Cybersecurity powerhouse Sophos has introduced a cutting-edge solution known as the Sophos Incident Response Retainer. This innovative service provides organizations with rapid access to Sophos’ pioneering fixed-cost incident response offering, inclusive of 45 days of continuous 24/7 Managed Detection and Response (MDR). By streamlining procedures, this retainer empowers Sophos incident response teams to promptly engage with ongoing cyberattacks, swiftly investigating and remedying them. Additionally, the package encompasses external vulnerability scans and essential preparedness guidance, enabling organizations to proactively enhance their security resilience by identifying and addressing vulnerabilities that could potentially lead to breaches.
In a landscape where the time adversaries spend within systems is progressively diminishing – as highlighted in the newly released 2023 Active Adversary Report for Tech Leaders by Sophos – the speed of locating and expelling threat actors is pivotal in minimizing harm and effectively thwarting malicious schemes such as data breaches and ransomware attacks. The report discloses that the median time adversaries persist within a compromised system has decreased from 10 days in 2022 to merely eight days in the first half of 2023. Notably, the interval between initial intrusion and impact for ransomware incidents has plummeted from nine days to a mere five days. Furthermore, attackers are observed to favor targeting their victims during nighttime and weekend hours, with a mere 9.6% of ransomware incidents transpiring during standard business hours. The most prevalent attack window falls on Fridays, spanning from 11 p.m. to midnight within the local time zones of the targets.
Rob Harrison, Vice President of Product Management at Sophos, underlined the importance of incident response retainers, emphasizing their role in fortifying organizations against active cyberattacks. Given the complexity of contemporary computing environments, the shortage of skilled personnel, evolving attacker strategies, and the requisites of cyber insurance, Harrison stressed the necessity of pre-established incident response strategies for all entities.
He emphasized the growing significance of “readiness” as an integral element of cyber resilience. Harrison further asserted that company is unique in offering high-caliber retainer services tailored to address urgent security incidents.
Chris Kissel, Research Vice President for Security and Trust Products at IDC, underscored the urgency of effectively handling unexpected cyberattacks, citing that despite substantial investments in cybersecurity tools, a staggering 65% of organizations encountered significant breaches over the past year. Kissel highlighted the time-sensitive, stressful, and financially burdensome nature of dealing with such incidents. He advocated for the pre-emptive deployment of experienced incident response teams as the most effective means of saving time, mitigating costs, and minimizing the fallout from breaches.
The Sophos Incident Response Retainer is available in three tiers through Sophos partners across the globe. Distinguished by its ability to proactively detect, respond to, and mitigate threats within diverse vendor environments, the retainer is accessible not only to existing Sophos customers but also to non-Sophos clients. This encompasses entities using Sophos’ comprehensive lineup of innovative security products, as well as Sophos MDR Essentials. Existing Sophos customers will also benefit from endpoint configuration health assessments and device audits included in the retainer. For organizations seeking comprehensive services bundled into a single package, the option of Sophos MDR Complete is available, automatically incorporating comprehensive incident response capabilities.
Jonny Scott, Vendor Alliance Manager at Phoenix Software, praised the Sophos Incident Response Retainer for its ability to facilitate proactive improvements in cyber defenses. He highlighted its critical role in enabling swift action during worst-case attack scenarios, where every moment counts. Scott commended the retainer’s fixed-cost pricing structure, acknowledging the variability of attack scenarios and the potential for costs to escalate rapidly. He lauded the breadth of resources included in the retainer, from vulnerability scanning to patching and prevention, culminating in an expert team available 24/7 to engage adversaries head-on.
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