The Top 5 Cybersecurity Threats MSPs Must Prepare For

Estimated Reading Time: 9 Minutes

Managed Service Providers are a hot target for cybercriminals. They handle highly sensitive information for tens, hundreds, or even thousands of private businesses. Bad actors know this, and they will exploit a range of vectors – from ransomware to social engineering, to DDoS attacks – to steal data and conduct attacks. In this article, we discuss the top five MSP cybersecurity threats, and how MSPs can best protect themselves and their clients from these threats.

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It’s a Digital Jungle Out There

Cybercriminals will exploit any vulnerability that will enable them entry into an IT network. If they cannot infiltrate an organization directly, they will find a backdoor in their supply chain.

For businesses in the tech industry, this backdoor is often their managed services provider (MSPs). MSPs work with multiple clients, holding massive amounts of information and data. Gaining access to their systems means a high chance of obtaining access to thousands of business systems.

Clients of MSPs typically rely on them to bring a full stack of IT services – including security. If MSP cybersecurity threats become a reality, the effects could impact their entire client roster – leading to financial loss, legal consequences, and serious reputational damage.

Here are the top five MSP cybersecurity threats and digital risks that businesses need to be aware of along with strategies for MSPs to protect themselves and their clients.

1. Ever-Evolving Ransomware Threats

Evolving Ransomware Threats

Ransomware evolves with the times. What started as petty crime has become a major problem for businesses everywhere. Previously, ransomware attackers had to jerry-rig their own payment collection methods or employ retail shopping cards, prepaid cash cards, and even cash payments sent to PO boxes across the country. The effort versus reward kept ransomware attacks from spreading out of control.

Recently, ransomware threats have become more frequent and more lucrative, spurred by the growth of cryptocurrencies.

This new payment method is virtually untraceable and highly appealing to criminals, enabling ransomware attackers to exploit the speed and anonymity of crypto-transactions. This development has made things significantly harder for MSPs, with ransomware being widely recognized as the top threat method used to infiltrate systems.

Ransomware threats have become more focused as well, due to a technique called Big Game Hunting (BGH). This is a targeted, complex, low-volume, high-return cyberattack through ransomware. Once attackers gain entry, they make lateral movements across the network to observe it before exfiltrating files and deploying the ransomware.

For MSPs in cybersecurity, BGH attacks are extremely damaging. Part of this is due to the patience that big game hunters display when performing this attack method. It typically takes a considerable amount of time for an attacker to understand, steal from, and infect the compromised network. But once they do, they can single out the ‘big shots’ within the MSPs’ systems and exploit them without anyone the wiser.

By the time the MSP and their clients realize what has happened, a huge amount of data will have been damaged or stolen, and the provider’s reputation suffers.

Other types of ransomware threats that will most likely be common soon include:

  1. Crypto-malware – a malware attack that is almost impossible to undo without the malefactor’s decryption key.
  2. Scareware – “scares” users into believing a virus has invaded their system and asks users to pay money to “fix” it.
  3. Lockers -prevent access to the entire system by “locking” the user out completely.
  4. Doxware/Leakware – comes with a threat to release encrypted personal/sensitive data to the public.
  5. RaaS (Ransomware as a Service) – people without the tools or expertise can “order” a ransomware attack on a business/individual’s systems.

2. Social Engineering Exploits

Social Engineering Exploits

Social engineering refers to a broad range of malicious activities performed by human interaction. Psychological manipulation is often utilized to trick users into breaching security protocols and giving away sensitive or personal data.

The perpetrator first investigates the intended victim to gather necessary background information such as potential points of entry and weak security protocols. The attacker then moves to gain the victim’s trust and bait them for subsequent actions that break security practices, such as revealing sensitive information or granting access to critical resources.

MSPs need to educate everyone in the organization, as well as their customers, on how these MSP cybersecurity threats start, how to identify them, and how to deal with them appropriately. Online cybersecurity courses, awareness training, and seminars will go a long way in keeping teams up to date about social engineering exploits and tactics.

Some social engineering forms and examples are as follows:

  1. Baiting – uses a false promise to pique a victim’s greed or curiosity to steal personal information or inflict their system with malware.
  2. Pretexting – starts by establishing trust with their victim by impersonating co-workers or authority figures, then asks questions that allow them to gather sensitive data.
  3. Phishing – one of the most popular social engineering forms; often email and text message campaigns aimed at creating a sense of urgency, curiosity or fear in victims.
  4. Spear phishing – a more targeted version of the phishing scam, where an attacker tailors their messaging to a specific individual or business.

3. DDoS Attacks in Cloud Computing

DDoS Attacks in Cloud Computing

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, also known as a Distributed Network Attack, is a cybersecurity threat that leverages the limits of network infrastructures.

Hackers tend to launch coordinated DDoS attacks in cloud computing with multiple devices that have already been compromised, either through hacking or malware. This allows every machine involved to perform criminal activity without the owner’s knowledge.

Examples of these MSP cybersecurity threats include the Q3 2023 incident where Cloudflare mitigated a massive DDoS attack that peaked at 4.2 Tbps, highlighting the growing scale of such threats. Similarly, the 2024 ransomware attack on Blue Yonder, a supply chain software provider, disrupted operations for several major organizations, exposing vulnerabilities in software supply chains widely used by businesses.

DDoS-for-hire services have also spurred in number due in part to the pandemic and shelter-in-place setup, and every business should be on the lookout for this new wave of attacks.

4. Remote Work Risks

Remote Work Risks

In recent years, remote work has also seen an unprecedented rise. During the pandemic, businesses had no choice but to rely on digital services and online communication tools to keep connected, whether for work or for personal reasons.

Work-from-home vulnerabilities have arisen due to the remote work setup. Personal devices are being used to access workspace tools like Slack, Zoom, and Teams. Work devices, on the other hand, are being used to send memes to colleagues, share posts on social media and other personal purposes.

This crossover introduces new remote work threats, as it expands the risk surface of an organization and puts sensitive information in jeopardy. As admirable as it is, putting in extra hours constantly may affect the quality of an employee’s work and induce remote work risks. Worst case scenario, it may cause them to unintentionally divulge sensitive information and jeopardize the security of the business.

5. IoT Threats and Vulnerabilities

IoT Threats and Vulnerabilities

The number of cyberattacks on Internet of Things (IoT) devices has surged significantly in recent years. Many of these breaches exploit protocols like telnet, targeting vulnerabilities for purposes such as crypto mining, DDoS attacks, and data theft.

The most common IoT threats and vulnerabilities include:

  • Weak password protection – IoT devices often have hard-coded, easily guessable credentials, making them vulnerable to attacks. Malware has been used in the past to exploit default usernames and passwords, infecting large numbers of devices, and this threat remains prevalent today.
  • Lack of regular patches/updates and weak update mechanisms – Many IoT devices do not receive timely security updates from manufacturers. Without consistent patches, these devices become increasingly susceptible to attacks over time.
  • Insecure interfaces – The interfaces used by IoT devices can be vulnerability points due to poor authentication and encryption protocols. Without proper device authentication and encryption in place, attackers can exploit exposed interfaces and gain access.
  • Insufficient data protection – Data encryption is critical for securing sensitive information on IoT devices. Encrypting stored data and communications can help prevent unauthorized access and protect against “man-in-the-middle” attacks.
  • Poor IoT device management – Many organizations struggle to effectively manage their IoT devices, which can lead to poor security practices and increased risk of exploitation.
  • The IoT skills gap – A shortage of skilled personnel in IoT security is another challenge. Upskilling employees and providing specialized training can help improve the management and security of IoT systems.

How Can MSPs Protect Themselves?

MSP’s need to aim to improve their overall network security. Aside from educating employees on social engineering exploits and other MSP cybersecurity threats, as well as keeping software and firmware patched and updated, here are some other steps to achieve a more secure system.

  • Have a multi-layered, in-depth security system to defend the business. This security system should protect not only against ransomware attacks, but also social engineering, DDoS attacks, and system vulnerabilities.
  • Extended threat detection and response solutions can help identify potential risks that bad actors may exploit.
  • Security tabletop exercises – sessions where team members discuss their roles and responses during emergencies are handy to keep personnel prepared and ready to respond to any breach or cybersecurity attack. These security tabletop exercises will also help in discovering possible security gaps and vulnerabilities, not just within the systems, but also in policies and protocols.
  • Frequently back up data. This tip is paramount for an MSP. Deploying an automated backup system and securing reliable backups mitigates the risks of data loss.

Ensure complete backups of emails, attachments, tasks and calendars are in a separate, secure system. Many solutions exist in the market, but it’s often difficult to find the right fit. Fortunately, Dropsuite provides these services with the following benefits:

  • An automated backup solution for Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and/or email files.
  • Incremental backups that include unlimited storage and retention options to ensure MPSs never run out of space.
  • Single-pane-of-glass admin panel with role-based access levels that enable easy access.
  • Secure storage with TLS or SSL, plus data is encrypted using military-grade 256-bit AES.
  • 1-Click Restore and Download in case of accidental deletions.

Technology constantly evolves, and if bad actors exist, digital threats will evolve as well.

These five MSP cybersecurity threats may not be the only ones that MSPs like yours will face going forward. It is up to businesses to counter this evolution by being proactive with protecting their data and preparing for the worst-case scenario as best they can.

Dropsuite allows you to effortlessly and securely backup, restore, and migrate all business-critical data. This is a great first step in preparing for whatever digital tempest comes your way.

To discover more about Dropsuite’s automated backup solution and capabilities, contact us today for a demo.