We watch over your people, devices, cloud and data, respond the moment something looks wrong and keep your defences current as threats change, so security becomes a service you can rely on, not a once-a-year audit.
- Continuous monitoring and response
- Aligned to UK standards
- One accountable partner
43%
of UK businesses identified a cyber breach or attack in the last 12 months (DSIT, 2025)
The basics
What is managed cybersecurity?
Managed cybersecurity means handing the day-to-day work of protecting your organisation to a specialist partner, as an ongoing service rather than a one-off project.
Keeping an organisation secure is continuous work. Someone has to keep track of every laptop, account and cloud service, apply patches, tune security tools, read the alerts they raise and decide, often within minutes, whether an alert is harmless or the start of an attack. Few organisations can staff that around the clock, and hiring experienced security analysts is slow and expensive. A managed security service provider (MSSP) takes on that work for you, combining proven security technology with a team of specialists who monitor your environment, investigate suspicious activity and act on it.
In practice, a managed service usually brings together security monitoring through a security operations centre (SOC), managed detection and response (MDR) across endpoints, identities, email and cloud, regular vulnerability scanning and patching, penetration testing, and incident response when something does go wrong. It works alongside your existing IT team or provider, not instead of them. The result is stronger protection at a predictable monthly cost, faster detection and containment of attacks, and clear, board-ready evidence that your organisation is managing cyber risk responsibly, which matters more and more to customers, insurers and regulators.
- A
Security technology
The tools that protect endpoints, identities, email, networks and cloud, and collect the signals that reveal an attack in progress.
Example: Endpoint protection flags a suspicious script on a finance laptop.
- +
Security expertise
Analysts and engineers who tune those tools, cut through false alarms, investigate what's real and know what an attacker is likely to do next.
Example: An analyst confirms the script is malicious and traces how it arrived.
- =
Managed cybersecurity
Both, delivered as a continuous service with agreed response times, regular reporting and one partner accountable for the outcome.
Example: The laptop is isolated, the threat removed and you get a clear report.
The threat landscape
Cyber attacks are an everyday business risk
The UK Government's annual survey shows that attacks are routine for organisations of every size, and the larger and more connected you are, the more often you're targeted.
43%
of UK businesses identified a cyber breach or attack in the last 12 months, around 612,000 businesses
85%
of businesses that were breached or attacked experienced phishing, by far the most common threat
19,000
UK businesses were hit by ransomware, 1% of all businesses, up from under 0.5% the year before
27%
of businesses have a board member with responsibility for cyber security
The bigger the business, the bigger the target
Two in three medium-sized businesses and three in four large businesses dealt with a breach or attack last year. More systems, suppliers and staff mean more ways in, which is why continuous monitoring matters as you grow.
Source: DSIT, Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025 (published 10 April 2025)
| Business size | Share |
|---|---|
| All businesses | 43% |
| Medium | 67% |
| Large | 74% |
What we protect you from
The threats UK organisations face most
Most attacks aren't sophisticated. They exploit ordinary gaps: a convincing email, a reused password, a missed update. These are the threats our service is built to stop.
Phishing and social engineering
Convincing emails, texts and calls that trick staff into sharing passwords, approving payments or opening malware.
Ransomware
Malware that encrypts your systems and data, then demands payment to restore them, often after stealing a copy first.
Account takeover
Stolen or guessed credentials used to sign in as your staff, especially where multi-factor authentication is missing.
Payment and invoice fraud
Compromised mailboxes and lookalike domains used to redirect supplier payments and deceive finance teams.
Unpatched vulnerabilities
Known weaknesses in software, VPNs and devices that attackers scan for automatically, often within days of disclosure.
Cloud and supplier risk
Misconfigured cloud services, over-shared data and weaknesses in the suppliers and software you depend on.
What's included
A complete security service, shaped around you
Every organisation starts from a different place, so we build your service from the components you need, and adjust it as you grow.
Threat monitoring and response
Continuous monitoring of your endpoints, identities, email and cloud, with analysts who investigate and contain threats.
Vulnerability management
Regular scanning, prioritised findings and managed patching, so the weaknesses that matter get fixed first.
Penetration testing
Controlled, expert-led attacks on your applications, networks and cloud to find weaknesses before criminals do.
Endpoint and email security
Next-generation protection for laptops, servers and mobiles, and filtering that stops phishing before it reaches inboxes.
Identity and access
Multi-factor authentication, conditional access and least-privilege controls that make stolen passwords far less useful.
Cloud security
Configuration reviews and continuous posture checks across Microsoft 365, Azure, AWS and Google Cloud.
Security awareness
Short, practical training and phishing simulations that help your people spot and report attacks.
Incident response
A tested plan, and experienced responders on hand to contain an incident, recover and learn from it.
Policy and compliance
Security policies, risk registers and evidence to support Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001 and customer due diligence.
- Palo Alto Networks
- Fortinet
- Splunk
- Elastic
- Cloudflare
- Okta
- Auth0
- Snyk
- Qualys
- Cisco
- Bitdefender
- Malwarebytes
- 1Password
- Bitwarden
- HashiCorp
- Datadog
- Grafana
- Burp Suite
- Wireshark
- Kali Linux
- Metasploit
- OWASP
- Trivy
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Let's Encrypt
Technologies
The security technology behind the service
We're vendor-neutral. We'll make the most of the tools you already own, and where there are gaps we recommend what fits your environment, skills and budget.
01
Monitoring and detection
SIEM and extended detection and response (XDR) platforms that bring your security signals together.
- Microsoft Sentinel
- Splunk
- Elastic
- Datadog
02
Endpoint and email protection
Protection for devices and inboxes, the two places most attacks begin.
- Microsoft Defender
- Bitdefender
- Malwarebytes
- Mimecast
- Microsoft Intune
03
Identity and access
Single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, password and secrets management.
- Microsoft Entra ID
- Okta
- Auth0
- 1Password
- Bitwarden
- HashiCorp
04
Network and cloud security
Firewalls, secure remote access and protection at the edge of your network and cloud.
- Palo Alto Networks
- Fortinet
- Cisco
- Cloudflare
- Zscaler
- WireGuard
05
Vulnerability management and testing
Scanning and specialist testing tools used to find weaknesses before attackers do.
- Qualys
- Rapid7
- Burp Suite
- Metasploit
- Kali Linux
- Wireshark
06
Secure development
Checks built into your software pipeline to catch vulnerable code and dependencies early.
- Snyk
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Trivy
- Dependabot
- OWASP
Product names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners and are shown to illustrate the technologies available. Their use does not imply endorsement or partnership.
The benefits
What a managed service brings to your organisation
Faster detection
Threats are spotted and contained in minutes or hours, not discovered weeks later.
Expertise on demand
A full team of security specialists, without the cost and difficulty of hiring one.
Predictable cost
A clear monthly fee in place of unplanned spending after an incident.
Less noise
Alerts are triaged for you, so your IT team only hears about what needs action.
Evidence you can share
Regular reporting for your board, customers, auditors and cyber insurer.
Resilience
A tested plan and support to recover quickly if the worst happens.
Most growing businesses already bring in outside help
Large businesses are more likely to run their own security teams, but most small and medium-sized businesses rely on a specialist provider.
Source: DSIT, Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025 (published 10 April 2025)
| Business size | Share |
|---|---|
| Micro | 39% |
| Small | 62% |
| Medium | 68% |
| Large | 50% |
Standards and compliance
Aligned with the frameworks that matter in the UK
Our service is built around recognised good practice, and we help you prepare the controls and evidence each framework asks for. Certification itself is awarded by independent, accredited bodies.
Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus
The UK Government-backed baseline, required for many public sector contracts.
ISO/IEC 27001
The international standard for an information security management system.
NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0
A widely used structure for governing, identifying, protecting, detecting, responding and recovering.
NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework
The National Cyber Security Centre's framework for essential services and the public sector.
UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018
Appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data.
PCI DSS v4.0
Security requirements for organisations that take or process card payments.
NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit
The annual self-assessment for organisations handling NHS patient data.
DORA
Digital operational resilience rules for financial services firms operating in the EU.
The business perspective
What leadership teams are weighing up
Cyber security is now a board-level risk, not just an IT task. These are the questions we help leaders answer with confidence.
Who owns the risk?
Is there clear accountability for cyber security, and does the board get the information it needs?
What would an attack cost?
Downtime, recovery, lost customers and regulatory exposure usually dwarf the cost of prevention.
What do customers expect?
Clients and supply chains increasingly ask for Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001 or security questionnaires.
Build or buy?
Can we recruit and retain an in-house team around the clock, or is a managed partner more effective?
Getting started
How to strengthen your security, step by step
- 1
Know what you have
Map your devices, accounts, cloud services, data and suppliers. You can't protect what you can't see.
- 2
Fix the basics
Patching, multi-factor authentication, secure configuration and backups stop the majority of common attacks.
- 3
Watch continuously
Monitor for suspicious activity around the clock, with people ready to act on what they find.
- 4
Plan for the worst
Agree who does what in an incident, and test the plan before you need it.
- 5
Keep people alert
Regular, practical awareness training turns your staff into an early warning system.
Our approach
The Anthrasec security lifecycle
Security isn't a product you install once. Our service follows a continuous cycle, so your protection keeps pace with your business and with attackers.
- 01
Assess
Review your environment, controls and risks against recognised frameworks, and agree priorities with you.
You get: A clear, prioritised view of your security risks
- 02
Protect
Close the most important gaps first: identity, endpoints, email, patching, backups and cloud configuration.
You get: Hardened systems and a stronger baseline
- 03
Detect
Monitor your environment continuously, tune detections to your business and triage every meaningful alert.
You get: Threats spotted early, with less noise
- 04
Respond
Contain and remove threats quickly, following an agreed plan, and keep you informed at every step.
You get: Incidents contained, with minimal disruption
- 05
Improve
Report on what we've seen and done, learn from every incident, and adjust your defences as things change.
You get: Regular reporting and a security posture that keeps improving
Why Anthrasec
Why choose Anthrasec for managed cybersecurity
Security is our foundation
Cybersecurity is where we started, and it shapes everything we build and run.
Vendor-neutral advice
We recommend what protects you best, and make the most of the tools you already own.
One accountable team
Security, cloud, infrastructure and software under one roof, with no gaps between suppliers.
Plain-English reporting
Clear reports that show what we found, what we did and what to do next.
Built around UK standards
Our service follows NCSC guidance and supports Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001 and UK GDPR.
Scales with you
Start with the essentials and add services as your organisation and risks grow.
Common questions
Managed cybersecurity, answered
What is a managed security service provider (MSSP)?
An MSSP is a specialist company that monitors and manages an organisation's security on an ongoing basis. That typically includes security monitoring, threat detection and response, vulnerability management and incident support, delivered for a regular fee rather than as a one-off project.
How is managed cybersecurity different from IT support?
IT support keeps your systems running and your people productive. Managed cybersecurity focuses on keeping attackers out: watching for threats, investigating suspicious activity and responding to incidents. We work alongside your IT team or provider, and many clients use both.
What is managed detection and response (MDR)?
MDR combines detection technology on your endpoints, identities, email and cloud with a team of analysts who investigate alerts and take action to contain real threats, such as isolating a device or disabling a compromised account. It's the core of our managed service.
Is managed cybersecurity worth it for a small business?
Often, yes. Smaller organisations are frequent targets precisely because they have fewer defences, and they rarely have the budget for an in-house security team. A managed service gives you specialist protection at a predictable cost that scales with your size.
Can you help us get Cyber Essentials?
Yes. We help you understand the requirements, close any gaps in your controls and prepare for assessment. Certification is then awarded by an accredited certification body, and our monitoring helps you stay compliant between renewals.
Can you work with our existing IT provider or security tools?
Yes. We can fully manage your security or work in a co-managed model with your in-house team or IT provider. Where you've already invested in tools, such as Microsoft Defender, we'll make the most of them rather than replacing them.
What happens if we're attacked?
We act to contain the threat, keep you informed throughout and help you recover systems and data. Afterwards we explain what happened, help with any reporting obligations, such as notifying the ICO within 72 hours where personal data is affected, and strengthen your defences so it doesn't happen again.
How much does managed cybersecurity cost?
It depends mainly on the number of users, devices and cloud services you have, and which services you need. We give you a fixed monthly price after an initial assessment, so there are no surprises.
Work with us
Ready to work with Anthrasec?
Let's schedule a meeting.
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October 2026
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