Online investors, affluent individuals families, family offices, VIPs, and trusted client advisors are all thinking the same thing; is cyber risk getting so bad these days that I need my own IT security department just to keep me and my constituents safe?
Imagine it, for a moment, having your own IT security department in your home or office. Smart, experienced technicians on the job every day using the latest technology and intelligence to protect all your devices and everything you do online. Here, you enjoy the Internet for all it’s worth: doing business, investing, banking, shopping, emailing, and sharing – all without worry and risk.
Not long ago this scenario would have been impossible without a dedicated staff and significant expense. It required racks of complicated hardware, kept cool in its own dedicated room, and maintained by engineers to keep it all running. The notion of this level of advanced protection was out of the hands of all but the largest organizations with big budgets and “mission-critical” needs.
Welcome to the future
Well, welcome to the future. Now, with recent developments in software and network technology, the “IT security department in the basement” scenario we describe is increasingly within reach of us all. Affluent investors and families, small businesses and professional practices, home, and remote offices – those that need this level of protection most now have the access and affordability they need.
Where is this innovation coming from?
Advances in technology over the last few years have changed just about everything in our lives. Smart software using vast amounts of data is in many cases replacing the need for hardware and labor today. Progress in network technology (think Clouds) allows remote operations where once it all had to be onsite. The result is vast improvements in IT performance and cost.
Concurrent with the progress in software and network technology, the cybersecurity business has been turned upside down. Beginning in 2012, Wall Street started to see a long cycle of cybercrime ahead and got bullish on the prospects for growth in defensive technologies. Since then, and for the last five years straight, the industry has enjoyed record-high capital investment inflows, and it is advancing innovation at a pace we’ve never seen before.
The fresh investment funding that fuels the IT security industry today has a new mandate for its entrepreneurs: innovate using the recent advances in software and networks to protect people, the technology they use every day, their homes, offices, and small businesses from the emerging epidemic in cybercrime.
Imagine the potency of the mix. Next-generation software and data science blended with network engineering that is so effective we call the result “Clouds.” Now stir in a generous measure of smart, experienced entrepreneurs and innovators with fresh slates from which to work, and plenty of capital to bring their new, competitive ideas to bear. Finally, throw in a full stick of butter – in the form of stock options and incentives to motivate with the potential for personal wealth, and a mission to change the world.
Five years of this brew has created dramatic progress and produced some pretty amazing innovations. Now, the “IT security department in the basement” scenario we describe has arrived.
Your IT Security Department in the Cloud
Using these new software and network technologies, the traditional IT security department is fast becoming the “IT security center in the Cloud” - a remote operations center staffed by technicians working around the clock, serving many customers at a time.
Information security is becoming “cybersecurity-as-a-service” or, as it is sometimes referred to, “firewall-as-a-service.” Instead of having to purchase expensive, difficult-to-use servers and hardware firewalls, and pay for IT support technicians, the “as-a-service” approach bundles it all comprehensively and cohesively and customers “subscribe” to receive the benefits.
It’s kind of like having a gym membership instead of all the equipment and trainers at your location. As John Chambers, the then-CEO of Cisco famously said just a couple of years ago when trying to turn the culture at his firm toward the new paradigm; “No one wants to buy boxes; they want to buy results!”
How It Works
Picture the Internet as a massive Cloud with a long pipe that connects to your location, say your home or office. Now, think of your cable modem as the spigot on the end of that pipe. You can turn the spigot on or off, but like your public water utility, you can’t control the quality of what comes out.
Clean everything coming in and anonymize everything going out.
An IT security department in the Cloud sits on your pipe between the Internet and your spigot. All the bad stuff is filtered out before getting to your cable modem and into your network. But in this case, the filter works in both directions because, unlike water, your Internet activities come in and go out: upload and download. This way not only is your information safe at your location, but it is also encrypted, made private and secure, and tunneled over a private VPN before reaching the hostilities and risk with the Internet when online.
The “Managed Network Security” Approach
What I’m describing we call generically “Managed Network Security.” The term implies comprehensive cybersecurity at the network’s node versus on individual devices. With this approach, all devices connected to your Internet network, including the WiFi signal, receive a full suite of protective measures that are optimized and updated 24/7 and in real-time.
Computers, phones, printers, smart TVs – anything connected to your Internet is automatically secured and safe from cyber attacks and hackers around the world.
As cyber threats morph and evolve to evade yesterday’s security measures, your team in the Cloud is on the job 24/7. Without fail, in real-time, they work to keep malicious actors, spammers, and cyber criminals out.
Full Network Security is subscription-based and includes an “appliance” for connecting your network to the service. The appliance is a small box, about the size of a novel, and it sits between your cable modem and WiFi router. It’s simple to install and once connected everything is automatic and in the hands of the remote IT security center that does all the work for you.
Clean Air, Clean Water, Clean Internet
Like we want our basic needs of air and water to be clean and healthy, now the same holds true for the Internet service that we consume every day of our lives. We use the term “virus” when describing Internet risk for a good reason – the quality and security of everyday life is increasingly dependent on inoculating ourselves against online risk and crime.
The list of features of the Managed Network Security Approach is extensive and too lengthy to include here, but it covers EVERYTHING.
What it means to you, your family, your clients, and your business is that all you do within the fixed network is protected all the time. Your personal and professional information is safe, banking and investing are secure, passwords, credit cards, even security cameras, and internet-connected smart homes – all activities are sealed from the outside and off the grid from hackers and cybercriminals that look to do you harm.
At the remote IT security center, where all the heavy lifting is done, the action is fast and furious. Systems and defenses are constantly updated using the latest intelligence from around the world. Known bad actors, spam campaigns, ransomware botnets – they’re all kept out before getting anywhere close to you and your location. With Managed Network Security your Internet is clean, safe, fast, and reliable, and without the garbage and risk that barrages the public more and more every day.
This level of security is so effective that the service meets or exceeds all regulatory requirements for information security, including the especially stringent compliance levels of HIPAA and PCI laws. Without the need for hardware and technical expertise!
Our Experience and Recommendation
At Total Digital Security, we have been testing versions and iterations of Managed Network Security since 2014. The science of "software-defined networks" We knew its day would come before too long, and the innovation would soon be ready for our private client markets and customers. Since October of 2017, we have been using the service exclusively in our corporate office and in our homes, and are providing the service to our clients around the U.S.
If you are interested in learning more about how to get your own IT security department to work for you, and how to bring peace of mind to protect your office, business, or home, you can contact us here:
Test the security of your network connection with this free ShieldTest: