As pointed out by this article, when it comes to network security, small business owners are often “hampered by a lack of resources, fewer qualified security personnel, less money to buy necessary products, and more difficulties complying with regulations that often were written without companies of their size in mind.”  And, as pointed out in this article, a small business can be more of an attractive target for “spammers, botnet operators, and other attackers than a home user mainly because it has a treasure trove of valuable data without the sufficient IT and security resources to protect it.”  In fact, as reported by Business Week, some small businesses can even become victims of identity theft.

Unfortunately, given the increase in sophisticated attacks made against small business owners, it is becoming more and more difficult for these owners to deploy suitable resources.   One available option today to smaller companies is the “outsourcing” of security to a managed service provider.  MSPs who are focused on security and IT management for small business owners have network security resources and expertise built as their core competency.   Although it may seem to be the last thing a company would want to do, i.e., have another company take ownership over its network security, so long as the MSP is properly vetted and has clear staying power, there is little difference between using a MSP for data security or using a bank for financial security.