Andrea Danti - Fotolia
MSPAlliance debuts MSP cybersecurity risk rating system
As customers increasingly question the cybersecurity postures of MSPs, MSPAlliance aims to give firms a way to show they are proactively dealing with threats.
LAS VEGAS -- The MSPAlliance has created a cyber risk rating system for cloud and managed service providers in a move to help MSPs communicate their protection practices to customers.
The industry association's Cyber Verify Risk rating system, which debuted today at MSPAlliance's MSPWorld 2019 conference, arrives at a time when the MSP industry has been subjected to targeted cyberattacks. Charles Weaver, CEO and co-founder of MSPAlliance, said the organization has been discussing the issue of MSP-directed attacks for the last 18 months. He noted that news coverage of the issue has become more widespread.
"We are now starting to see more and more stories in the technical trade magazines outlining this," Weaver said. "It has leaped out of the technical trade channel and now the mainstream press is starting to pick up these stories."
Charles Weaver
Based on that coverage, customers and prospects are thinking about the safety of working with MSPs, Weaver noted. The risk rating system, however, aims to help MSPs that deal proactively with cybersecurity issues stand out from companies taking a reactive approach to attacks, he added.
Along with the rating system, MSPAlliance members are also discussing an "early-warning detection" capability in which MSP community members would be able to share information on targeted cyberattacks and the types of MSP tools being exploited.
"That is what we need to start thinking about as a community," Weaver said. "That is how we are going to beat this."
