Your IT Provider Isn’t Your Cyber Security Provider

"We’ve got an IT company. They handle all that."

We hear this regularly from business owners. And it’s one of the most dangerous assumptions in Australian business right now.

Because here’s the truth: IT keeps your systems running. Cyber Security keeps your business protected. They’re related, but they’re not the same thing. And the gap between them is exactly where breaches happen.

If you’ve assumed your IT provider has cyber covered, this article will help you understand what that assumption might be costing you.

The fundamental difference

Think of it this way: IT is about keeping the lights on. Cyber Security is about keeping the doors locked.

Your IT provider (or MSP, managed service provider) handles essential functions that keep your business running day to day:

• Setting up new computers and software

• Managing email and cloud services

• Fixing things when they break

• Installing updates and patches

• Managing backups

• Helpdesk support for your team

These are critical functions. Without them, your business would grind to a halt.

But notice what’s not on that list? Risk assessment. Threat detection. Incident response planning. Security awareness training. Compliance management. Vulnerability testing. Governance and policy development.

That’s cyber security. And it requires a different skill set, different tools, and a fundamentally different mindset.

Why good IT doesn’t automatically mean good security

Many IT providers offer basic security tools as part of their service. Antivirus software. Spam filtering. Maybe a firewall. These are important, but they’re just tools.

Tools aren’t a strategy.

Modern cyber security for businesses involves:

• Risk assessments to understand where your specific vulnerabilities are

• Continuous monitoring that detects threats in real time, not after the fact

• Incident response planning so you know exactly what to do when something goes wrong

• Staff training that changes behaviour

• Compliance management for industry regulations and legal requirements

• Third-party risk management because your suppliers’ security affects yours

• Governance and policy development that creates accountability

An IT provider might install security software. A cyber security approach asks: What are we protecting? From whom? What’s our risk tolerance? What happens if our defences fail? Who’s responsible for what? How do we prove we’ve done what’s required?

The assumption that creates risk

Many businesses admit their IT departments lack the experience to manage complex cyber-attacks.

This isn’t a criticism of IT professionals. They’re experts in keeping systems running. But defending against advanced cyber threats requires specialised training, tools, and experience that most general IT providers simply don’t have.

The dangerous assumption is that because you pay someone to manage your technology, someone is also managing your security. Often, no one is.

And when something goes wrong, you’re the one answering the hard questions. Not your IT provider.

The accountability question

Here’s something worth thinking about: if your business suffers a data breach tomorrow, who’s responsible?

Regulators, customers, and partners will look to you. The Privacy Act doesn’t care who manages your IT. The obligations sit with your business.

Australian Clinical Labs learned this the hard way with a $5.8 million penalty. The breach affected 223,000 customers, but the penalty wasn’t about the breach itself. It was about failing to take "reasonable steps" to protect information.
(Source: OAIC enforcement action, Federal Court proceedings)

If a regulator asked you tomorrow to demonstrate your cyber controls, what would you show them? Not what tools you have installed. What controls you have in place. What policies govern your data handling. What training your staff have received. What your incident response plan looks like.

If you can’t answer those questions confidently, you have a gap.

What questions should you ask your IT provider?

If you’re not sure where your current IT provider’s responsibilities end and cyber security begins, ask them:

1. "Do you provide 24/7 security monitoring?" Not just monitoring for system issues. Active threat detection around the clock.

2. "What happens if we have a security incident at 2am on a Saturday?" What’s the response process? Who gets called? How fast?

3. "Have you conducted a risk assessment for our business?" Not a generic assessment. One specific to your industry, your data, your operations.

4. "What security certifications does your team hold?" Cyber security requires specific expertise. CISSP, CISM, or equivalent credentials indicate genuine security specialisation.

5. "Do you test our backups?" Not just that backups exist. That they work. That you could restore from them in an emergency.

6. "What’s our incident response plan?" If they can’t show you one, you don’t have one.

The answers to these questions will tell you whether you have comprehensive protection or just IT support with some security tools bolted on.

The integration problem

Some businesses try to solve this by having an IT provider and a separate cyber security provider. On paper, it makes sense. Let the specialists specialise.

In practice, it often creates new problems.

When IT and cyber are split between different providers, gaps appear. Things fall through the cracks. Nobody owns the whole picture.

• A security patch gets missed because each provider thought the other was handling it

• An incident occurs and there’s confusion about who’s responsible for the response

• Security monitoring doesn’t have visibility into changes the IT provider makes

• Neither provider sees the complete picture of your environment

The most effective approach is one where IT and cyber security are integrated from the ground up. Where the same team that manages your systems also monitors for threats, because they understand how those systems work and what "normal" looks like.

What complete protection looks like

For businesses that handle sensitive information, comprehensive technology protection includes:

Everything in one place. IT management and cyber security under one roof. No gaps between providers. No confusion about who owns what. No finger-pointing when something goes wrong.

Visibility you can understand. Most businesses have no idea what’s happening across their digital environment until something breaks. You should be able to see threats, status, and risks in plain language, not just IT jargon.

Proactive, not reactive. 24/7 monitoring that catches problems before they become breaches. Regular vulnerability assessments. Continuous improvement.

Prepared for the worst. Tested incident response plans. Backup systems that work. Clear procedures for when (not if) something goes wrong.

A relationship, not a transaction. A partner who knows your business, picks up the phone when you call, and is invested in your success.

Why this matters now

The cyber threat landscape has changed dramatically. AI-powered attacks are more convincing than ever. Ransomware is more accessible. Regulatory requirements are more demanding.

The average cost of a cyber-attack for large Australian businesses is now $202,700 (up 219% from the previous year). For medium businesses, it’s $97,200 (up 55%). For small businesses, $56,600 (up 14%).

(Source: ACSC Annual Cyber Threat Report 2024-25)

The latest ACSC data shows Australian businesses have improved their recovery times significantly, with the average now down to 28 days (a 38% improvement from the previous 45-day average). But even 28 days of disruption can be devastating for a business that depends on client trust and continuous service delivery.

For businesses that handle sensitive client information, four weeks offline could mean the end of the business. Your clients can’t wait that long.

Questions to ask yourself

Before you close this article, take a moment to honestly answer these questions:

• Do you know exactly who is responsible for your cyber security?

• Could you show regulator evidence of your cyber controls today?

• Do you have a written incident response plan that your team knows and has practised?

• When did you last test a full restore from backup?

• If you called your IT provider at 3am about a security incident, would someone answer?

If you hesitated on any of these, you might have a gap between what you think is covered and what is.

The path forward

This isn’t about replacing your IT provider or adding complexity to your technology setup. It’s about making sure nothing falls through the cracks.

Start by having an honest conversation with your current provider about what they do and don’t cover. Understand where the boundaries are. Then make an informed decision about whether you need to fill gaps.

Some businesses will find their IT provider can step up with additional security services. Others will need a specialist. And some will benefit from an integrated approach where IT and cyber are handled together from the start.

What this looks like in practice

GuardianOne exists because too many businesses fall into the gap between IT support and genuine cyber protection.

The businesses that work with us typically share a few things in common: they handle sensitive information that clients trust them with. They’ve outgrown basic IT support but don’t need enterprise-level complexity. And they want someone who picks up the phone when things go wrong.

We’ve got clients who’ve been with us for 10 years. Some nearly 20. That longevity says more about our approach than any technical credential.

If you’re not sure whether your current setup has gaps, we’re happy to have that conversation.

Get in touch: Enquire Now | grow@guardian.one | 1300 000 484

You grow. We guard.