Does Your San Jose MSP Meet CIS Controls Version 8?

Today, every business must use new technologies to increase efficiency, overcome common challenges, and stay competitive in the market. Businesses of all sizes constantly have to battle insufficient funding, fast and continuously evolving technologies, lack of skilled and experienced staff, and the ever-growing regulatory and legal requirements.

Most businesses overcome most of these issues by outsourcing portions or all of their IT requirements to third-party Managed Service Providers (MSPs). Before you hire an MSP, it is important to check and ensure that they meet the latest version of CIS Controls.

A managed service provider that meets CIS Controls is deemed good enough to provide enterprise-level cybersecurity service and infrastructure in today’s uncertain world.

What are CIS Controls?

The Center for Internet Security Controls, also known as CIS Controls or previously SANS Critical Security Controls, is a list of 18 recommended actions designed to guide organizations and businesses in understanding and dealing with the most common cybersecurity threats they face.

The latest version of CIS Controls, version 8, was released in mid-May of 2021. The update reduces the number of controls from 20 to 18 and organizes them better according to the activities involved in each control. The previous version organized the controls according to the party responsible for managing the component.

Every organization and business with IT infrastructure must invest in proper security for their resources and systems. Network infrastructure, in particular, is most susceptible to cyberattacks. The CIS Controls offer a simplified and condensed blueprint that organizations can use to secure their IT infrastructure, networks, and resources adequately.

What is the Deal With CIS Controls?

The CIS Controls is an internationally recognized document that combines expert insights on threats, modern business technologies, and how a business can simply but effectively defend its systems and data. The controls are prioritized as sets of actions that are best described as best practices to mitigate the business from the dangers of common attacks and cyberthreats.

From a security perspective, the CIS Controls offer a universal baseline from where enterprises can improve their cybersecurity policies. With its ‘must-do, do first’ approach to defense, the controls use various defense actions based on the threat level. A business or organization only needs to go through the items in the CIS Controls and ensure that each is implemented to be sure that their cyber defenses are up to par.

The vulnerability of businesses or organizations can be significantly reduced when it implements CIS Controls. The reason is that CIS Controls serve as an excellent starting point for setting up and comprehensive cybersecurity policy. Whether an organization manages its computers and security or relies on a Managed Service Provider, the CIS Controls will serve as the standard by which security service is measured.

MSPs and CIS Control

Many organizations and businesses depend on Managed Service Providers for their IT infrastructure and services and cybersecurity needs. Because they offer a wide range of business services, MSPs are very attractive to businesses and organizations of all sizes and from all industries. At the core of their offerings are critical IT services, including:

• Antivirus, anti-phishing, antispam, and antimalware protection
• Networking and network monitoring services
• Software provisioning and configuration services
• Cloud computing services including applications, services, resources, and resource management
• Data backup and security services

Most businesses and organizations save money, time, and effort by simply using the services of third-party MSPs. However, before settling on an MSP, the business or organization must ask the right questions to make an informed decision.

CIS Controls form the baseline from which you can determine the quality of service or level of protection you can expect from an MSP. As a rule of thumb, it is important to determine which types of controls the MSP have implemented in their own system. From this point, it will be much easier to determine whether the MSP can implement CIS Controls for its clients.

CIS Control 15: Managed Service Provider Management

The 15th item on the CIS Control covers Service Provider Management as a critical CIS control. This part of the guide covers the process of evaluating service providers with access to sensitive data or who are responsible for the critical IT platforms or processes in the organization. This CIS control ensures that the MSPs entrusted with such critical platforms or data protect them the right way.

Considering how connected the world we live in is, businesses and organizations rely on partners, vendors, and service providers to manage their data. Most businesses rely on third-party infrastructure and services for their core functions and applications. This CIS control attempts to set a universal standard on which the customer may audit a service provider’s security. The control features different ‘checklists’ or standards set to grade service providers based on the services they offer. The control covers seven core areas, including:

• Establishing and maintaining an inventory with MSPs
• Establishing and maintaining a service provider management policy
• Classifying service providers
• Security requirements of service provider contracts
• Assessing service providers
• Monitoring service providers
• Decommissioning service providers securely.

CIS Control Version 8 makes it very easy for businesses and organizations to find the right service provider. The control covers all the essential steps and sections that even a new entrepreneur will find easy to follow and implement. This control is designed to help organizations and businesses learn to navigate the chaotic managed services industry with much ease.

San Jose MSP Focused On Cybersecurity

Finding the right managed service provider is no easy task. An organization or business must know what to look for to find the ideal partner and identify the red flags. CIS Controls makes it easier for businesses to sort out MSPs worth their salt from those that aren’t. It saves potential MSP clients much effort or scrutiny into large service providers or dismisses smaller providers with better service and security offerings.

The next time you are shopping for a Managed Service Provider, be sure to check if they are compliant with CIS Control 15. If you need assistance or personalized guidance to help your organization make the right choice, contact BC Networks today and schedule a free consultation.