ConnectWise has unveiled ConnectWise Security360, empowering MSPs to consolidate and standardize security data from disparate tools, providing a comprehensive overview of their clients' attack surfaces. By harnessing the power of ConnectWise Security360, MSPs can unlock the full potential of their security tools, enabling them to enhance threat detection, streamline response efforts and continuously optimize their clients' security postures.

ConnectWise Security360 enables MSPs to aggregate all the data from disparate security tools (e.g., endpoint detection and response; risk management; vulnerability and patch management; SIEM; compliance; remote management; etc.) and then normalizes those inputs to derive an MSP Security Score. This score clearly communicates the risk exposure across the MSPs' client bases and allows them to visualize the effectiveness of their security services. It also helps pinpoint MSPs to the issues that require immediate attention for remediation.

A significant cybersecurity challenge for MSPs arises from managing the immense volume of data generated by numerous IT security tools, often leading to manual data aggregation and analysis efforts, blind spots, tool fatigue, and a reactive rather than proactive approach to security. According to Canalys, MSPs' cybersecurity practice consists no longer of one or two products — it's a whole suite of six or more products, increasing the challenges related to silo-based tools and the amount of data they need to aggregate and normalize.

"One of the most frustrating parts of managing a modern security landscape is having to make a risk-based decision knowing the data is out there, but not readily available," said Ameer Karim, executive vice president and general manager for cybersecurity and data protection, ConnectWise. "We are proud to introduce ConnectWise Security360, which is a game-changer for MSPs as it allows them to make better real-time, risk-based decisions by transforming their security data into meaningful insights, reducing alert fatigue, improving efficiency and minimizing the risk of errors. With an easy-to-use interface built for security experts and non-security experts alike, the new MSP scoring system in ConnectWise Security360 empowers MSPs to confidently manage their clients' security posture."

ConnectWise Security360 delivers the following benefits:

• Holistic protection by unifying MSPs entire security tech stack, aggregating and correlating the data by normalizing across different vendors, sources and tools.
• Minimizes client risk exposure by visualizing the impact of MSP security services and identifies issues for immediate remediation.
• Differentiate your value by expediting time-to-remediation, enhancing the productivity of MSPs’ staff, and bolstering the effectiveness of their clients’ security controls.
• Scales for growth, as ConnectWise Security360 will grow with you and will support the latest cybersecurity solutions

In other news, ConnectWise has announced the launch of ConnectWise Sidekick for Security, a revolutionary AI-powered digital assistant designed to elevate cybersecurity measures. ConnectWise Sidekick for Security allows MSP owners and technicians to query using natural language prompts to quickly understand their or their customer's overall security posture and identify high-priority security areas on which to focus their next actions.

"At ConnectWise, we are committed to providing MSPs with the tools they need to protect themselves and their clients’ business in an increasingly complex digital landscape," Karim said. "ConnectWise Sidekick for Security is a transformative leap forward, offering advanced AI-driven capabilities that ensure MSPs can defend against threats with greater efficiency and confidence."

With ConnectWise Sidekick for Security, the company is expanding the usage of its generative AI and natural language processing models to cybersecurity, which were introduced to the public in November 2023. Originally available across ConnectWise's PSA and RMM solutions, ConnectWise Sidekick delivers millions of AI-powered recommendations daily across the Asio Platform. The aim is to make every organizational role more efficient, from technicians to service managers, sales and marketing, and owners.

With the introduction of ConnectWise Sidekick for Security, MSPs can now also take advantage of the following capabilities:

• Improve Security Posture Visibility: Query for alert or ticket volume across endpoints, vulnerabilities, SaaS applications, managed detection and response, security awareness training, and email. 
• Gain Security Ticket Assistance: Resolve security tickets rapidly with purpose-built security automations, recommended resolutions, auto remediation capabilities.
• Discover Threat Intelligence Trends: View MSP-centric threat trends identified by the ConnectWise Cyber Research Unit that might impact MSPs’ clients’ security posture.
• Simplify Response Action: Use natural language to find vulnerabilities to patch or alerts to remediate.

Existing users of ConnectWise Sidekick can now take advantage of the fact that the AI-driven companion is accessible directly from within the ConnectWise Asio platform, centralizing the power of AI in a single location.

In other news, as small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) face a rapidly evolving threat landscape, the The State of SMB Cybersecurity in 2024, conducted by Vanson Bourne and commissioned by ConnectWise, reveals that 94% of SMBs have experienced at least one cyberattack, a dramatic rise from 64% in 2019. This increase in cyberattacks is exacerbated by the fact that 76% of SMBs lack the in-house skills to properly address security issues, increasing demand for the expertise and services of MSPs.

The growing wave of cyberincidents is eroding SMBs' confidence in their ability to protect their businesses with a staggering 78% concerned that a severe cyberattack could drive them out of operation. This escalating apprehension is pushing SMBs to reevaluate and strengthen their cybersecurity strategies, recognizing the urgent need for proactive measures to safeguard their data, maintain customer trust, and drive innovation in a perilous digital era.

"As SMBs confront escalating risks, when it comes to cybersecurity they are moving beyond 'good enough,'" said Raffael Martin, senior vice president of product management, ConnectWise. "Our research shows that confidence, trust and a sense of security are crucial in the MSP-organization partnership. It is critical for MSPs to deliver top-tier technology, foster strong personal relationships, and provide holistic support to meet these expectations and support SMBs in navigating the ever-changing cybersecurity landscape."

The Growing Toll of Cyber Incidents

The data reveals that in addition to the substantial increase in the frequency, more than half (56%) of SMBs have already faced at least one cyberattack this year and 89% fear they will be targeted within the next six months, organizations are feeling the impact of these incidents. Almost all (99.5%) of organizations have experienced repercussions from cyberincidents, with 38% citing the cost and effort of dealing with these issues as the most common impact. Compared to 2019, 64% more of SMBs report experiencing damage to company reputation as a result of increased frequency of attacks.

Despite these challenges, SMBs that work with MSPs report slightly lower impacts in terms of company reputation damage, monetary costs of dealing with the attack and negative publicity compared to those that do not use an MSP. Although partnering with an MSP may not decrease the frequency of cyberattacks, it can significantly diminish the effectiveness and consequences of these attacks, providing a valuable layer of defense.

SMB-MSP Partnerships Strengthen

With 90% of SMBs acknowledging the critical importance of cybersecurity, it is now one of the top three organizational priorities for the next two years. In response, many businesses are ramping up their cybersecurity investments with 83% of organizations planning to increase their cybersecurity budgets by an average of 19% over the next 12 months. Technological advancements, including AI and GenAI, are key areas of focus, with 32% of organizations targeting these technologies to enhance operational efficiency and stay competitive.  

As organizations adopt increasingly complex tech stacks in tandem with a growing threat landscape, more SMBs are coming to rely on MSPs. Up from 89% in 2022, 94% of MSPs now use an MSP, with more than half of SMBs outsourcing the majority of their IT infrastructure, services and cybersecurity needs.

According to the findings, it is evident that SMBs are committed to ensuring the security of their organizations. An impressive 83% of these organizations have expressed their intention to increase investments in cybersecurity over the next 12 months, with an average budget increase of 19%. When it comes to finding the right cybersecurity partner, 62% of organizations claimed they would consider switching providers for better solutions, with a willingness to pay an average of 47% more for the right cybersecurity services.  

Conducted between March and April 2024, this research includes insights from 700 IT decision makers and business decision makers, with representation in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Respondents were from organizations with between 10 and 1,000 employees and from a range of private and public sectors.  

These findings are detailed in the new report, "The State of SMB Cybersecurity in 2024," which is available for download here.