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According to the survey, the top IT priorities for the MSP sector are network security and data security, both of which were named by 7 in 10 MSPs.

“The ultimate goal of network compromise is usually to gain access to sensitive data. If an MSP’s network is breached, the attackers can steal, destroy or encrypt its customers’ data — which could be catastrophic for the MSP’s business,” says Dmitry Sotnikov, VP of product management at Netwrix. “To reduce risk, it is vital for MSPs to implement zero standing privilege and password security solutions, as well be ready to defend against cyberattacks with effective identity threat detection and response tools.”

According to the survey, 61percent of organisations in the MSP sector suffered a cyberattack within the last 12 months. The most common attack vectors were phishing, ransomware or another malware attack, and user account compromise.

“Compromising a single MSP account can give an adversary privileged access to the systems of multiple clients, which makes MSPs a particularly lucrative target for attackers,” says Dirk Schrader, VP of security research at Netwrix. “To mitigate the risk of account compromise attacks, MSPs should implement strong password policies, strictly enforce the least privilege principle, continually audit for suspicious activity, and ensure they can respond quickly to threats.”