Sophos’ “MSP Perspectives 2024” report reveals that MSPs struggle to keep pace with cybersecurity advancements and highlights a severe shortage of in-house cybersecurity skills as a major risk. To address these challenges, MSPs are increasingly turning to managed detection and response (MDR) services.
30 May 2024 – Sophos, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, has released its first “MSP Perspectives 2024” survey report, highlighting the significant challenges faced by Managed Service Providers (MSPs) in the evolving cyber threat landscape. According to the survey, 39% of MSPs identified keeping up with the latest cybersecurity solutions and technologies as their most pressing day-to-day challenge. Additionally, MSPs are grappling with hiring new cybersecurity analysts to manage customer growth and counter emerging cyber threats.
The survey underscores the acute shortage of in-house cybersecurity skills as the primary cybersecurity risk for both MSPs and their clients. MSPs also flagged stolen access data, credentials, and unpatched vulnerabilities as major security threats to their customers. Notably, the State of Ransomware 2024 report found that nearly 29% of ransomware attacks were initiated through compromised credentials, highlighting the widespread nature of this attack vector.
Scott Barlow, Vice President of MSP at Sophos, commented, “The rapid pace of innovation in cybersecurity makes it increasingly difficult for MSPs to stay ahead of threats and the controls needed to mitigate them. Coupled with a global skills shortage, attracting and retaining cybersecurity analysts has become a significant challenge. This is further complicated by the need for 24×7 coverage, as our 2023 Active Adversary report for Tech Leaders indicates that 91% of ransomware attacks occur outside business hours.”
In light of these challenges, there is a growing demand for managed detection and response (MDR) services, offering continuous coverage. Currently, 81% of MSPs provide MDR services, with nearly all (97%) of those not yet offering it planning to do so in the future. Reflecting the skills shortage, 66% of MSPs use third-party vendors to deliver MDR services, and another 15% use a combination of their own Security Operations Center (SOC) and third-party vendors. The ability to provide 24/7 incident response tops the list of essential capabilities for third-party MDR providers.
MSPs are also optimizing their cybersecurity partnerships, with more than half (53%) working with only one or two cybersecurity vendors, and 83% using between one and five vendors. This consolidation could reduce management time by 48% if MSPs could manage all cybersecurity tools from a single platform.
Additional findings from the report include:
- Demand for Cyber Insurance Support: 99% of MSPs report an increased demand for support related to cyber insurance, with clients seeking MDR services to enhance insurability (47%) and assistance with insurance applications (45%).
- Vendor Flexibility: 71% of MSPs emphasize the importance of their MDR provider’s ability to use telemetry from existing security tools for threat detection and response.
- Regional Differences in MDR Provision: In the U.S., 94% of MSPs offer MDR services, compared to 70% in Germany, 62% in the U.K., and 58% in Australia.
“While MSPs face considerable challenges in protecting their clients from fast-evolving cyber threats, there is significant opportunity for business growth and increased profitability with the right security setup. The data shows MSPs are strengthening their offerings and reducing overheads by consolidating platforms and partnering with third-party MDR vendors. To build future-proof security offerings, MSPs should prioritize vendors with a comprehensive portfolio of top-tier, fully managed security services and solutions,” Barlow added.
The MSP Perspectives 2024 report is based on a vendor-agnostic survey conducted by Vanson Bourne in March 2024, involving 350 MSPs from the U.S. (200), U.K. (50), Germany (50), and Australia (50).
