Summit 7, NeoSystems and Quzara have formed The Managed Service Providers for the Protection of Critical Infrastructure (The MSP Collective), a nonprofit organization that consists of MSPs and MSSPs dedicated to maintaining a secure, functional and resilient critical infrastructure.
The MSP Collective will keep the U.S. government and critical infrastructure industries up to date about topics related to MSPs and MSSPs, the group said in a prepared statement.
In addition, The MSP Collective will help define the requirements for MSPs and MSSPs handling or processing Controlled Unclassified Information as defined in DFARS 252.204-7012/NIST SP 800-171.
What The MSP Collective Means for the US Government
The MSP Collective wants to serve as an industry advisory to Congress, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), CyberAB and state legislatures, the group noted. In doing so, The MSP Collective can provide these organizations with insights into the importance of MSPs and MSSPs in securing critical infrastructure, the federal contracting base and the Defense Industrial Base (DIB).
Stuart Itkin, MSP Collective's director, commented on the group's mission:
"Small and medium enterprises often lack in-house IT and security expertise and increasingly depend on MSPs and MSSPs to satisfy industry and government cybersecurity regulations. It's essential that standards are established to qualify service providers' understanding of applicable government regulations and to verify that the services they provide align within those regulations. This is a critical to our mission."
How to Join The MSP Collective
MSPs and MSSPs can submit an application to join The MSP Collective, and three membership options are available:
- Regular Member is an MSP or MSSP that is fully dedicated to and focused on the group's mission.
- Associate Member is an MSP or MSSP that is not necessarily fully dedicated or focused on the group's mission but supports it.
- Mission Special Member is an individual or organization interested in supporting the group's mission but is not affiliated with an MSP or MSSP or is a part of an existing associate or regular member MSP or MSSP.
Summit 7, NeoSystems and Quzara are The MSP Collective's inaugural members.
Meanwhile, The MSP Collective's board members have background and knowledge from government policy and standards and have run successful MSPs for DoD contractors, the group said.
