The warning likely comes in response to an increase in attacks on managed service providers, through which threat actors can access their clients.

In an unexpected development, the cybersecurity authorities of the “Five Eyes” countries issued an alert warning of an increase in malicious cyber activity targeting managed service providers (MSPs), with these agencies saying they expect this trend to continue. The alert is the result of a collaborative effort among the United Kingdom (NCSC-UK), Australia (ACSC), Canada (CCCS), New Zealand (NCSC-NZ), and the United States (CISA, NSA, FBI).

The agencies said they are “aware of recent reports that observe an increase in malicious cyber activity targeting managed service providers (MSPs) and expect this trend to continue” and point to a report by a significant MSP IT solutions provider, N-Able. That report notes that “almost all MSPs have suffered a successful cyberattack in the past 18 months, and 90% have seen an increase in attacks since the pandemic started.”

“As this joint advisory makes clear, malicious cyber actors continue to target managed service providers, which can significantly increase downstream risk to the businesses and organizations they support – why it’s critical that MSPs and their customers take action to protect their networks,” CISA Director Jen Easterly said in the alert. “Securing MSPs is critical to our collective cyber defense, and CISA and our interagency and international partners are committed to hardening their security and improving the resilience of our global supply chain.”

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