This is Part 2 of our five-part cybersecurity series for Canadian businesses. If Part 1 helped you lay the groundwork for a stronger security posture, this chapter is about partnerships — the kind that come with vows, shared goals, and the occasional tough conversation.
In Part 1: Smarter Risk Assessments for a Stronger Security Foundation, we highlighted the importance and inherent complexity of establishing a proper security program. Most companies struggle, even large enterprises, to secure the necessary resources to enable a security program. Getting the right solutions in place and the right people to operate is a difficult task in a talent shortage and with a limited budget.
As a result, business leaders often turn to third-party providers to manage some, if not all, of their cybersecurity controls. But handing off such a critical and sensitive part of your IT environment isn’t something to be taken lightly. Here’s some advice to help you determine what to delegate — and how to find the right partner.
Defined Alignment + Scope
Let’s start by aligning on what a Security Operations Centre (SOC) means. Most people imagine a large, highly secured facility staffed with dozens of analysts monitoring threat dashboards. Simply put, they picture the Apollo 13 control room — many hopeful Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon will be present.
But the reality is broader. A SOC is responsible for protecting your organization against cyber threats. And that responsibility begins internally. It starts with executive leadership defining the security program, frameworks to follow, and the organization’s risk tolerance.
You expand the SOC by building internal capabilities and implementing solutions to protect your environment. Eventually, when the need exceeds your internal capacity, that’s when you reach out to Managed Security Services Providers (MSSP) to complement what you can’t handle on your own.
It’s critical to understand that allocating these functions to a MSSP doesn’t eliminate your responsibility. This isn’t a Ron Popeil infomercial — there’s “no set it and forget it.” You remain fully accountable for the security posture of your business. Think of it like owning a car: you might get the dealership to service it, install advanced safety features, or provide roadside assistance. But you’re still the driver. You’re still the one responsible for the safe operation. The same logic applies to your SOC
Going Farther Together
Once you accept that you will always be in the driver’s seat, it becomes clear you cannot afford to turn a blind eye to who’s sitting beside you.
Signing with a third-party MSSP is not a one-time transaction. It’s more like marriage. It requires constant communication, mutual understanding, shared values, and the occasional trip to couples’ therapy to succeed. Trust doesn’t happen overnight. Trust needs proof. It’s built over time through dialogue and dependability.
A successful MSSP relationship is built on alignment. You need a partner who understands your values, your business, your operating model, and your goals. Not the other way around. Although they might have advice and insights, they are there to help you overcome your business and security challenges. If that's not their mission, then maybe they are not the right fit for you.
Yes, a good partner will challenge you. They may recommend changes to how you operate to improve your security posture. But that advice should come after they’ve asked detailed questions, understood your business context, and learned how your systems work. If they ask you to change simply because “that’s how they do it,” that’s a red flag.
Drinking Their Own Champagne
Trust comes more naturally when they practice what they preach.
You’re more likely to rely on someone who applies proper security standards and controls to their own organization. Back to the car metaphor for a moment; would you buy a Lexus from a guy who drives a BMW? While no MSSP should reveal every detail of their internal cybersecurity governance — that would defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it? — they should be able to demonstrate that they follow a documented and applied security model.
That might include evidence of compliance with ISO 27001, SOC 2 (Type 1 and 2), or other regulatory alignment with authorities like HIPAA, PCI-DSS, or SOX. A trustworthy partner will also be ready to support audits by providing governance documentation or working with external auditors where evidence is needed.
This becomes especially helpful if you already know which regulatory regulations you need to comply with. If an MSSP is already aligned to those standards, it makes the partnership much easier to integrate.
Defining the MSSP’s Role
To round out the relationship, you need to determine what your MSSP will help you achieve in your cybersecurity governance model. They’re meant to be an extension of your SOC, not a replacement for it.
In a SecOps model (seen above), it’s rare for a single team or solution to handle every function. The scope should be clearly defined and reflect what makes sense for your organization.
For example, you might use a Managed Service Provider (MSP) to manage your endpoints and centralized infrastructure, while a MSSP handles your XDR solution, next-gen firewalls, and 24/7 monitoring. In this case, your internal role becomes more focused on oversight, reviewing reports, and managing SLAs to ensure value.
You want to retain analytics functions to guide the cybersecurity strategy and priorities, while relying on the MSSP for execution and incident response. You might even use a separate partner for forensics and high-level security consulting functions. This is not a one-size-fits-all.
The important part here is that security governance should always remain under your full control. The rest can be parsed out based on what makes the most sense for your needs and with the right partner in place.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, this guidance helps you determine what to manage internally and where third-party support can help your organization deliver a stronger, more responsive security program.
At Compugen, we work with organizations across Canada to deliver managed security services designed to fit your unique needs — not force you to fit ours. Whether you're looking to fill talent gaps, strengthen your SOC, or define a more resilient model, we’re here to help.
Compugen is your trusted Technology Ally. We’re ready to help you dream, design, and deliver an effective cybersecurity journey. Learn more about how Compugen can help.
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