As managed service providers (MSPs) look to expand their strategic footprint and scale their business, one segment that presents a huge growth opportunity is the small and medium-sized business (SMB) market.
SMB customers often lack the right resources and infrastructure to adequately manage their own IT services, creating a gap that can be addressed with the in-depth expertise and breadth of services offered by MSPs.
But this opportunity is not without challenges. Facing both an evolving threat landscape and growing client attack surfaces, MSPs need more than tools to deliver the positive security outcomes expected of them as their customer’s trusted security advisors.
Arctic Wolf surveyed business leaders from mature, established MSPs to understand the challenges, themes, and blueprints of their cybersecurity practices.
Want to skip the brief and dive straight into the data? Download our full report.
MSP and MSSP Clients Generate Hundreds of Cybersecurity Tickets Per Month
On average, survey respondents report over 100 hours (or 12.5 business days) spent per month per client on managing ticket volume. While MSPs/MSSPs are providing more cybersecurity solutions to their clients, the sheer volume of tickets and hands-on support required show that their work is lacking strategic efficiency.
- 32% of MSPs receive more than 100 tickets per month for their average client.
- At least one in five MSPs/MSSPs surveyed generate 500-plus cybersecurity tickets per month for their busiest clients.
MSP/MSSPs’ Clients Are Consistently Targeted by Phishing
This frequency exists despite MSPs offering security training solutions. The prevalence of phishing is not a problem limited to the clients of MSPs. It continues to be a top attack vector and for good reason: it works. Without proper security training, users are falling for phishing attempts en masse, unintentionally opening the door for threat actors to launch or perpetuate a cyber attack. The grim reality with phishing is that an organization often won’t know the attempt was successful until it’s too late.
While MSPs/MSSPs are offering security training to their clients, the sheer frequency of phishing highlights a lack of effectiveness in these trainings.
- 62% of clients are experiencing phishing/spear phishing attacks frequently.
- 85% of MSP/MSSPs currently offer security awareness training.
Learn more about the state of MSP cybersecurity
Don’t miss the insights provided by Arctic Wolf and CyberRisk Alliance’s recent survey of North American MSP and MSSPs. Visit our interactive page to gain a comprehensive understanding of the state of MSP cybersecurity practices and what actions you can take to position your MSP for growth.
Guest blog courtesy of Arctic Wolf. Read more Arctic Wolf guest blogs and news here. Regularly contributed guest blogs are part of MSSP Alert’s sponsorship program.
