Managed security services that watch your business around the clock

Managed security services means an outside team protects your business around the clock: watching for threats, investigating alerts, responding to attacks, testing your defenses, training your staff and helping you meet compliance requirements. It gives a small or midsize business the kind of security program large companies build in-house, without hiring a security department.

What’s included

A security operations center, or SOC, is a team of security analysts that watches for threats around the clock and responds when something suspicious happens, like a login from an unusual country at 2 a.m. or ransomware starting to spread. Basic monitoring catches failing hardware and missed updates; a SOC catches attackers. Our advanced security option includes a 24/7 SOC.

Security in layers

Antivirus looks for known bad files. Endpoint detection and response, or EDR, watches what happens on each computer and server, like unusual processes, credential theft or encryption starting, and can isolate a device to stop an attack in progress. Paired with a SOC, someone investigates and acts on what it finds. Most cyber insurance carriers now expect it.

Security in layers

AI detection and response, or AIDR, identifies malicious uses of AI that target or operate inside your environment, and responds when it finds them. As attackers use AI to write convincing phishing emails, automate attacks and impersonate people, it adds another layer alongside endpoint, network and cloud detection and response.

Security in layers

Yes. Co-managed security adds our security operations center, detection and response tools, testing and expertise alongside your internal IT person or team, without taking over the work they already do. It’s a common fit for businesses whose IT staff are busy keeping things running and don’t have time to watch for threats around the clock.

Security for companies with their own IT

Phishing and stolen passwords, business email compromise and ransomware cause most of the damage. The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report recorded about $3 billion in business email compromise losses alone. The defense is layered: multi-factor authentication, email filtering, endpoint detection and response, tested backups, a team watching around the clock and staff who know what a bad email looks like.

Security in layers

Start with multi-factor authentication for everyone, separate admin accounts, sensible sharing settings and email filtering. Our advanced security option adds threat detection and response for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, which watches for suspicious sign-ins, inbox rules that forward mail to attackers and other signs of a compromised account, with the SOC responding when something is wrong.

Cloud computing

Analysts investigate to confirm it’s real, then act: isolating an infected computer, disabling a compromised account or blocking malicious traffic to stop the attack from spreading. We notify you, fix what was affected and look at how it happened so it doesn’t happen again. If it’s a serious incident, incident response takes over, with forensic investigation available.

Incident questions

Attackers now use AI to write flawless phishing emails and even imitate voices. Process beats technology here: verify any unusual request for money, gift cards or passwords by calling a number you already have, no matter how convincing the message is. Training and phishing simulations keep that habit sharp, and AI detection and response adds a technical layer.

AIDR questions

Vulnerability scanning should run regularly, so new weaknesses are found and fixed quickly. Penetration testing, where testers try to break in the way an attacker would, is commonly done at least once a year and after major changes. Some rules and customers require specific schedules, like the FTC Safeguards Rule for tax and financial firms. We provide both.

Compliance requirements

We help businesses meet the technical side of HIPAA for healthcare, CMMC and NIST 800-171 for defense suppliers, the FTC Safeguards Rule and IRS Publication 4557 for tax and accounting firms, and PCI DSS for businesses that take card payments. That includes risk assessments, written security policies, security controls, testing and the documentation auditors and customers ask for.

CMMC and NIST 800-171  |  Healthcare  |  Accounting and tax

Most carriers ask about the same core controls: multi-factor authentication on email and remote access, endpoint detection and response, backups that are offline or can’t be altered and are tested, security awareness training and timely patching. Some ask about monitoring and incident response plans. Make sure every yes on the application is true. Your insurance agent has the final word on your policy.

Security in layers

A virtual chief information security officer is an experienced security leader you share instead of hire. They assess your risks, set priorities, write and maintain security policies, prepare you for audits and customer questionnaires, and report progress to leadership. It’s a practical way for a smaller business to get security leadership without a full-time executive salary.

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Logs record who signed in, what changed and what happened on your systems. When something goes wrong, they’re how investigators figure out what an attacker did and what data was involved. Many compliance requirements and customer contracts also expect logs to be kept for a set period. Our advanced security option includes log retention.

Security in layers

Act fast and follow the plan. Contain the threat, preserve evidence, call your cyber insurance carrier before hiring outside help, and work out what was affected. We handle incident response, with forensic investigation available when you need to know exactly what happened. How incident response is handled is spelled out in your agreement before you sign.

Managed IT services

It depends on how many people, devices and cloud accounts you protect, which layers you need, whether you need testing or a virtual CISO, and your compliance requirements. Most providers price per user or per device each month, with testing and projects quoted separately. Compare what’s included and who is actually watching, not just the price. Our IT Buyer’s Guide explains typical pricing and contract terms.

Get the free IT Buyer’s Guide (PDF)

Yes, at different levels. Security updates, endpoint protection and 24/7 monitoring come standard with every Fairoaks IT plan. Most of our plans add staff training and phishing simulations, and our advanced security option adds the 24/7 security operations center, detection and response layers and log retention. We recommend the level that fits your risk, insurance and compliance needs.

How our plans work

Many managed IT agreements run for multiple years, which locks in your rate and gives your provider reason to invest in your environment. What matters is what happens if things aren’t working, so ask every provider two questions: what happens if you don’t deliver, and how are price increases handled? Get both answers in writing. At Fairoaks IT, ours are spelled out in our agreement, and we’ll walk you through every page before you sign.

What you can count on

We review your security tools, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace setup, backups, remote access, staff training and any customer, insurance or compliance requirements with our proprietary 27-point assessment. You get a plain-English summary of what’s protected, what’s exposed and what to fix first. No scare tactics, just facts. It starts with a discovery call.

Schedule a discovery call

Fairoaks IT provides managed security services for businesses throughout Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the Charlotte, NC metro area, from offices in Franklin, MA and Belmont, NC. We’ve been independent and owner-led since 1991, we won the Soteria Award for Most Trusted MSP in North America, and our average time to start on a support issue is under 12 minutes.

Managed IT in Massachusetts and Rhode Island  |  Managed IT in the Charlotte, NC area