My opinion and analysis of the week’s news and events in a succinct summary format. Feel free to comment.  

The Benefits of Managed Services 

Several articles have been published recently (from different locations) all touting the benefits of using MSPs. Now, I am all in favor of this type of content. Heck, I’ve published a number of these types of articles myself over the years.  

I just find it curious when I start to see multiple articles all featuring similar themes. To me, it seems like a trend and that is very interesting. 

Both articles are pro-managed services and are worth a read. What I am curious about is motive. Why are these types of articles being written now? This could be a response to the increase in cyber-attacks and threats arising from the Ukraine conflict, it could also be a reply to the general misinformation floating around about supply chain attacks. Whatever the reasons, it’s nice to see some positive news for MSPs.  

• https://www.cioreview.com/news/what-are-the-advantages-of-using-managed-it-services-nid-34955-cid-258.html 
• https://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/it-management/how-msps-help-small-businesses/ 
• https://www.itweb.co.za/content/LPwQ57l6gQ5qNgkj 
• https://datasecurityguide.eset.com/en-uk/choosing-an-msp-how-to-make-a-well-informed-decision 

NIST Seeks Guidance 

It is safe to say that NIST (and CMMC) has been riding a wave of popularity in recent months. The general conversations about cyberattacks all lead to questions of how to prevent such attacks from happening, or at least around how to survive such attacks.  

The NIST community (which is almost exclusively a US Department of Defense construct) has been expanding its influence beyond the DoD into other areas of US government IT infrastructure. I am fine with this.  

It is also curious to observe how NIST is looking to grow beyond this sphere of influence, even into areas involving the private sector. We will be examining the NIST/CMMC framework in the future.  

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3651368/nist-seeks-information-on-updating-its-cybersecurity-framework.html 

Why Organizations are Losing Cyber Insurnace Coverage 

This episode is as much about sales and marketing as it is about cyber insurance. No other issue has presented itself to the global MSP community as easily as this one has. Cyber insurance is both a legitimate business and technical issue, it is also a natural conversation starter MSPs.  

Something tells me we will be covering this topic a lot in 2022.  

https://mspalliance.com/why-organizations-are-losing-cyber-insurance-coverage/ 

The Difference Between MSP and MSSP 

There’s a lot to unpack here in this title. Our industry has been pushing a narrative of why MSPs need to “transform” into MSSPs. It’s more than just getting MSPs to adopt effective security technologies, it is also a movement to define managed services, again.  

I tried to deconstruct some complicated themes in this episode. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.  

https://mspalliance.com/the-difference-between-msp-and-mssp/ 

 US National Cyber Breach Disclosure Legislation 

In what could be one of the more important developments this past week, the United States Congress passed a bill requiring significant infrastructure organizations and providers to disclose cyber-attacks to the CISA within 72 hours. While this bill is like many existing and emerging state laws, it would be the first major federal legislation aimed at data breach notification.  

More important than the act itself is the attention it will place on organizations to improve cyber security. 

https://www.securityweek.com/cyber-incident-disclosure-bill-passes-senate-amid-fears-russian-attacks