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How MSPs Keep Up with the Latest IT Security Trends

By Dave Warner, Systems Engineer at Cenetric

Cybercriminals are relentless when it comes to getting through the layers of security you’ve put into place to protect your company’s information. So managed service providers like Cenetric have to be just as relentless in staying on top of what they’re up to next.

On top of all the threats we’ve been dealing with for years, now AI is making things easier for threat actors, allowing them to spin up convincing phishing emails, texts and videos in the blink of an eye. The right managed services provider knows how to use secure, strategic AI tools to help fight against cybercriminals, but we also have some tried-and-true practices at our disposal.

Connect with peers

It might sound counterintuitive to connect and engage with our competitors in the IT services industry, but in the war against cyberattacks, collaboration is a must. Our peers are an invaluable source of information and experience. They encounter the same threats and problems as we do, and we can all learn best practices for preventing cybersecurity incidents from each other.

We also regularly send someone to the Channel Company’s annual vendor conference, Xchange, where we can hear from a huge array of vendors and get a good sense of what’s going on across the industry.

Following trusted news sources

As well as talking to each other, we read releases and articles on the latest IT security alerts. We pore over the latest industry news, media alerts, articles and research and track updates through agencies and organizations (as high up as Homeland Security) that are tracking the developments related to more sophisticated cybersecurity issues.

There’s no shortage of online resources either. We follow these (and more) closely:

• Bleeping Computer
• Tom’s Hardware
• Various cybersecurity experts and news outlets on X
• Subreddits like r/msp, r/sysadmin, r/cybersecurity and r/netsec
• Lawrence Systems and Ubiquiti on YouTube 

Threats are always evolving and changing, and the best way to stay on top of them is to take advantage of every source available.

Evaluate new vendors

We want to make sure that we’re always exploring new and updated options available to us so we have our ears permanently to the ground to learn about them.

Every week there’s a new vendor or technology that our clients might find useful, so we research and test them to ensure they meet our high standards. We’ll make sure anything we recommend to our clients follows the appropriate regulations and offers great service, value for the money, and the very best in security measures.

Train clients and employees

Our team never stops learning. We work with our vendors to undergo training on all of the latest features and equipment of the systems we recommend, so we know best how to handle your needs. And, of course, we offer training to make sure you know the ins and outs of the best technology solutions so you can use them correctly and safely.

MSPs follow their own advice

It would be pretty pointless to give our clients advice on protecting themselves against bad actors that we don’t follow ourselves. Whatever best practices for cybersecurity and network protection we suggest to you, you can be sure we’ve implemented them for ourselves. 

We regularly test systems and run vulnerability scans to make sure there are no backdoors or ways our network can be infiltrated — and to make sure they run smoothly and efficiently. Every employee (not just our support team) is also trained to recognize any potential threats to cybersecurity so we can deal with them swiftly.

Trust Cenetric to stay ahead of cybersecurity trends

At Cenetric, protecting data and systems is what we’re all about. We work tirelessly to offer the very best in cybersecurity solutions and to keep you and your business safe and working as it should, whether your team is here in Kansas City or working remotely.

We know that even the smallest tech hiccup or breach of security can be devastating for your business, so you can rest assured that we put every effort into staying up to date with the latest trends in IT security. Want to protect your Kansas City business from cyberthreats? Cenetric has the experience and availability to help you prevent an attack — or respond if you’ve already been hit. Let’s set up a time to talk about cybersecurity.