MSPs are fast becoming a primary target for cybercriminals, a new survey from independent research firm N-able reveals.
According to N-able’s State of the Market: The New Threat Landscape report, 90% of the 500 MSPs surveyed suffered a cyberattack in the last 18 months, with the number of attacks being prevented almost doubling from six to 11.
“MSPs have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to ensure that the businesses they support can stay online and connected as circumstances changed,” said Dave MacKinnon, chief security officer at N-able. “But the cybercriminals they're protecting against are working equally as hard to make use of these shifts against their targets.”
The survey also revealed that 82% of MSP customers have seen an increase in attempted cyberattacks, with an average of 14 attacks prevented each month.
Although some progress is being made on much-needed security processes such as automated backups, many basic security measures are still not in place. Even though most MSPs offer two-factor authentication to their customers, only 40% have implemented it on their systems.
“MSPs need to understand how the threat landscape continues to evolve and make the changes needed to protect both their customers and themselves, and make the most of the enormous opportunity that enhancing security provides,” Mackinnon continued.
The recent spate of cyberattacks can have wide-ranging effects, with DDoS and ransomware among the main form of attack MSPs are detecting, but the top attack remains phishing, the survey reveals.
These attacks are having a devastating impact on both the MSP and end-user communities, with over half of the MSPs surveyed saying they have suffered from financial loss and business disruption after a cyberattack.
Forty-six percent of MSPs also said they have lost business, suffered reputational effects (45%), and even saw their customers suffer a loss of trust (28%). As a result, they’re raising security budgets by an average of just 5% and plan to invest in key areas, including data security, cloud security and infrastructure protection.
Despite the rise of cyberattacks, N-able said the majority of SMEs, seven in every 10, are planning to increase their security budget, giving MSPs a chance to capitalise on this growth opportunity.
