Cyber Security is a priority for all Service Providers with the Internet Services Providers’ Association, reporting that over 90% of Service Providers come under some form of attack. The ISPA chair James Blessing reinforced this saying, “Cybersecurity is critical and this survey shows how it has become an even bigger issue for ISPs”. Effective network abuse handling improves a Service Provider’s cybersecurity bringing many internal business benefits. In this blog post, we’re going to explore these further.

Improved Network Efficiency

Akamai’s 2016 State of the Internet Security Report demonstrates that the Internet and web attacks are escalating both in number, severity, and duration. A Service Provider with an effective abuse desk operates in a far more efficient manner by not polluting the wider Internet. A cleaner network also means less bandwidth is being used for attacks, and more bandwidth is available for customers’ legitimate business.

Lower Running Costs

Effective network abuse handling, using real-time analytics, allows abuse teams to operate effectively with a much smaller team. Using automated proactive tools, they can make correlations and connections they might otherwise have missed. Now, instead of five people wasting hours dealing with 10 000 reports, they can whittle them down and efficiently deal with common abuse issues. This improved efficiency requires less staff and lowers the overall running costs of a Service Provider.

See also: Network Providers: How Abuse Handling Fits Into Your Security Concept

Improved Product Quality

One of the biggest cyber threats an ISP faces are Distributed Denial of Service Attacks (DDoS) where end-users are denied access to Internet-facing applications, resulting in lost revenue. According to a report from the Ponemon Institute, the cost of a data center outage has increased from $505,502 in 2010 to $740,357 today. It is also well known that a widely compromised network can turn on itself and start creating huge problems due to internal DDoS attacks. This is in addition to revenge attacks, where an attacked entity shoots back at the compromised hosts that are based in your network. This type of revenge attack drives an even bigger load of traffic through your infrastructure, seriously slowing it down.

If a Service Provider is using tools like AbuseHQ from Abusix, they can limit and even prevent the effect of DDoS attacks from inside and reduce the level of attacks on their network overall. Improving customer confidence and reducing customer complaints has never been so easy or as safe.

Increased Customer Confidence

In order for a Service Provider’s customers to feel confident, they need to know their data and information is secure and that their network or website availability is at 100%. Maintaining this trust is essential to the success of any Service Provider’s business. Effective network abuse handling results in a clean, efficient network, and happier customers. In addition, if your abuse team educates customers on the current cyber threats and helps them improve their internal cybersecurity, you can differentiate your Service Provider in a crowded and competitive marketplace.

A Reduction In Long-Term Attacks On Your Network

Today’s hackers are very persistent and are not deterred when they face a Service Provider’s traditional defenses. An effective abuse desk using the latest tools, which give real-time notifications of possible threats. This allows a Service Provider to take a proactive approach and is one of the key ways to prevent them from viewing your Service Provider as a target. The faster you terminate compromised hosts, the less attractive your network is to hackers looking to increase their revenue by adding your illegally appropriated resources to their abuse infrastructure.

See also: Developing Your Abuse Handling Solution: Build Or Buy?

Harden Your ISPs Defenses And Reap The Benefits

Juniper Research has revealed that cybercrime is estimated to cost businesses over $2 trillion by 2019 which is almost four times the estimated cost of the breaches in 2015. The report also revealed that the average cost of a data breach in 2020 would exceed $150 million as more businesses’ infrastructure gets connected.

Effective network abuse handling and improved cybersecurity is the keyway your Service Provider can stay ahead of this and in doing so, differentiate itself in the marketplace. By using AbuseHQ from Abusix, you can quickly identify and shut down network abuse at its source in using world-class threat intelligence which:

• Illuminates blind spots in your network
• Identifies and forewarns your security and systems operators of future threats
• Provides clear information via intelligent notifications, which enable your abuse team to make faster and smarter decisions

For more information about the benefits of operating an effective network abuse desk in your Service Provider, download this free ebook from Abusix, How To Establish And Manage An Abuse Desk.