With the managed security services market projected to surpass $40 billion by 2022, it’s no surprise that the number of MSPs joining the race to add that extra “S” is soaring as well. As these channel partners set their sights on the MSSP market, WatchGuard’s director of product management, Himanshu Verma, has some useful guidance for navigating a few significant hurdles they’re sure to encounter along the way.
In a guest column for Channel Partners Online, Himanshu outlines the top three challenges MSSPs face today. The following is an excerpt from the article, which covers one major obstacle most emerging MSSPs will become aware of early on, along with a strategic approach for tackling it:
A threat landscape that gets more treacherous by the day. Cryptomining, ransomware and “ransomworms,” Russians infiltrating the U.S. power grid — this past year has seen advanced malware compromise millions of computers and mobile devices. From crippling attacks on private organizations across the globe to halting public services throughout entire counties, ransomware is a striking example of the type of havoc we see. In response, most of our partners offer business continuity services that include cloud backup and recovery and manual incident response. The concept — wipe out ransomed files and start new — is solid. But challenges with this approach include handling sensitive customer data and the costs involved in hiring incident responders.
As threats get more advanced, you need a layered approach to security that includes prevention and detection, as well as response. When crafting such a managed service, include prevention against zero-day threats via dynamic, deep analysis, along with automated detection and response capabilities. Look to intelligent services that tap both internal and external threat indicators. In other words, don’t be reactive.
To learn more about all three of the top challenges for MSSPs in 2018, read Himanshu’s article in its entirety on Channel Partners Online, and access even more key insights about the security channel here on Secplicity.