MSPs undergo transformation in response to persistent cyber threats
Organizations are increasingly turning to Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to alleviate pressure on IT departments, according to SonicWall.
Managed services have emerged as a game-changing solution, providing organizations with an additional human-layer of defense, addressing alert fatigue, and freeing up valuable resources and time for core business functions.
“The SonicWall report reveals that the threat landscape continues to grow in complexity and depth as threat actors adopt new tactics and platforms,” said SonicWall CEO Bob VanKirk. “It has become clear that conventional network security isn’t enough. Security professionals need assistance to cope with the overwhelming volume of cyberattacks and protect from the endpoint to the cloud. Especially as the cloud becomes an indispensable reality for businesses, the role of MSPs is shifting from technical maintenance to raising the bar on their customers’ security posture.”
Cryptojacking and encrypted threats on the rise
Overall attack numbers climbed (+20%) totaling more than 1 billion attempts compared to the same time as last year. Global cryptojacking volume rose 659% and encrypted threat jumped 117%, as threat actors opted for a stealthier, less risky means of malicious activities.
The data illustrates the tenacious and evolving state of cyber threats, underscoring the need for businesses to adapt their security strategies continually, and serves as a call for organizations to lean on MSPs to help identify and remediate threats quickly.
“When it comes to protecting your most valuable assets, organizations must remain alert, and deploy proactive cybersecurity measures, and focus on the threats that matter,” said SonicWall EVP of Managed Security Services Michael Crean. “Today’s organizations demand an integrated approach for end-to-end managed threat protection enabling MSPs to help customers navigate the cybersecurity landscape with confidence and resilience – giving them a distinct competitive edge.”
The role of MSPs in protecting businesses
Cybercriminals and nation-states are adapting their abilities to gain access to critical infrastructure, making the threat landscape even more complex and forcing organizations to reconsider their security needs. The second half of 2023 saw a barrage of ransomware activity (+27%), and a variety of other attacks have trended up globally annually, including IoT exploits (+15%), intrusion attempts (+20%), and encrypted threats (+117%).
“In an era where cyber threats are increasingly sophisticated, MSPs are the frontline defense protecting their customers and helping them spend more of their time managing their business’ needs,” said CTO of Compass MSP and longtime SonicWall partner Alex Tsukanov. “New threats are emerging every day, and MSPs use threat insights to build an actual plan with the necessary capabilities to keep our customers safe, like that found in the threat report.”
While ransomware continues to be a threat, SonicWall Capture Labs threat researchers expect a broader set of actions in 2024, specifically targeting SMBs, governments and the enterprise.
Total global malware volume rose 11% in 2023, with Latin America and the U.S. logging the biggest jumps – (+30%) and (+15%) respectively. Surprisingly, Europe saw a (-2%) decrease, with the UK seeing the steepest decline of -28%.
Overall ransomware numbers saw a -36% decline annually, the summer months and second half of the year suggests a strong rebound, as it spiked +37% during the summer months when compared to the same time last year.
Global volume rose 15%, as connected devices continue to rapidly multiply, bad actors are targeting weak points of entry as potential attack vectors into organizations. Yet another quieter approach embraced by bad actors in the last year was encrypted threats, which spiked (+117%) globally.