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What is Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP)?

A company that delivers ongoing security operations — monitoring, detection, response, advisory — as a service.

A Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) delivers security operations as a service: monitoring, detection, response, vulnerability management, and advisory. The category has evolved significantly: early MSSPs were mostly log monitoring and alert forwarding. Modern MSSPs — including Kapa Canada — combine that with hands-on detection and response, more closely aligned with what people now call MDR. The practical question for buyers is not "MSSP vs MDR?" but "does this provider actually investigate and respond, or just notify?"

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Related terms

Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

A security service that combines continuous monitoring, threat investigation, and hands-on response into a single managed outcome.

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Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Security software on laptops, servers, and workstations that detects and stops attacks attackers run on the device itself.

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Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

Detection and response across multiple security data sources — endpoints, email, identity, cloud — combined into one platform.

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Security Operations Center (SOC)

The team and tooling that continuously monitor your environment for security threats, investigate them, and respond when something is found.

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