There is a disconnect between the views of small business and the managed services providers supplying their IT. While nearly 90% of MSPs see a real threat, they also say that less than a third seem to be very concerned.
Datto’s fourth annual Global State of the Channel Ransomware Report says that SMBs have become a prime target for attackers. The survey of more than 1,400 MSP decision makers that manage the IT systems for small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) found that ransomware remains the most common cyber threat to SMBs.
Ransomware attacks are pervasive, it says and the number of ransomware attacks against SMBs is on the rise. Eighty-five percent of MSPs reported attacks against SMBs over the last two years, compared to 79 percent of MSPs who reported the same in 2018. In the first half of 2019 alone, over half of MSPs reported attacks against SMB clients.
But the MSPs have yet to get the message through to their customers. Eighty-nine percent of MSPs report that SMBs should be very concerned about the threat of ransomware. However, only 28% of MSPs report SMBs are very concerned about the threat.
Business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) solutions have continued to prove to be the most effective in lessening the impact of a ransomware attack, the report says. Ninety-two percent of MSPs report that their clients with BCDR solutions in place are less likely to experience significant downtime during an attack. In addition, four out of five MSPs state victimized clients with BCDR tools in place recovered from an attack in 24 hours or less, while less than one in five MSP clients without BCDR were able to do the same. MSPs are in a unique position today to educate SMBs on how to protect against a ransomware attack, including employee training and the tools to implement recovery.
