A cyber security consultant provides cyber security consulting services to help the company become more secure and ensure compliance with applicable regulations. Cyber security consulting includes a range of disciplines, including penetration testing, security assessment, incident response and security auditing. Cyber security consulting is not limited to helping a company prepare or prevent cyber-attacks. A cyber security consultancy provides value to clients pre-cyber attack, during a cyber attack and post-cyber attack. In fact, one of the most common reasons for a company to hire a cyber security consultant is during or following a cyber attack to help the company recover and get back to normal business operations.
Top cyber security consulting firms
Top cyber security consulting firms include companies like Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC etc. Engaging with these top-tier is beyond the reach of most small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), but many managed service providers are focused on providing cyber security consulting services that meet the specific needs of SMBs.
Here are some of the services that separate the best cyber security consulting firms from their competition:
- Experience/Expertise: The best indicator of future performance is past performance. The best cyber security consulting firms will have experienced experts to help their clients.
- Complementary Services: Good cyber security consulting firms will provide services that complement one another. For example, if they offer penetration testing services, they should have staff that can help clients remediate any issues found rather than doing the testing and leaving their clients to find someone else to fix the problems.
- A retainer option: Many companies like to have the reassurance of having a consultant on retainer so that in the event of an issue, they will easily be able to get the help they need at no additional cost.
- Managed Services Option: Many top cyber security consulting firms offer managed security services where they can provide clients ongoing support rather than simply point-in-time assessments or assistance.
A Cybersecurity consultant’s roles and responsibilities
The primary role of a cybersecurity consultant is to provide advice or perform services to improve a client’s overall security and compliance.
The exact services of the cyber security consultant are dependent on what they are contracted to perform by their client. To ensure the best outcomes, it’s crucial to have a clear statement of work that outlines the cyber security consultant’s responsibilities and deliverables. Depending on the type of work being done, it’s also essential that the client understands the risks involved when engaging a cyber security consultant. For example, when performing a penetration test, there is always a chance that a system goes down or the network suffers some performance degradation. The cyber security consultant’s responsibility is to warn the client of the potential risks and get their acceptance before beginning any work.
Cyber security consulting strategies
Engaging a cyber security consultant helps you understand where potential gaps and cyber security risks may exist so that mitigation may be prioritized and completed. Additionally, it’s crucial for any security assessment-related work that is undertaken that you are provided with cyber security mitigation strategies such as a formal remediation plan, best practices and standards that can be followed to resolve identified issues.
Cyber security threat assessment has become an essential tool to ensure customers and employees that the organization is taking steps to secure their data and network, increasing confidence in the organization.
Cyber security consulting services from CG Technologies
Cyber security consultancies are businesses that give their clients advice and/or provide services that help those companies to become more secure or reach their compliance goals.
CG Technologies has over 25 years of experience delivering cyber security consulting and managed security services to small and medium-sized businesses in the GTA. We can offer your business the right-sized security solutions from consulting, remediation and prevention to keep your business safe from ransomware or hacking events. Download our free whitepaper on ransomware protection for small businesses or contact us to discuss how our cyber security consulting services can give you peace of mind.
