Why It’s Important for Managed Service Providers to Be Secure

Every day it seems like a major corporation makes headline news for an unfortunate reason. In today’s world, every business, including Managed Service Providers (MSPs), is vulnerable to a security breach. MSPs, however, have a bigger target on their backs given the nature of their business.  Because MSPs serve and have data access to 122 clients on average, threat actors specifically seek out ways to compromise service providers. Because of this, it is vital for companies to ask their Managed Service Providers tough questions about their own internal security practices to maintain an optimal security posture.

Importance for Managed Service Providers Being Secured

It’s usual for Managed Service Providers to provide some form of cybersecurity protection, which is the issue. In today’s threat landscape, a deeper level of cybersecurity expertise is required than what most small MSPs can provide to their clients. Even though firewalls, spam filters, and antivirus software are still required, they represent the most basic level of protection and tend to be less effective today than they were several years ago. Even the most advanced solutions that many Managed Service Providers resell or white label to their clients are little more than a bigger band-aid.

Many cybersecurity solutions are promoted with fancy names that sound secure, however, only to alert the company after threat operators gain access to networks. These solutions are not proactive or preventative and are reactionary “solutions” that don’t protect businesses from destruction. MSPs are likely to utilize whatever solutions they resell themselves. If the solution isn’t an advanced proactive solution and MSPs experience security breaches or cyberattacks, their clients’ companies are at risk.

Many companies can be harmed by cyberattacks on Managed Service Providers or tools that MSPs utilize. If cyber criminals gain access to tools MSPs use, it can trigger a chain reaction creating a security risk for companies’ networks to which MSPs have access. MSPs have access to clients’ networks and likely have remote access agents installed on users’ devices at companies they service. Threat operators gaining access to MSPs’ networks may appear to be a rare occasion, however, it happens more frequently than people believe. A popular IT management software, Kaseya, was targeted with ransomware, one of the most intrusive and damaging cyberattacks. The ransomware attack impacted 1,500 companies as threat operators took advantage of a software vulnerability. Kaseya shut things down from getting worse, however, many companies learned a valuable lesson: Managed Service Providers are vulnerable.

It’s critical that people evaluate their MSP and ask some hard questions about their cybersecurity practices. If Managed Service Providers are pressing businesses to sign up for cybersecurity protection, respond with inquiries. Are MSPs encouraging companies to buy a service so they can make a profit, or are they genuinely interested in the success of companies? Does it solve specific business needs? Do MSPs have a security-first mindset? If so, MSPs have advanced cybersecurity protection in place for companies because they understand the realities of the MSP industry.

When it comes to the latest threat landscape, it’s important for MSPs to take cybersecurity seriously because their companies and clients depend on it. At SpearTip, we specialize in assisting MSPs with protecting themselves and their clients against costly cyberattacks. A partnership with SpearTip allows MSPs to defend recurring revenue while gaining scalability for clients and effective protection against all cyber threats. Additionally, SpearTip allows MSPs’ team to maximize customer relationships by integrating our toolset into their offering as an enhanced security solution. ShadowSpear, an unparalleled future-proof detection and response toolset platform, supported by certified engineers at our 24/7/365 SOCs, is built to protect MSPs’ companies and their clients.

If your company is experiencing a breach, call our Security Operations Centers at 833.997.7327 to speak directly with an engineer.