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BUSINESS BRIEFING www.datto.co.uk 12 findings at odds with recent trends. Some of these are likely to be temporary, like the fall in the number of MSPs that cite ransomware as the most common malware threat (down to 70%, from 85% in 2019) and a reduction in the number of MSPs with SMB clients that have experienced a ransomware attack in the last two years (down to 78%, from 85% in 2019). Both of these trends can be partially explained by the switch by hackers from opportunistic mass phishing campaigns to more targeted ransomware attacks against organisations that have been made vulnerable by the pandemic and are more likely to pay a ransom, because they have a critical need to continue to operate. This year, in a break with previous surveys, the organisations MSPs consider most susceptible to ransomware are not in the professional services and manufacturing sectors, but in healthcare (cited by 60%), finance/insurance (50%) and Government (45%), all of which have been put under stress by Covid-19. Some of the changes brought on by the pandemic are expected to be short-lived. For example, 92% of MSPs predict no further drop-off in ransomware attacks and a probable increase in incidents as countries emerge from the pandemic. Others look more permanent, notably the transition to cloud, which has been accelerated by the move to Work from Home and is likely to remain central to business operations in the future. Hackers have been quick to exploit the opportunities this presents, with nearly one in four MSPs reporting ransomware attacks on client SaaS applications including Microsoft 365, Dropbox and Google Workspace. More than half (59%) of MSPs said remote work due to COVID-19 has resulted Last summer, when Datto asked managed service providers (MSPs) across the US, Europe and Asia Pacific to list their main priorities for 2021, data security came near the top – client cyber security was also the thing most likely to keep them awake at night 1 . Datto’s fifth annual Global State of the Channel Ransomware Repor t, published in November, highlights not just why it is so important for MSPs to secure their clients’ data, but also why they must give them the means to recover quickly from any breach. It identifies the huge opportunity that exists for MSPs to capitalise on growing expenditure by clients who recognise the importance of data security and investment in this area. The Covid effect Before considering the report in more detail, it is worth pointing out that the online survey of more than 1,000 MSPs on which it is based was conducted in August 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. This has inevitably influenced results and thrown up some unexpected in increased ransomware attacks, with 52% pointing out that shifting client workloads to the cloud had increased security vulnerabilities. Geographical variations It is also worth noting geographical variations, such as the higher number of reported ransomware attacks in Europe than North America and Asia Pac (85% vs. 77% and 79% respectively) and, perhaps tellingly, a more relaxed attitude to ransomware in Europe, with just 19% of MSPs in Europe describing their SMB clients as ‘very concerned’ about ransomware, compared to 31% in North America and 33% in Asia Pacific. These suggest that Europe is about one year behind the curve in terms of ransomware awareness and resilience. Key findings With these caveats in mind, what are the key trends highlighted by the report? 1 Ransomware is still the number one malware threat. It will come as no surprise to MSPs that ransomware continues to be the number one malware threat facing SMBs, cited by 70% of MSPs, ahead of other threats from viruses to keyloggers (see box 1). 2 MSPs are also at risk. Ransomware is not just an end user issue: 95% of MSPs say that their own businesses are increasingly being targeted by hackers seeking to infect their clients’ systems. 3 SMBs need to take ransomware more seriously. While 84% of MSPs believe SMBs should be ‘very concerned’ about ransomware, just 30% say their clients feel the same way. Roughly the same number say their Phishing, poor user practices and lack of end user security training are main causes of successful ransomware attacks, as cost of related downtime increases nearly 600% in just two years Tackling ransomware’s hidden costs Justine Harris, Sales Director, UKI, Datto Follow us on: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube Subscribe to our blog: www.datto.com/blog 1 Datto Global State of the MSP Report, 2020