How MSPs Can Build True Threat Resilience

Cyber threats are advancing faster than many managed service providers can keep up, creating new challenges for teams responsible for protecting multiple customer environments at once. According to Jim Waggoner, VP, product management, N‑able, today’s threat landscape looks very different from just a few years ago, and that shift has real consequences for solution providers.

Waggoner says the core motives of attackers have not changed, but their tactics have. “There is a trend we’ve notice in today’s behavior. It used to be you knew when you were being attacked,” he explains. “Now it's really about blending into the environment.” Instead of quick smash‑and‑grab breaches, adversaries are opting for stealth, persistence and patience. “Threat actors are now very, very, very patient,” he says.

For MSPs, that shift collides with an already complex operating model. Providers must secure multiple environments while also ensuring customer uptime. As Waggoner puts it, “They have to protect an environment, but they have to ensure that the businesses are still running.” The pressure to deliver both security and uninterrupted operations is forcing MSPs to rethink how they approach cyber resilience.

That starts with accepting a hard truth: breaches are inevitable. Waggoner describes a customer conference where more than half the room acknowledged being hit by ransomware. “Chances are, you may be breached or will be breached. So, plan for that,” he says.

But building cyber resilience at scale does not have to mean more complexity. Waggoner argues that the most successful MSPs are leaning heavily on standardization. By unifying technology stacks, response processes and security policies across customers, providers can lower operational overhead while improving their defensive posture. “Those who found a way to standardize could reduce their costs and scale that to all of their customers,” he says.

From MFA everywhere to consistent, automated security workflows, Waggoner’s message is clear: resilience depends on repeatability. MSPs that simplify and standardize now will be best positioned to face a threat landscape defined by stealth, patience and increasingly sophisticated attacks.

Learn more about N‑able’s security solutions at N-able.com.