What is 24/7 cybersecurity monitoring?
24/7 monitoring continuously watches your IT infrastructure to detect any suspicious activity or anomaly that could signal an ongoing cyberattack. This constant vigilance is the difference between containing a breach in hours versus discovering it months later.
Why monitoring is crucial
Detection timeline comparison
Without monitoring:
- Average discovery: 197 days after breach
- Average containment: Additional 69 days
- Total exposure: 266 days
- Damage multiplier: 12x higher costs
With 24/7 monitoring:
- Average discovery: Hours to minutes
- Average containment: Same day
- Total exposure: < 24 hours
- Damage contained: Early intervention prevents escalation
Real-world impact
Belgian e-commerce case:
- Breach detected: 3 months after occurrence
- Customer data: 8,000 records compromised
- Total cost: €320,000
- Customers lost: 40%
With monitoring (estimated):
- Detection: Same day
- Data exposed: < 100 records
- Total cost: €15,000
- Customer retention: 95%
Types of threats monitoring detects
1. Malware and ransomware
Indicators monitored:
- Unusual file encryption activity
- Suspicious process execution
- Communication with known malicious IPs
- Rapid file modification patterns
- Unauthorized system changes
Detection speed: 5-15 minutes from first sign
2. Intrusion attempts
Monitored activities:
- Multiple failed login attempts
- Login from unusual locations
- Access outside business hours
- Privilege escalation attempts
- Port scanning activities
Alert threshold: Immediate for high-risk patterns
3. Data exfiltration
Suspicious behaviors:
- Large file transfers
- Unusual database queries
- Access to sensitive data by unauthorized users
- External storage device connections
- Encrypted outbound traffic spikes
Detection window: Real-time to 1 hour
4. DDoS attacks
Attack indicators:
- Traffic volume spikes
- Connection flood
- Resource exhaustion
- Service degradation
Mitigation: Automatic rerouting (if configured)
5. Phishing campaigns
Email monitoring for:
- Known phishing domains
- Malicious attachments
- Credential harvesting attempts
- Business email compromise
Employee alerts: Real-time warnings
Monitoring solutions for SMEs
1. Outsourced SOC (Security Operations Center)
What it includes:
- 24/7 security analyst team
- SIEM (Security Information and Event Management)
- Threat intelligence integration
- Incident response coordination
Advantages:
- Expert security team without hiring
- Professional-grade technology
- Controlled costs (monthly subscription)
- Immediate availability
Cost: €800-€2,000/month for SME
Best for: Companies handling sensitive data (healthcare, finance, legal)
2. MSSP (Managed Security Service Provider)
Services provided:
- Perimeter security (firewall, IDS/IPS)
- Log aggregation and analysis
- Vulnerability management
- Compliance reporting
Advantages:
- Comprehensive security management
- Technology + expertise bundle
- Scalable service levels
- Regular reporting
Cost: €500-€1,500/month for SME
Best for: Growing SMEs with complex IT environments
3. External attack surface monitoring
What’s monitored:
- Public-facing assets (websites, servers)
- DNS and SSL certificate status
- Known vulnerabilities in exposed systems
- Dark web mentions
- Leaked credentials
Advantages:
- No internal deployment required
- Low cost (or included with insurance)
- Immediate value
- Complementary to internal security
Cost: €100-€400/month (or included with Inqase)
Best for: All SMEs (minimum viable monitoring)
4. EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response)
Capabilities:
- Real-time endpoint monitoring
- Behavioral analysis
- Automated threat response
- Forensic investigation tools
Advantages:
- Ransomware protection
- Automated containment
- Minimal IT staff required
- Cloud-managed
Cost: €3-€8/endpoint/month
Best for: All companies (essential baseline)
Inqase monitoring (included with insurance)
What’s included at no extra cost
External vulnerability monitoring: ✅ Daily automated scans ✅ CVE (Common Vulnerabilities) tracking ✅ Open port detection ✅ Service version identification ✅ Misconfigurations
DNS and SSL monitoring: ✅ Certificate expiration alerts ✅ DNS hijacking detection ✅ SPF/DMARC configuration ✅ Domain reputation tracking
Dark web surveillance: ✅ Credential leak detection ✅ Company mention monitoring ✅ Data breach notifications ✅ Threat intelligence feeds
Alerting: ✅ Real-time priority alerts ✅ Email + SMS notifications ✅ Severity-based escalation ✅ Actionable remediation guidance
Dashboard: ✅ Security posture overview ✅ Risk scoring ✅ Trend analysis ✅ Compliance tracking
Value: €1,200-€1,800/year if purchased separately
How it works
Setup: Zero installation
- Provide domains and IPs
- Monitoring starts immediately
- Dashboard access provided
Continuous scanning:
- External attack surface checked daily
- New vulnerabilities identified
- Risk score updated
- Comparison to industry baseline
Incident detection:
- Critical findings flagged immediately
- Medium risks queued for review
- Low risks logged for reference
Alert delivery:
- High priority: Immediate notification
- Medium priority: Daily digest
- Low priority: Weekly summary
Expert triage:
- Inqase team pre-filters alerts
- False positives eliminated
- Actionable recommendations provided
Real-world example
Belgian SaaS company (32 employees)
Month 1: Monitoring activated
- Baseline established
- 3 medium-priority vulnerabilities identified
- Remediation guidance provided
Month 3: Critical alert
- Finding: Web server with known remote code execution vulnerability
- Risk: Exploitable for ransomware deployment
- Alert sent: Within 15 minutes of CVE publication
- Action taken: Emergency patch applied same day
- Attack prevented: Exploitation attempts logged next day
Estimated damage avoided: €150,000+
ROI of monitoring
Cost-benefit analysis
Monitoring costs (annual):
- Basic (external): €1,200
- Standard (MSSP): €9,000
- Advanced (SOC): €15,000
Average breach costs (Belgian SMEs):
- Data breach: €52,000
- Ransomware: €85,000
- Business interruption: €15,000/day
Time value:
- Early detection (day 1): 90% cost reduction
- Late detection (day 30): 50% cost reduction
- Very late (day 90+): Minimal cost reduction
Break-even calculation
Scenario: €1,200/year monitoring
- Prevents 1 small incident (€10,000) = 8 years of monitoring paid
- Prevents 1 medium incident (€50,000) = 40+ years paid
- Prevents 1 major incident (€150,000) = 125 years paid
Reality: 1 in 3 SMEs hit by significant incident within 3 years
Implementing monitoring
Step 1: Assess current visibility
Questions to answer:
- Can you see all network traffic?
- Do you know which systems are exposed?
- Are security logs collected centrally?
- Can you detect unusual activity?
- Do you receive breach alerts?
If answering “no” to any = monitoring gap
Step 2: Choose appropriate solution
Minimum: External attack surface monitoring (Inqase included) Recommended: External + EDR on endpoints Ideal: External + EDR + MSSP/SOC
Budget-conscious approach:
- Start with Inqase included monitoring (€0 extra)
- Add EDR (€200-400/month for 50 endpoints)
- Expand to MSSP when budget allows
Step 3: Configure alerts
Alert fatigue prevention:
- Focus on actionable alerts only
- Appropriate severity thresholds
- Designated response team
- Clear escalation procedures
Best practice: Start strict, relax gradually
Step 4: Establish response procedures
Alert received, now what?
- Assess severity (monitoring provider helps)
- Verify legitimate threat (not false positive)
- Activate incident response plan
- Implement containment measures
- Document for review
Integration with insurance:
- Inqase hotline for incident escalation
- Expert triage for complex alerts
- Seamless claim initiation if needed
Monitoring + insurance = complete protection
Complementary benefits
Monitoring prevents:
- Incidents from starting (vulnerability management)
- Breaches from spreading (early detection)
- Damage from escalating (rapid response)
Insurance covers:
- Costs when prevention fails
- Expert incident response
- Business continuity during recovery
- Legal and regulatory support
Together: Risk reduction + financial protection
Cost comparison
Option A: Insurance only (€2,000/year)
- Reactsive protection
- Higher incident likelihood
- Larger claims when incidents occur
Option B: Inqase insurance with monitoring (€2,000/year)
- Proactive + reactive protection
- Lower incident likelihood
- Smaller claims (early detection)
- Better pricing (risk mitigation credit)
Net result: Same cost, far better protection
Conclusion
24/7 cybersecurity monitoring is no longer a luxury but a necessity for any SME handling sensitive data. Coupled with cyber insurance, it provides complete protection: prevention, early detection, and financial safety net.
Inqase offers the best of both worlds: comprehensive insurance coverage plus included 24/7 external monitoring, delivering professional-grade protection at SME-friendly pricing.
Don’t wait for a breach to act. Start monitoring today with Inqase’s included security surveillance.