vulnerabilities to exploit. According to the most recently available figures, nearly 1 million new samples of malware are released daily. Cybercriminals use myriad methods to get malware variants into networks–to name just a few, phishing, drive-by downloads, malvertising and clickjacking.

To maximize damage, malware authors have created an extensive underground malware-as-a-service industry to market their products. Exploit kits are readily available on the Dark Web to anyone with even modest technical skills, big dreams to cash in on the misfortune of others or just a simple run-of-the-mill grudge.

These exploit kits take advantage of another complexity that security vendors have added to the daily to-do list of every MSP. Software vendors regularly release updates and patches to shore up security issues with their codes; if these aren’t addressed quickly, unpatched software applications targeted by these exploit kits expose a backdoor for data breaches.

And, make no mistake, the financial impact of such breaches is severe (and growing even higher). According to the Ponemon Institute, the average cost of a security breach in 2016 reached $4 million, up from $3.8 million the previous year. And that same study found that since 2013, the average cost of security breaches has risen by 29%.

Does Your Security Vendor Keep It Simple?

Why is it important that your technology solutions, especially security products, be simple to use? Consider these 10 compelling reasons:

Conclusion

The smaller your business, the more likely a costly data breach could put you or your clients out of business. As an MSP safeguarding your customers, you must deliver effective protection–but such protection shouldn’t exacerbate the situation by adding complexity that creates more security issues than it solves.

This guest blog is part of a Channel Futures sponsorship.