Expect MSSPs, MSPs to Guard the Cyber Gates in 2023, Data Security Provider Forecasts

by D. Howard Kass • Dec 27, 2022

Netwrix, a Frisco, Texas-based data security provider, has put forward its list of cybersecurity trends for 2023, based on its experience across a range of verticals, including technology, finance, manufacturing, government and healthcare, the company said.

Five Trends: Be Vigilant in 2023

Netwrix asks your organization to ponder these five trends for 2023:

Demand for cybersecurity professionals will continue to outpace supply. This shortage of cybersecurity talent will increase risks for businesses as attacks become even more sophisticated. Defense: To overcome this challenge, organizations will rely more on their trusted security partners, such as channel partners, system integrators, MSPs and MSSPs.

Supply chain attacks will intensify. Adversaries will increasingly target SMBs and MSPs rather than the larger enterprises knowing that they provide a path into multiple partners and customers. Defense: Organizations of all sizes conducting risk assessments should take into account the vulnerabilities of all third-party software or firmware.

The business of cybercrime will be further professionalized. The growth of ransomware-as-a-service is enabling criminals without deep technical skills to make money, either by extorting a ransom for decryption keys or selling stolen data on the dark web or to a victim’s competitors. Defense: Timely patching and updating of software, as well as locking down network access with multifactor authentication (MFA) and privileged access management (PAM) solutions.

Rapid advancements in social engineering and easy-to-use deep fake technology are enabling attackers to trick more users into falling for their schemes. Defense: Comprehensive auditing of user activity will become even more crucial for spotting abnormal behavior in time to prevent serious incidents.

To combat cybercrime, organizations keep investing into IT security. But more tools does not always mean better security. Point solutions from different vendors operate separately, offer overlapping or conflicting functionality, and require organizations to deal with multiple support teams. Defense: To minimize the security gaps caused by this complexity, organizations are now looking to build a security architecture with a select, smaller group of trusted vendors, which offers the additional benefit of reduced costs from loyalty pricing.

Final Thoughts From Netwrix

Summing up his organization’s look ahead to 2023, and offering a word of advice, Michael Paye, Netwrix vice president of research and development, said:

“It’s not getting any easier for IT professionals to secure their environments. Indeed, cyber criminals keep inventing new attack tactics and techniques. To respond effectively, it is vital to identify what really matters and concentrate on protecting the most critical assets. Organizations should regularly reassess their risks to address the most likely and potentially damaging threats and focus on increasing their cyber resilience to be able to operate even under an ongoing attack.”