Can Your MSP Protect Your Data?

Choose an MSP with Advanced Security Tools

With various security threats expected to develop in 2020, you need a reliable IT managed service provider. Contact Centerpoint IT in Atlanta today to find how we protect our systems — and yours.  

More than 140 cyberattacks have targeted government agencies in 2019; many of these attacks circumvented the defenses of IT managed service providers.

Companies turn to managed service providers to gain superior IT infrastructure support. However, without advanced data protection on-premises and in the cloud, your MSP may be leaving you prone to data breaches and malware infection. With phishing attacks expected to increase and hackers accelerating AI-powered ransomware and other attacks, you have to ask yourself what your current MSP is doing to protect your Atlanta company.

Mobile devices and data stored in public clouds often have insufficient security controls. Further, analysts predict more “ripple effect” incidents, where infections are spread through the supply chain.

This could happen to your managed services provider. Recent activities suggest MSP’s themselves may be the target of new malware launches. In order to manage your IT infrastructure appropriately, MSPs require deep access to your systems. A successful attack on their network could ripple down and impact your company. How scary is that?

How Are Hackers Using MSPs to Access Government Agencies?

In 2018, attacks such as this one prompted the National Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) to send out an alert. This notice acknowledged an uptick in attacks using advanced persistent threats (APTs) aimed at MSPs and cloud service providers (CSPs). APT’s are often sponsored by foreign governments. They gain unauthorized entry into networks by finding loopholes such as unprotected connection software to MSPs, which was the common thread in the attacks that took down 22 state and local governments throughout Texas.

According to the NCCIC, attackers steal administrator credentials to install malware. This makes the activity nearly undetectable by typical monitoring tools. Hacking attacks on IT service providers makes sense. Once they gain access to an MSP’s network, bad actors can compromise companies in the MSP’s portfolio, which typically span many industries.

The good news is that these attacks are preventable. Finding the right MSP includes choosing one with the proper protections in place.

What Makes MSPs Vulnerable to Attack?

In short, affected MSP’s do not follow industry best practices. This is rather frightening since client companies rely on MSP’s for support and protection.

None of the reported attacks have yet been traced to remote monitoring and management (RMM) software used to administer client systems. Instead, the affected MSPs failed to follow best practices when choosing login credentials for their RMM systems.

Centerpoint IT has implemented robust credential management. We have a deep defense posture that includes multifactor authentication controls as well as advanced malware protection. We go above and beyond to detect and deflect attempts to gain access to client data.

Why Centerpoint IT Customers Sleep Better at Night?

Centerpoint IT customers don’t lie awake worrying about cybersecurity attacks. That’s because we use staunch security tools and follow strict protocols to control and limit access to client systems. Our certified team of professionals has extensive experience in preventing and mitigating cyberattacks.

With various security threats expected to develop in 2020, you need a reliable IT managed service provider. Contact Centerpoint IT in Atlanta today to find how we protect our systems — and yours.