ConnectWise is expected to unveil the next steps in its MSP cybersecurity strategy later this month during the company's IT Nation Connect 2019 conference in Orlando, Florida.
Ahead of the event, ConnectWise CEO Jason Magee issued an open invitation for all vendors to embrace a new cyber-focused information sharing organization -- known by its full name as Technology Solution Provider Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (TSP-ISAO). We're watching to see how the ConnectWie TSP-ISAO effort and potential rival efforts take shape.
No doubt, MSPs reman prime targets for cyberattacks. Roughly three MSPs per week now suffer ransomware attacks, according to an estimate from Huntress Labs CEO Kyle Hanslovan. As a result, end-customers will increasingly call on MSPs to prove that they have cybersecurity kn0w-how before renewing existing contracts or signing new deals in 2020, Hanslovan predicts.
MSPs and Risk Assessments
Amid that reality, ConnectWise CISO John Ford has been evangelizing risk management assessments for MSPs. The effort calls for MSPs to lock down their own businesses first before moving on to offer assessment services to end-customers.
The cyber challenges remain intense for MSPs and their end-customers. For instance, only 31 percent of small businesses identify and document cyber threats, according to ConnectWise research. ConnectWise Identify, the company's risk assessment tool, is designed to close that market gap, Ford says.
MSPs attending IT Nation Connect 2019 should keep close tabs on such items as:
- Security Panel General Session (Thursday, Oct. 31, 4:15 p.m. ET)
- ConnectWise's investment in Perch Security, which offers co-managed threat detection and response (MDR) services to a growing base of MSP partners.
- Potential industry alliances that involve promoting the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and other best practices to MSPs and their end-customers.
- New cybersecurity solutions in the ConnectWise Marketplace.
Stay tuned for more updates on both ChannelE2E and MSSP Alert.
