From Alerts To Answers: How MSSPs Move Faster With Clear Investigations

Detection is no longer the hard part of cybersecurity. Understanding what actually happened and what to do next is where most managed security service providers struggle. Alert overload, siloed tools and rushed decisions continue to create risk for customers and pressure for MSSPs.

That challenge was the focus of a recent CRNtv conversation with Lee Sult, chief investigator, from Binalyze. Sult said the industry has spent decades optimizing detection while overlooking investigation.

“Well, as we certainly don't have a shortage of alerts anywhere,” Sult said. “Most of the emphasis has been placed on detecting those.”

For solution providers, this imbalance between detection and investigation shows up as noise. MSSPs see thousands of alerts but lack the direct evidence needed to explain how an attack started, whether it spread and what data may be exposed. Sult said telemetry alone does not deliver clarity.

“The core of the problem is we're not actually looking at direct evidence,” he said. “Most of the time we're looking at telemetry data.”

That gap creates business risk. A quarantined alert may close a ticket, but it does not answer whether an attacker had interactive access or if the threat persists. According to Sult, speed without certainty can erode customer trust.

Sult pointed to product consolidation and the growing role of MSSPs as key trends shaping the next phase of cybersecurity. He said more enterprises will rely on service providers alongside lean internal teams, increasing pressure on MSSPs to deliver definitive answers.

“I think that's going to position MSSPs to take quite a bit more power than they already have,” he said.

For solution providers, the message is clear. The future belongs to MSSPs that can turn alerts into answers and deliver investigation outcomes customers can trust.

Sult also emphasized the need to rethink incident response as a repeatable process rather than a specialist art. Too many investigations still depend on scarce senior talent and inconsistent methodologies.

“This now needs to be like a firefighting problem,” Sult said. “Where you can go to the fire academy, come out and you're on a fire truck on day one.”

At the center of that shift are four business critical questions. Does the attacker still have access? Which systems are affected? How did they get in? Which data is at risk? Sult said answering those questions quickly and consistently allows MSSPs to move from reactive firefighting to proactive response.

To learn more about how Binalyze helps MSSPs move from alert overload to clear, conclusive investigations, visit www.binalyze.com.