Managed security services (MSS) provide proactive monitoring of the customer’s security environment by third-party security professionals, and may encompass protection against denial of service attacks, email viruses/worms, spam, and various other cyber maladies. The mindset about security is gradually changing in Latin America although many companies in region tend to be more reactive than proactive, that is, they invest in security only after being attacked. Security is gradually becoming an important issue for companies, which are also starting to allocate a separate budget for security.

The greater adoption of managed security services proves that only the combination of products such as antivirus, anti-spam, and content firewall was not enough for companies to be protected as advanced attacks are already a reality in the Latin American market. The lack of qualified workforce in Latin America can be characterized as a driver for managed security services. As security is becoming much more complex, companies tend to strengthen their relationship with MSSPs to stay focused on their core business.

•     Threats in the Latin American market are becoming much more advanced. Hackers know that many companies are not prepared to deal with attacks; therefore, they find a green field in the region for financial crimes, industrial espionage, and data theft.
•     The most advanced attacks are advanced persistent threats (APTs) that produce a coordinated and targeted attack using a polymorphic malware file to penetrate the desired network or machine and distributed denied of service (DDoS). These are highly disruptive attacks that hurt organizations’ online operations, brand, and ability to conduct business.
•     Ramsonware was one of the most common threats in Latin America in 2017 that witnessed a strong growth over the past few years. It primarily kidnaps the users’ data and charges for the rescue using Bitcoins. It could be more easily avoided if companies had the mindset of considering backup of their information more consistently.
•     Protection and prevention still represent the majority of MSS revenues. These reduce the number of security breaches but do not guarantee elimination. Many of these services might witness price erosion during the forecast period, especially the ones related to simply monitoring and alerts due to increased number of MSSPs providing the service and the lower complexity involved in providing the service.
•     For a holistic security approach, companies need detection and response coupled with threat intelligence to identify a targeted attack or advanced threat. These services are security information & event management (SIEM), security operations center (SOC), threat or incident detection & response (TDR or IDR), endpoint detection & response (EDR), user & entity behavior analytics (UEBA), proactive threat hunting, and threat intelligence.