Acronis Report: For MSPs, It’s All About Trust

Ransomware and phishing attacks are still the biggest threats out there as solution providers work to position themselves as trusted advisors, according to a new report from Acronis.

Solution providers aren’t just worried about facing a cyberattacks over the next 12 months, but they’re also struggling to gain the trust of their clients. That’s according to a new report out from Acronis, whose executives discussed the findings with CRNtv at its #CyberFit 2021 conference in Miami.

“For most service providers, it is the end goal to be that trusted advisor,” said Candid Wuest, vice president of cyber protection research at Acronis. “It’s really difficult to prove it, right? I mean, of course, if something happens, if there is an incident, you can prove yourself if you’re worthy or not. But apart from that, just clear communication and also clear reporting can help build up [trust].”

The report found that ransomware and phishing attacks continue to top the charts. But, despite the rising threats, MSPs still aren‘t integrating the simplest of things, like multi-factor authentication.

“If companies did just that, they would be exponentially more secure,” said Brian Grayek, the vCISO of Cosant Cyber Security, a security-focused consulting firm.

And, if a customer is attacked, how should an MSP react? Cramer Snuggs of Cascade Technologies discussed his experience in tackling a ransomware attack against one of his biggest clients.

“We received word actually through the cyber protect platform that a ransomware attack had been blocked. Because of the stack that we had in place … we were able to stop the track or the attack at the door,” he explained. “Then, as a proactive stance, we took the client down and restored quite a few systems that resulted in only four hours of downtime.”

For more coverage of the conference, visit CRN’s Acronis #CyberFit coverage page.