Managed Service Providers (MSPs) are the backbone of IT operations, ensuring seamless system performance, robust security, and reliable end-user support. 

But what does a day in the life of an MSP executive really look like?

To find out, we sat down with Tim Coach—an industry veteran, experienced MSP leader, and Chief Evangelist at Cynomi—who shared his insights on the key priorities, challenges, and opportunities shaping the MSP landscape today.

A Typical Day for an MSP Leader: Controlled Chaos and Constant Prioritization

According to Tim, a day in the life of an MSP is a mix of structured processes and unpredictable challenges—what he calls “controlled chaos.”

Morning: Immediate firefighting

The day starts the moment their feet hit the ground—often before, as they check their phones first thing for urgent issues. If a critical problem arises overnight, they may start working on it before even leaving their homes. On a bad day, phones, emails, and tickets are already piling up, demanding immediate attention.

Daily Operations: Balancing technical, sales, and strategy

MSPs generally focus on three key areas:

1. Help Desk & Technical Support

“The help desk is the heart and soul of an MSP,” says Tim. “It’s anything from a password reset to an entire company losing access to the internet.”

MSPs must ensure that client environments are running smoothly. The help desk is the front line, handling everything from minor software issues to network outages that can cripple an entire company. This team is essential to keeping businesses operational.

2. Sales & Business Growth

“You’re constantly looking at your pipeline,” Tim explains. “Where are the new opportunities? What can we cross-sell or upsell to existing clients?”

Beyond fixing IT problems, MSPs must focus on pipeline development, expanding their client base, and selling additional services.

3. Business Strategy & Efficiency

“Who are the top five clients submitting the most tickets? Who’s using the most time? That’s where MSPs lose money,” says Tim. “If you’re spending hours every week fixing a client’s printer, it might be cheaper to just buy them a new one.”

MSP executives spend time analyzing ticket trends, monitoring contracts, and identifying inefficiencies that impact profitability. By analyzing ticket trends, MSPs can cut inefficiencies and improve profitability.

Ultimately, MSPs must balance immediate client needs with long-term strategic growth—a constant challenge in an unpredictable industry.

Prioritization & Crisis Management

On bad days, MSPs focus on the biggest fires:

• Major IT outages: If an entire company is affected, resolving the issue takes top priority. However, even a single user’s problem—like a payroll system failure on payday—can escalate into a crisis.
• Zero-Day security threats: MSPs must react swiftly to emerging cybersecurity threats, often before clients even realize the risk.

A typical day for an MSP is about constant decision-making—balancing technical issues, client needs, and business growth. The best MSPs don’t just react to problems; they proactively manage their operations and prioritize client relationships to maintain stability in an unpredictable environment.

The Goals of an MSP: Standardization, Growth, and Efficiency

The endgame for an MSP isn’t just survival—it’s profitability, efficiency, and scale. 

To achieve that, Tim highlights these primary objectives:

1. Standardization – The more MSPs standardize services, the more efficient they become. Offering the same tech stack across clients reduces complexity and increases profit margins.
2. Scalability – The only way to scale profitably is by optimizing operations—from ticketing systems to client communication.
3. Client relationship management – Service providers must adopt a proactive approach (rather than just reacting to issues) to foster stronger client retention and prevent churn. Tim says,“clients don’t care about the tech you use—they care that their business runs. If you’re not checking in regularly, you’re at risk of losing them.”
4. New revenue streams – MSPs must constantly look for new services to offer—whether cybersecurity, compliance, or specialized consulting. “An MSP that isn’t looking for new services is falling behind, says Tim. Security, compliance, and cloud services are massive opportunities.”

The Biggest Challenges MSPs Face

MSPs operate in a high-pressure environment, and poor planning can quickly turn small problems into major business risks. Tim outlines the top challenges:

• Not specializing: Offering too many customized services for different industries or clients can make operations inefficient. Tim shares, “when an MSP serves too many industries—one medical client, one legal client, one manufacturing client—efficiency drops. The MSPs that make money are the ones that specialize.”
• Marketing & sales gaps: Most MSPs don’t invest enough in marketing and sales, which hampers growth.
• Underpricing & overdelivering – MSPs often undercharge for services while overcommitting resources. The worst thing you can do is price yourself too low and burn out your team.
• Labor shortages: There’s not enough technical talent in the industry, forcing MSPs to do more with fewer resources.

Tim stresses that MSPs must continually refine processes to overcome these challenges—otherwise, inefficiencies will erode profits.

How MSPs Prioritize Client Needs

“Everything comes down to efficiency,” Tim explains. “If your help desk spends too much time on one client, you need to look for root issues and address those, increase contract to standard billing rates, or let them go.”

With multiple clients demanding attention simultaneously, MSPs must carefully triage issues. According to Tim, mature MSPs prioritize based on standardization and urgency:

• Business impact: A payroll system going down on payday is more urgent than a single employee’s computer issue.
• Contract value & SLAs: Higher-paying clients or those with stricter SLAs may get priority.
• Recurring problems: Chronic issues consuming too many resources may require a deeper fix, such as upgrading outdated hardware.

Tim also points out that poor client communication can make any issue worse. If a client doesn’t hear from their MSP, they assume nothing is happening. Regular updates—especially during outages—build trust.

Revenue Growth Strategies

To stay competitive and profitable, MSPs must continually seek new revenue opportunities. Tim suggests a few proven strategies:

• Add security & compliance services: Clients need cybersecurity expertise—offering security assessments, compliance management, or vCISO services can significantly boost revenue. According to Tim, “If you’re not offering security, you’re missing out. Compliance is a huge revenue driver – according to Calnalys, compliance services will grow by 28% for MSPs this year”
• Upsell & cross-sell: Reviewing client contracts regularly opens opportunities for additional services, like cloud migrations or managed security.
• Bundle services for efficiency: Offering standardized packages rather than custom solutions helps streamline service delivery.
• Invest in automation: The more manual tasks MSPs can automate, the more they can scale without increasing labor costs. According to Tim, a platform, like Cynomi, is a game-changer for MSPs looking to streamline security and compliance services. By automating security assessments and compliance tracking, MSPs free up senior resources, scale security offerings, and create new revenue streams without increasing operational burden. 

Tim warns that stagnant MSPs get left behind. “If you’re not actively looking for new revenue streams, you’re already losing money.”

Final Thoughts: The Future of MSPs

Tim believes the future of MSPs lies in smarter automation, security-first services, and business efficiency. The days of just fixing IT problems are over—successful MSPs position themselves as strategic partners, not just vendors.

“If you’re an MSP and you’re not prioritizing security, efficiency, and growth, you’re in trouble,” Tim says. “The MSPs that thrive will be the ones that standardize, automate, and evolve.”

As the industry evolves, MSPs must stay ahead of client needs and market trends—because in IT, the only constant is change.

Solving security challenges goes beyond the right tools and policies. It requires cooperation from people. When people don’t fully understand or buy into security initiatives, resistance emerges. For CISOs, shaping a strong security culture is already a challenge—but for vCISOs, the task is even more difficult.

As external consultants, vCISOs must establish credibility, gain trust and drive security transformation without the benefit of being embedded in the company’s daily operations. This article provides actionable strategies for vCISOs to build engagement among employees, while establishing their role as a business partner and helping them grow their own business.

Why a Security Culture Matters

A security culture is the shared norms, values, beliefs and practices that define the security approach in the organization. A strong and healthy security culture ensures that all employees are aware of and act on the need to protect sensitive information.

When security becomes part of the organizational ethos, employees are more likely to follow established security protocols consistently. They also become better-skilled at recognizing potential threats, such as phishing attempts or suspicious behavior. In such cases, they will report the incidents promptly, enabling swift mitigation.

A strong security culture also means that security is embedded into workflows and processes. This includes secure coding practices, implementing MFA, incident response plans where everyone knows their role, and more. These also require cooperation from people. Over time the workforce becomes a barrier to attacks, creating a strong and resilient organization.

In other words, security tools depend on human engagement to function effectively. Even advanced security frameworks can be undermined by human error or ignorance. This means that a strong security culture is integral to the CISO’s and vCISO’s success.

How CISOs Shape the Security Culture

Shaping the security culture is the responsibility of the CISO, and it relies heavily on their ability to mobilize and engage the people within the organization. This means they need to inspire and activate employees, fostering a sense of accountability and encouraging action.

Doing so includes, for example, showing how security aligns with the company’s broader mission and goals and its role in building the company’s reputation and avoiding legal fines and penalties. It also means building cross-functional alignment and encouraging collaboration across IT, security and operations with the rest of the organization’s business units. This requires ongoing communication, making security concepts accessible to all employees and emphasizing the potential consequences of security breaches.

Why It’s Harder for vCISOs to Mobilize People

Mobilizing people is challenging for anyone, but for a vCISO the task is even more complex. This is due to the fact that a vCISO is an external consultant and contractor to the organization rather than an organic part of it. In many cases, the vCISO also isn’t physically present, further creating a sense of isolation and separation. This has the following impact:

• Difficulties Establishing Trust and Credibility – Employees might perceive the vCISO as disconnected from the company’s culture, ways of work and KPIs. This erodes credibility and trust in the vCISO’s decision-making. As a result, employees might overlook or de-prioritize what the vCISO asks of them, thinking they have other, more important, tasks to complete. In certain cases, an “us vs. them” mentality might even develop, leading to antagonism and blatant ignoring of what the vCISO requests. The employee view is not completely unbiased. vCISOs have limited visibility into operations and internal structures, making it difficult to navigate internal politics and understand decision-making nuances.
• Time Constraints – vCISOs often face pressure to produce immediate results and show quick wins. This can lead to a focus on technical solutions, risk management, or compliance. While these are critical tasks, they often come at the expense of soft skills like communication and relationship-building, which are the foundation for employee engagement.
• Reliance on Digital Communication – Digital tools such as video conferencing and chat help overcome communication barriers across cities and continents. They drive productivity and help break down work silos. However, it’s far more difficult to engage employees through these mediums. The nuances of body language, tone and rapport present in face-to-face interactions are key to connecting with people. This makes it harder for a vCISO to inspire trust, enthusiasm and collaboration.
• Lack of Team – vCISOs serve as an external security and IT team for their clients. In some cases, this means they do not have an internal team dedicated to assisting them in driving security initiatives. Instead, they rely on a network of stakeholders and ambassadors scattered across the organization. The absence of a core team means there is no internal assistance with communicating and creating enthusiasm, making it more challenging to drive organizational change.

Practical Solutions for vCISOs to Mobilize and Engage People

Let’s get to the most important part – what vCISOs can do about these challenges. By following this list of strategies, MSPs, MSSPs and vCISOs can provide strong security and compliance services AND foster a security culture, while positioning themselves as excellent service providers, driving their own growth.

1. Establish Credibility Quickly

Trust and credibility are the foundation of long-term leadership. But as an external consultant, trust isn’t given – it’s earned. Early and quick wins will help you quickly build your reputation in the organization, and demonstrate your expertise and ability to deliver results. This will encourage people to follow you and your guidelines.

Examples of quick wins include:

• Quick risk assessments – Identify a gap in a certain defense or workflow and provide an insightful analysis.
• Map out a compliance or security framework and where the organization stands on meeting it.
• Generating a number of new policies.
• Showing a report of the current status.
• Creating a security plan for the upcoming 3 months and assigning responsibilities.
• Sharing a report of a recent vulnerability and how it impacts the organization.

Many of these actions can be automated and performed with minimal effort using a vCISO platform.

Read more about how to drive quick wins in the playbook “Your First 100 Days as a vCISO – 5 Steps to Success”.

2. Develop Strong Relationships with Leadership

Business leadership guides the company’s strategy and direction. Leadership that is engaged in security, signals to employees that they should incorporate security into their day-to-day as well. Therefore, make sure to work closely with business executives, aligning security with strategic business objectives and getting their buy-in for security initiatives. This requires demonstrating how cybersecurity investments support broader organizational goals, such as revenue growth, compliance, or customer trust.

To do so, schedule consistent briefings with leadership to communicate progress, challenges and upcoming plans. Tailor your communication to the priorities of leadership—e.g., financial impact, risk mitigation and operational efficiency. Use reports and real-world examples to illustrate the impact of cybersecurity initiatives.

Read more on how to generate effective reports here.

3. Leverage Internal Champions

Security-minded employees can act as liaisons with the organization, advocating for security and encouraging security practices. They also act as a reminder to the existence of a security leader in the organization, even if you’re not physically present. This is true if you don’t have a team on-site, but even if you do.

Start by identifying the right individuals. Use metrics like prior engagement in security training, job roles with high exposure to sensitive information, or demonstrated interest in security. Then, provide them with resources and tools like regular briefings, templates for team-level discussions and exclusive access to security updates. These can be used to showcase their  expertise to engage and encourage all employees to follow them.

You can also establish a community for champions, where they can share experiences, challenges, and successes to foster collaboration and maintain motivation.

Since this activity is somewhat voluntary, you will need to find other ways to compensate them. Acknowledge their contributions through rewards, shoutouts in company meetings, or career growth opportunities. This will help encourage sustained enthusiasm.

4. Become an Ally, Not an Enforcer

Security is often perceived as a blocker to business, hindering productivity, delaying the completion of tasks and creating internal “noise”. Overcoming this challenge requires positioning security as a tool that helps employees succeed.

A CISO must not only integrate cybersecurity with the organization’s business objectives, but also as part of employee KPIs. Implement both strategic and tactical thinking to do so, addressing business needs with daily operations.

Start by conducting listening sessions with employees to understand their pain points of integrating security. Then, adapt security policies to minimize disruptions to workflows, ensuring they align with business objectives. Finally, work with managers to implement security practices into employee tasks. You can also create enthusiasm by sharing examples where security measures have enabled business success, such as preventing data breaches that could have harmed reputation or profits.

5. Adapt Communication Styles

You have multiple clients, each one requiring a different tone and communication style. This is also true for the departments working at each company you work with. Understand your audience and adjust communication styles accordingly.

1. IT Teams – Use technical language, detailed processes and emphasize system-level implications.
2. Executives – Focus on business outcomes, ROI and strategic alignment.
3. For General Employees – Keep language simple, relatable, and emphasize practical benefits or personal impact.

Use a variety of communication methods such as emails, newsletters, webinars, and instant messaging platforms to ensure the message reaches everyone effectively. Whenever you can, conduct in-person meetings, workshops, or town halls to establish trust and encourage open dialogue.

6. Showcase Professionalism

Build your reputation by establishing your expertise. Begin with a clear introduction of your qualifications and relevant expertise. Highlight certifications, years of experience and any notable projects. Use concrete examples to build credibility, and include both hard and soft metrics. Connect the organization to your success by presenting a clear plan of action. Outline the steps, expected outcomes and benefits to employees and the organization as a whole.

7. Use a vCISO Platform

A vCISO platform is an automated platform that provides and generates everything required to provide vCISO services at scale. This includes risk and compliance assessments, security and compliance gap analysis, tailored policies, strategic remediation plans with prioritized tasks, tools for ongoing task management and risk management, security progress tracking and customer-facing reports.

By using a vCISO platform, you can:

• Build Trust and Credibility in Your Expertise – A vCISO platform consolidates your knowledge, frameworks and strategies in one place and provides insights and next steps. This builds your security and compliance knowledge, allows you to provide expert insights and tailored recommendations, and presents you as a well-organized and dependable expert. These capabilities instill confidence in your ability to address challenges and implement meaningful security solutions, creating trust among employees.
• Enhance Leadership Communication with Reports – With a vCISO platform, you can generate clear, actionable reports that turn complex security information into understandable insights for leadership, both technical and non-technical. Create reports that showcase progress, risks and next steps. This will demonstrate your value and get executive buy-in.
• Collaborate Seamlessly with Client Teams – A vCISO platform allows for seamless ongoing communication through collaborative project management. You can create, assign and track tasks. This will get buy-in, foster alignment and create accountability.
• Use Saved Time to Invest in Relationships – A vCISO platform automates workflows like risk assessments, compliance mapping and tracking, and report creation. This efficiency allows you to redirect your time and resources to the softer skills required to mobilize people: building relationships with key stakeholders, strengthening bonds and fostering collaboration.

Final Thoughts

Security is a people-driven initiative. The more employees feel engaged and see security as an enabler rather than a blocker, the stronger the organization becomes. A vCISO platform can help service providers protect their clients and help engage employees, driving both security success and business growth.

Schedule a demo to learn more about Cynomi vCISO platforms.

Achieving ISO 27001 certification is a significant milestone for organizations aiming to establish a robust Information Security Management System (ISMS). To simplify the process, we’ve compiled a detailed ISO 27001 checklist to guide you through each step, ensuring your organization is ready to meet the standard’s requirements.

Organizational Context

Understanding your organization’s internal and external context is foundational for ISO 27001 compliance. Start with these steps:

• Identify and document the organization’s context (internal and external issues).
• Define interested parties Identify stakeholders (e.g., employees, customers, regulators) and document their requirements and expectations.

Scope and Objectives

The scope and objectives of your ISMS define the boundaries and goals of your security efforts.

• Clearly define the scope of the Information Security Management System (ISMS).
• Establish ISMS objectives aligned with organizational goals to ensure relevance and effectiveness.

Roles and Responsibilities

 Assigning clear roles and responsibilities ensures accountability and smooth implementation.

• Assign and document the roles responsible for ISMS implementation and maintenance
• Ensure adequate staffing and create competence development plans.

Information Security Policy

A well-defined information security policy is critical for guiding your organization’s security practices.

• Develop an information security policy.
• Obtain approval for the policy from top management.
• Communicate the policy across the organization to ensure all employees understand and adhere to the policy.

Monitoring and Measurement

Tracking performance helps ensure your ISMS remains effective and compliant.

• Implement processes to monitor and measure ISMS performance. Set up mechanisms to measure ISMS performance against objectives.

Risk Management

Risk management is at the heart of ISO 27001, focusing on identifying and addressing security risks.

• Conduct a comprehensive risk assessment to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities.
• Develop and document a risk treatment plan. Outline measures to mitigate identified risks.
• Finalize the Statement of Applicability (SoA). Document applicable controls and justify their inclusion or exclusion.

Training and Awareness

Creating a security-conscious culture is essential for success.

• Deliver information security awareness training to all relevant personnel.

Management Review

 Top management involvement is crucial for sustained compliance.

• Conduct at least one formal management review of the ISMS to evaluate its effectiveness and address gaps.

Internal Audit

Regular audits ensure continuous improvement and readiness for certification.

• Perform at least one internal audit covering the entire ISMS to identify and rectify nonconformities

Nonconformities and Improvements

ISO 27001 emphasizes continual improvement to enhance security practices.

• Identify and document nonconformities.
• Implement and track corrective actions and improvements to resolve issues and prevent recurrence.

Annex A Controls

Annex A provides a comprehensive list of controls to address information security risks.

• Review controls from Annex A to determine which controls are relevant to your organization and implement the applicable
• Demonstrate significant progress in applying these controls.

Achieving ISO 27001 certification requires careful planning and execution. By following this checklist, you can systematically prepare your organization to meet the standard’s rigorous requirements, building a resilient ISMS that safeguards your information assets.

To learn more about how Cynomi can help you manage your clients compliance with ISO 27001 and other frameworks and regulations, and grow your security and compliance services effortlessly, schedule a demo today.

As cybersecurity threats grow more complex and regulatory requirements become stricter, MSPs and MSSPs face increasing pressure to help clients manage risk, ensure compliance, and strengthen their security posture. While offering vCISO services presents a valuable opportunity, many providers struggle with positioning, pricing, and delivering these services effectively. As businesses seek strategic security leadership without the cost of a full-time CISO, MSPs and MSSPs must navigate these challenges to build scalable, profitable vCISO offerings. 

Here are the top 5 challenges of selling and structuring vCISO services and tips for how to overcome them. For more information on how to sell vCISO services, check out our: Ultimate Guide to Structuring and Selling vCISO Services.

We’ll first cover challenges around effectively selling vCISO services then challenges around structuring the services.

1. Educating Clients on the Value of vCISO Services

Many organizations don’t fully understand the role of a vCISO and may not immediately see the difference between basic cybersecurity support and the strategic guidance a vCISO provides. The reality? Clients don’t want a vCISO—they want to be more efficient, attract more customers, and grow their business while reducing risk.

To bridge this gap, MSPs and MSSPs need to take a consultative approach, showing how a vCISO aligns cybersecurity with business goals. Instead of leading with security jargon, focus on tangible outcomes. A vCISO helps organizations navigate regulatory compliance, scale securely, and make informed risk decisions.

For example, in financial services, where compliance with PCI DSS and SEC regulations is critical, a vCISO can do more than just help maintain compliance. They can build a long-term security strategy that protects sensitive data, streamlines operations, and enhances trust with customers.

By positioning vCISO services as a business enabler rather than a technical necessity, MSPs can demonstrate real value—helping clients not just avoid breaches, but accelerate growth and resilience. Want to refine your vCISO offering for maximum impact? Drop me a DM with the word “Outcomes,” and let’s talk strategy.

2. Handling Client Objections

Client objections are a natural part of the sales process, and selling vCISO services is no exception. One of the most common objections when selling vCISO services to organizations is the belief that “I’m too small to be hacked” or “I don’t have any valuable data; cybercriminals only target big companies.” To handle this objection, MSPs and MSSPs must reframe the conversation. Jesse Miller, founder of PowerPSA Consulting and a vCISO expert, recommends asking, “As a business owner, how do you think about revenue? Do you aim to diversify across multiple customers, shorten sales cycles, and minimize risks?” 

Once they agree, explain that attackers operate in a similar manner, seeking diversified revenue and quick returns. Small businesses are often ideal targets for cybercriminals due to shorter transactional cycles and easier entry points. This approach shifts the conversation from fear to proactive risk management and resilience, making cybersecurity a top priority for clients of all sizes.

To further emphasize the point, highlight relevant statistics—such as the fact that 46% of small businesses reported experiencing a ransomware attack in 2023 – to show small businesses are frequently targeted by cybercriminals, which helps reinforce the urgency to act and provides factual evidence to support the conversation.

3. Overcoming Price Sensitivity

Price sensitivity is another common obstacle when selling vCISO services. For many clients, the idea of paying for strategic cybersecurity leadership can be daunting, especially when compared to the costs of traditional IT services or in-house hires. In many cases, clients may see the cost of a vCISO as an unnecessary expense, particularly if they already have internal IT staff or security measures in place.

To overcome this challenge, MSPs and MSSPs must emphasize both the long-term financial benefits of vCISO services and the potential costs of lacking strategic cybersecurity leadership. While the upfront investment may seem high, the ROI can be significant. A vCISO helps businesses reduce the risk of costly data breaches, avoid regulatory fines, and prevent operational disruptions that could impact revenue and reputation. By framing cybersecurity as a business enabler rather than just a cost center, MSPs can better communicate the value of vCISO services in driving long-term stability and growth.

For example, many small and medium-sized organizations only realize the importance of cybersecurity after experiencing one or more attacks. Once they’ve gone through the costly remediation process, they often recognize that investing in preventive cybersecurity would have been far less expensive than dealing with the aftermath of an attack. This shift in perspective is becoming increasingly common as businesses face the high costs of cyber incidents.

Additionally, vCISO services can help optimize existing security efforts, potentially lowering costs by identifying inefficiencies, addressing gaps in coverage, and streamlining processes. For example, one financial services client may have avoided a costly acquisition due to a vCISO’s early detection of potential security risks. Without this oversight, the company could have moved forward with the acquisition, only to discover later that the target company’s systems were compromised. The cost of the acquisition, legal fees, and reputational damage could far outweigh the cost of vCISO services. By presenting these real-world scenarios, MSPs and MSSPs can effectively counter price objections and demonstrate that investing in vCISO services is an investment in risk prevention and business continuity.

Beyond selling, many vCISOs struggle with structuring their services effectively. Here are key challenges they often encounter:

4. Addressing Diverse Client Needs and Expectations

When it comes to structuring services, different clients have different expectations when it comes to vCISO offerings. A one-size-fits-all approach will not work for every client, as organizations vary in size, complexity, and security maturity. For MSPs and MSSPs offering vCISO services, it is essential to tailor the service offering to meet the unique needs of each client.

Segmenting clients based on factors such as industry, company size, and security maturity can help MSPs and MSSPs craft the right solution. For example, small businesses with low security maturity may need basic risk assessments and compliance assistance, while larger organizations with more advanced security needs may require ongoing strategic oversight, incident response planning, and board-level security discussions.

5. Scaling Efficiently

Efficiently scaling vCISO services is essential for long-term success, as these services offer a lucrative opportunity to generate recurring revenue for service providers. In addition, many MSPs and MSSPs struggle to keep up with client needs due to reliance on inefficient manual processes, inconsistent service delivery, and a lack of standardized frameworks. Without a scalable approach, service providers face operational bottlenecks, resource strain, and missed opportunities for growth. Jesse Miller emphasizes that having a standardized approach helps deliver consistent results and manage growth without adding unnecessary complexity. 

By developing repeatable processes, MSPs and MSSPs can serve a larger client base while still maintaining high-quality service. Standardizing your offerings and leveraging frameworks helps meet client needs faster, reduces operational obstacles, and streamlines the sales process, all while ensuring profitability and a positive client experience.

• Focus on scaling services you are already proficient in, rather than reinventing your offerings.
• Develop pre-built templates and frameworks tailored to each client segment. This minimizes the need for customization and accelerates the sales process.
• Ensure your messaging resonates with client needs, emphasizing that you understand their industry, challenges, and objectives.

Additionally, the right tools – such as the Cynomi vCISO platform – are essential to automate many of these activities—especially in risk assessments, compliance checks, and reporting—so that you can manage and scale your offerings efficiently. With automation and standardized frameworks, you not only ensure consistency but also enhance the client experience and reduce the operational complexity of running a vCISO service.

Conclusion

Selling vCISO services offers MSPs and MSSPs an excellent opportunity to strengthen customer relationships, drive revenue growth, and scale their operations. However, it also comes with its own set of challenges, including educating clients on the value of these services, addressing price sensitivity, and meeting the diverse needs of various clients. 

By adopting a consultative approach, handling common objections, and emphasizing long-term ROI, MSPs and MSSPs can overcome these hurdles. Moreover, scaling vCISO services efficiently requires standardizing offerings and leveraging automation tools to streamline processes and maintain consistency. By overcoming these challenges, MSPs and MSSPs can successfully launch vCISO services, stand out in the market, and build lasting, profitable relationships with clients. 

Companies are beginning to scramble to meet the demands of the NIS2 Directive, which came into force on October 17, 2024. When the overwhelming spreadsheets and complexity of the compliance requirements become too much, organizations often turn to MSPs and MSSPs for a helping hand. Then, MSPs/MSSPs are pulled into the world of policies, assessments, and mapping controls—a space that demands expertise but eats away at your resources. 

For managed security providers, the challenge is clear: how do you deliver the compliance guidance your clients need without exhausting your team or sacrificing efficiency? With cybercrime set to reach $10.5 trillion in 2025, the time to act towards NIS 2 compliance is now. 

The NIS 2 Directive in a nutshell: What does it mean for your clients?

The NIS 2 Directive (Network and Information Security Directive 2) is the European Union’s latest framework aiming to uniformly bolster cybersecurity across EU member states. Building on its predecessor, NIS1, this updated directive expands its reach to include more sectors and businesses. The expanded regulation reflects the growing interdependence of digital and physical infrastructure across sectors and economies.

Its purpose isn’t to burden businesses but to create a collective baseline for managing cybersecurity risks to develop a stronger, more resilient digital ecosystem across Europe. Clients will likely evaluate MSPs/MSSPs on their ability to guide them in implementing technical and organizational controls, such as vulnerability assessments and supply chain security, to defend against evolving threats. 

However, it’s not just about tools and processes; NIS 2 demands accountability at the leadership level by mandating that those in management positions actively oversee and understand their company’s cyber risks. 

4 Example Requirements for the NIS 2 Directive

Within the wordy 73-page official NIS 2 document are ten key security requirements the EU refers to as cybersecurity risk management measures. These measures were derived from an “all-hazards approach that  aims to protect network and information systems and the physical environment of those systems from incidents.” Here are four notable requirements all MSPs/MSSPs should know about. 

Source

1. Incident Handling

A requirement that got a lot of publicity in the NIS 2 directive is the need to notify authorities about significant cybersecurity incidents no later than 24 hours after detection. This initial notification is called an early warning; NIS 2 also mandates an incident notification without undue delay and within 72 hours of becoming aware of an incident. 

This requirement emphasizes the need for real-time monitoring and well-rehearsed response procedures. While the short timeline might feel challenging, it can only be a good thing if better incident handling drives investment in streamlined reporting systems and incident response plans. 

2. Supply Chain Security

The NIS 2 Directive introduces obligations to evaluate and secure third-party suppliers—this acknowledgment of supply chain security points to threat actors relentlessly targeting and exploiting supply chain vulnerabilities. 

This requirement translates into closer scrutiny of vendor relationships, contract terms, and third-party risk assessments. Where third-party software is involved, MSPs/MSSPs and their clients must hone in on the supplier’s secure development practices. 

3. Business Continuity

The business continuity requirement shows how the EU maintains essential services in vital sectors even during serious cyber incidents. MSPs/MSSPs and their clients will need to do more than ever to invest in resilient systems that prioritize continuity. This requirement may involve integrating automated backup solutions, advanced disaster recovery tools, and incident simulation exercises. Beyond the technical aspects, organizations must focus on creating a culture of preparedness and ensuring all staff understand their roles during a crisis. 

4. Secure Authentication

The NIS 2 Directive calls for secure authentication through multi-factor authentication (MFA) or continuous authentication. The difference between the two lies in their approach to verifying identity: 

• MFA relies on a one-time verification process that uses at least two factors: something the user knows (like a password), something they have (like a smartphone or token), or something they inherently are (like a fingerprint or facial recognition). Once verified, the user gains access until the session ends or they log out.
• Continuous authentication goes beyond a one-time check. It continuously verifies the user’s identity throughout the session by monitoring behavioral patterns (like typing speed or mouse movements) or contextual data (like location or device). If anomalies are detected, access can be restricted or revoked in real time.

What are the penalties for non-compliance with the NIS 2 Directive?

The NIS 2 Directive establishes a two-tier financial penalty system, distinguishing between “essential” and “important” entities. For essential entities, the Directive sets a maximum fine of at least €10 million or 2% of the organization’s total worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher. For important entities, the maximum fine is at least €7 million or 1.4% of the total worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher.

The shift to management accountability compels your clients’ board members and other senior management staff to understand the strategic implications of cybersecurity. The EU wants to instigate a cultural change where cybersecurity becomes a boardroom issue that fosters better decision-making and resource allocation. 

In practical terms, the EU imposes punitive measures for individual board members who fall short of their responsibilities; potential sanctions include public statements naming responsible individuals and revoking the right to hold management positions where there are repeated violations of the Directive. 

It’s also worth noting that while the Directive provides baseline figures for company fines, the supervisory authorities in individual EU Member States have the authority to set higher penalties within their national legislation. In addition, the Directive empowers national authorities to impose non-financial penalties, such as orders to comply, mandatory instructions, and security audits. 

NIS 1 vs NIS 2 Directive: Key Differences

The original NIS interaction was criticized for its vague requirements and inconsistent implementation across EU member states. The table below shows some ways in which the NIS 2 Directive addresses the shortcomings of its predecessor.

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Does your client’s business need to comply with the NIS 2 directive?

The answer to this question can become convoluted when you start to delve into whether your clients are an important or essential entity for compliance purposes. However, the simple yes or no answer is to first figure out if the client operates in any of the 11 sectors of high criticality or any of the seven critical sectors. SMEs (50-249 employees or over 10 million in revenue) and larger companies must comply with the NIS 2 Directive if they operate in any of these 18 sectors. 

Small and micro-enterprises of fewer than 50 employees are generally exempt unless they are in specific sub-sectors of the highly critical sectors of Digital Infrastructure and Public Administration Entities. 

Another interesting aspect of the NIS 2 Directive is that it retains the EU’s general trend of extraterritoriality in its regulations (like GDPR). This rule means compliance is also necessary if the client is an essential or important entity providing services or carrying out activities in the EU.  

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Transforming Compliance Assessments into a Competitive Advantage

NIS 2 is officially in force, and the stakes for non-compliance are high. More companies will continue to turn to MSPs and MSSPs for guidance in navigating its complex requirements. Tools and platforms that automate the manual work can potentially transform compliance assessments aligning with frameworks like NIS 2 from a time-consuming challenge into a value-added service that you provide with efficiency. 

The manual effort required—auditing frameworks, creating tailored policies, and identifying gaps—can strain your team and divert focus from other high-value services you offer. With Cynomi, you can streamline these assessments and deliver exceptional NIS 2 compliance support to clients while freeing up resources to continuously grow your business. Moreover, showing the gaps to compliance through a third party like Cynomi, helps you explain the need of other cybersecurity services and solutions to your clients, making upsell more easy.

Cynomi simplifies your compliance offerings through a vCISO platform that automatically matches each client’s cyber profile with standards, frameworks, and regulations like NIS 2. Automated scans can uncover critical vulnerabilities in externally visible IPs and URLs, including ports, protocols, encryption, websites, etc., to help determine clients’ areas of non-compliance with NIS 2’s technical controls.

Request your demo here.

As demand for vCISOs grows, the role has become a strategic asset among SMBs. Yet, many vCISOs—especially those transitioning from technical roles or newer to leadership positions—experience imposter syndrome. It’s that nagging feeling of self-doubt that we don’t belong in the C-suite and we may be exposed as somehow “not enough” to be guiding security and compliance at the executive level.

But guess what? You’re not alone, and you don’t have to feel that way. In this post, we’ll look at why imposter syndrome is particularly prevalent in vCISOs, how it impacts performance, and some proven methods to build confidence and establish yourself as a capable, effective security leader.

Imposter Syndrome for vCISOs – More Common Than You Think

Imposter syndrome is a widespread phenomenon across the security and IT industries and among MSPs and MSSPs. Specific statistics are limited, but the abundance of articles, podcasts and forum discussions shows that that nagging feeling of inadequacy and doubt are commonly shared across the industry. In other words, no, it’s not just you curling into a ball under the covers.

For example, this Reddit thread about feeling like an imposter when starting a job at an MSP generated dozens of compassionate replies and this podcast episode references multiple conversations with MSP owners about dealing with imposter syndrome. Not to mention dozens of articles and posts that come up when googling “Imposter Syndrome” + MSP, MSSP, IT, tech, or security. 

Why Do vCISOs Experience Imposter Syndrome?

There is no shortage of reasons vCISOs are experiencing imposter syndrome. Do any of these ring a bell?

1. Multiple Hats, Multiple Expectations – As a vCISO, you hold responsibility for multiple roles. You are expected to be a security strategist, a policy expert, a technological expert, a compliance expert, an advisor to internal teams AND a business leader. Balancing these roles while maintaining professionalism, a client-facing approach and adapting quickly to diverse organizational needs can easily lead to questioning one’s own adequacy.
2. Constantly Shifting Priorities – Serving as an external provider brings great flexibility. However, the downside is that each new client requires adapting to – their security needs, their business style and their organizational culture. This fluidity can make even seasoned professionals feel like they lack competence and knowledge.
3. Isolation from Internal Teams – There’s a good chance you’re working remotely or part-time with your clients, which creates a disconnect from team dynamics. The distance can amplify feelings of being “out of the loop,” which, in turn, feeds imposter syndrome.
4. Perception of “Real” CISO – Your peer group is other vCISOs, but also professionals in permanent CISO positions. The perception of being “temporary” or “external” can feed self-doubt, despite having the same responsibilities and decision-making power as a traditional CISO.
5. Security Background – If you’re an MSP-turned vCISO, your previous focus was probably in IT management and support for the organization. And while you excel in infrastructure management, software maintenance, cloud services, user support, etc., making the leap to security and compliance expertise may raise feelings of doubt in your knowledge and ability to deliver on it.
6. Lack of Experience in Strategy – Some MSPs and MSSPs focus on hands-on work before entering the vCISO domain. MSPs concentrate on the day-to-day management of IT infrastructure and end-user support and MSSPs on security monitoring and response services, with limited long-term planning and advisory. Being a vCISO requires being hands-on, but the main focus is guiding the security strategy, building a plan and implementing it. This shift requires a change of mindset, rethinking internal processes and different communication with clients. This adaptation can leave service providers feeling insecure. 
7. The Common Security Imposter Syndrome – It’s not just vCISOs. Security imposter syndrome is a common feeling in the cyber security world. This is due to rapid changes in the landscape, the need to constantly learn about new threats and risks, the high stakes risks in a security failure, and even FUD encouraged by security vendors attempting to market and sell their products.
8. Compliance Importance and Knowledge – Security alone just won’t do. Now, organizations need to meet compliance regulations as well. Those are complicated, written in legal lingo, are becoming extremely prevalent and the consequences of noncompliance are severe. According to a recent Cynomi survey, 89% of MSP leaders feel overwhelmed by regulatory compliance frameworks. How can a vCISO keep up?

The Impact of Imposter Syndrome on vCISOs

Imposter syndrome is more than just a personal hurdle—it impacts performance and relationships. A vCISO grappling with self-doubt might underplay their expertise or hesitate to push back on poor decisions. This can have consequences on the organizations’ security posture, since the right professional decisions are not being made. In other cases, insecure vCISOs might overcompensate with perfectionism. Getting bogged down in minutiae affects productivity.

Finally, imposter syndrome often silences achievements, meaning critical wins may not reach the ears of stakeholders, resulting in underappreciation of the vCISO’s true impact. This can have real business consequences for MSPs and MSSPs.

What You Can Do: 4 Strategies to Overcome Imposter Syndrome as a vCISO

Many of the well-intended recommendations for overcoming imposter syndrome encourage vCISOs to “get over it”. While this is not stated verbatim, service providers are encouraged to believe in themselves and pull through, based on the premise that if they were doing a poor job, their clients would let them know and let them go.

Unfortunately, this technique is ineffective on its own, since the underlying reasons of imposter syndrome are grounded deep in the individual’s psyche, and it takes a stronger force to change this state of mind.

Below are some methods grounded in external validation, which can help establish a change in your inner thinking:

1. Document Your Experience and Accomplishments

Reporting is key in any vCISO activity, and this includes reporting to yourself. Whenever self-doubt surfaces, an inventory of accomplishments serves as a reminder of the expertise you already hold. In addition, the ongoing process of listing and detailing your achievements nurtures self-confidence from within.

Do to so, start by cataloging your achievements, skills and the reasons why clients trust you with their cybersecurity. Then, list the unique perspectives and capabilities you bring to each client. This includes metrics on risk reduction, successful initiatives, or strategic recommendations that improved their security posture. Finally, anytime you reach a goal, receive a compliment from a client, or succeed overcoming a difficult hurdle, add these to your list.

2. Seek Peer Support

The vCISO role is growing rapidly, meaning there are others who are walking a similar path. According to “The State of the vCISO 2024” report finds that 39% of MSPs and MSSPs are expected to offer vCISO services by the end of 2024.

Networking with other vCISOs, whether through online forums, industry groups, conferences, or communities can provide a strong sense of solidarity. You’ll find that others share your doubts, and you can exchange tips on navigating client dynamics, discussing approaches to governance, sharing security and compliance resources, advising on tools that can help like vCISO platforms, or handling executive pushback.

3. Embrace a Learning Mindset

Cybersecurity is constantly evolving, and even the most seasoned professionals don’t have all the answers. Shifting from a “know-it-all” to a “learn-it-all” mindset can help reduce pressure. Accepting that you’ll continuously learn and improve allows you to view challenges as growth opportunities rather than tests of your adequacy.

For example, Cynomi vCISO academy is a knowledge base for MSPs, MSSPs, security consultants and CISOs to build and expand their vCISO skills and services. By providing guides, exercises, templates and real-world examples across a wide range of topics, it helps reinforce your understanding of the required skills from vCISOs. The best part – it’s free.

4. Build Your Soft Skills

While not entirely an externally-validated method, building soft skills is a powerful way to tackle imposter syndrome. By focusing on skills like communication, empathy, adaptability and resilience, you can create a toolkit to manage self-doubt and build confidence.

For example, improving communication helps you articulate your thoughts clearly, which not only reinforces your expertise but also helps you connect with others who may share similar struggles. Practicing empathy allows you to recognize that everyone faces insecurities, fostering a sense of shared humanity. Adaptability helps you embrace challenges rather than seeing them as threats to your competence, while resilience enables you to bounce back from setbacks without internalizing them as personal failures.

These skills collectively make it easier to step out of self-critical thinking, engage more meaningfully in your work, and slowly silence the nagging voice of imposter syndrome. In addition, they improve collaboration and trust with your clients, making them feel more secure in your capabilities and more inclined to view you as a true partner in their success. This in turn can build your confidence and help with imposter syndrome as well.

Turn Imposter Syndrome into an Advantage

A bit of imposter syndrome can be an asset. It often drives vCISOs to stay vigilant, continually improve, and be highly adaptable—all valuable traits in cybersecurity. By recognizing this, you can reframe imposter syndrome from a debilitating hurdle to a source of motivation. Key to this is investing in your learning. Multiple available resources, like the vCISO academy, can help turn your imposter syndrome into a unique strength that empowers you as an effective, impactful vCISO.

Check out the vCISO academy now.

Can your clients afford the cost of a cyber attack? Can you? The rising frequency and sophistication of cyber threats mean businesses face unprecedented risk. Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) are constantly battling the concept that complete risk elimination is impossible – strategic and comprehensive prevention is the key. 

Cyber threats have surged dramatically, with a 72% increase in data breaches last year compared to two years prior. Such incidents can have severe consequences for your MSP and clients, including financial losses, legal liabilities, and tarnished reputations. Fraud risk matrix assessment tables are a vital asset for MSPs/MSSPs in such a volatile landscape, turning threats into clear priorities and helping you create effective strategies to keep your clients a step ahead of cyber attacks.

What is a risk assessment table?

A risk assessment table, often known as a risk matrix, is a powerful tool that helps organizations systematically evaluate and manage potential risks. It visually represents potential risks in a structured grid based on their likelihood of occurrence and impact on the organization. 

This matrix format makes it easier to identify which risks require immediate concern and which can be monitored over time. Such a tool is essential where managing risk is not just a best practice but a necessity – which is nowadays true for almost any organization. 

Let’s look at a few high-risk industries.For example, a finance risk matrix helps identify data security and transaction integrity threats. In healthcare, it helps manage risks related to patient data and compliance with stringent regulatory standards like HIPAA. These sectors can effectively pinpoint vulnerabilities using a risk assessment table, helping them ensure regulatory compliance and identify targeted risk mitigation strategies.

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How to Use a Risk Assessment Table

A popular choice for risk assessment is the 5×5 matrix, which uses a five-point scale. One axis represents how likely a risk is to happen, and the other indicates the potential severity of its impact. This scale provides a detailed, granular view of risks, making it easier to prioritize them.

The specific type of risk assessment table you use doesn’t ultimately matter – what’s important is how effectively you use it to evaluate and manage risks. The prioritization process remains largely the same.

You should regularly include risk assessment tables in the risk management routine for your clients’ best results. Plus, you can update the table with new risks and revise existing ones as situations change. The table should serve as a living document to identify the most pressing risks and allocate resources effectively to prevent disruptions and protect critical functions.

Why should you use a risk assessment table?

As risk assessment table provides MSPs/MSSPs with a crucial edge in cybersecurity management. It is a type of risk assessment template that delivers several key advantages, enhancing your ability to safeguard clients’ systems and data.

Improved Risk Visibility

Without risk visibility, your clients can be in the dark, unable to identify their most vulnerable areas. A risk matrix offers a clear, visual overview of potential threats, helping you quickly identify specific risks such as unauthorized access or data breaches. This visibility allows you to offer and implement security measures appropriate for each client’s unique vulnerabilities.

Prioritized Risk Management

Without prioritization, your clients risk spreading their resources too thin, attempting to address every potential threat simultaneously. This approach can lead to a scattergun technique where critical issues are neglected or underfunded, resulting in major vulnerabilities being overlooked. A risk assessment table helps you zero in on the most critical threats. Instead of treating all risks equally, it allows you to advise clients in prioritizing and addressing the most pressing issues first. 

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Enhanced Decision-Making

A comprehensive overview of all identified risks allows decision-makers in MSPs/MSSPs and your clients’ organizations to allocate resources more effectively. You can make informed decisions about where to focus efforts and budget, such as investing in advanced threat detection tools for high-risk areas or strengthening security protocols for vulnerable systems. It is particularly helpful if your risk management strategies are collated in one place, such as in a vCISO platform. 

Proactive Client Engagement

Using a structured approach to risk management with a risk assessment table can help you engage proactively with clients. Clearly outlining risks and detailing the actions being taken to mitigate them helps build trust in MSPs/MSSPs. This strategy promotes a more collaborative relationship, where clients feel involved and informed about the measures protecting their data and systems. This relationship of trust is a foundation for upselling and cross-selling opportunities. 

6 Steps to Create a Risk Assessment Table

Building a risk assessment table equips you with the tools to systematically identify, evaluate, and prioritize client risks. Here’s a practical, step-by-step guide to help you create one.

1. Identify Sources of Risk

Begin by identifying risks specific to your client’s industry and operations. These could include cyber threats, operational failures, or external events. 

Internal risks

• Operational: System failures, data loss, human error

• Financial: Budget constraints, project overruns

• Compliance: Regulatory violations, legal issues

• Reputational: Negative publicity, brand damage

External risks

• Cybersecurity: Phishing, ransomware, data breaches

• Natural Disasters: Floods, earthquakes, fires

• Economic Downturn: Market fluctuations, supply chain disruptions

For instance, risks in a financial services firm might include phishing attacks targeting customer data or insider threats where employees misuse sensitive information. Conduct regular company-specific risk identification workshops with stakeholders to ensure a comprehensive and updated list of potential risks.

2. Define Risk Criteria

Set clear criteria to measure how likely each risk is and how serious its impact could be. Consider customizing these scales to align with your client’s risk tolerance and industry standards. For example, with a five-point risk assessment table, you might use:

Likelihood

• Rare: Once every ten years or more
• Unlikely: Once every five years
• Possible: Could happen annually
• Likely: Several times a year
• Almost Certain: Frequent occurrences

Impact

• Insignificant: Minimal disruption, easily recoverable
• Minor: Limited impact, manageable consequences
• Moderate: Noticeable impact, requires action
• Major: Significant disruption, substantial losses
• Catastrophic: Severe financial or reputational damage, potential for business failure

3. Gather Data

Collect relevant current and historical data to support the risk assessment table. 

Historical data

• Incident Logs: Review past security incidents, system failures, and near misses.
• Audit Reports: Examine findings from internal and external audits.
• Insurance Claims: Analyze data on past claims and losses.

Current data

• Threat Intelligence: Stay updated on the latest cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities.
• Industry Reports: Benchmark against industry-specific risk assessments.
• Vendor Assessments: Evaluate the security posture of third-party vendors.

Review logs and records of past security breaches, system failures, and other incidents. Extract data from your client’s firewall logs, intrusion detection systems, and incident response reports over the last five years to identify recurring patterns and high-risk areas.

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4. Evaluate Risks

Assess the likelihood and impact of each risk using the predefined criteria and historical data. For likelihood, determine how often the risk has occurred or might occur. For example, if a tech firm has experienced multiple DDoS attacks in the past two years, the likelihood of this might be marked as ‘Almost Certain.’ You can consider: 

• Frequency: How often has this risk occurred in the past? How likely is it to happen again?
• Severity: What are the potential consequences of this risk? How would it affect your client’s operations, finances, reputation, and compliance?
• Vulnerabilities: Are there any weaknesses in your client’s systems or processes that could be exploited?
• Mitigation Measures: Are there existing controls in place to reduce the likelihood or impact of this risk? How effective are they?

5. Plot on Matrix

A risk matrix is a visual tool for prioritizing risks based on their likelihood and impact. Create a table with likelihood on one axis and impact on the other. Each cell in the matrix represents a different level of risk.

Place each risk in the appropriate cell of the matrix based on its likelihood and impact scores. Use color coding or numerical values to indicate the level of risk (e.g., red for high risk, yellow for medium risk, green for low risk).

6. Prioritize Remediation Efforts

Focus your resources on the risks that fall into the high-likelihood, high-impact quadrant of the matrix. These risks pose the greatest threat to your client and require immediate attention. Develop and implement mitigation plans for each high-risk item, including:

• Risk Reduction: Implement security controls, backup procedures, or redundancies to minimize the likelihood or impact of the risk.
• Risk Transfer: Consider cyber insurance coverage checklist for your clients and your MSP/MSSP. 
• Risk Acceptance: For low-impact risks, it may be acceptable to simply implement continuous security monitoring tools and have a contingency plan in place.

Regularly review and update your risk assessment table to ensure it remains relevant and effective in protecting your client’s assets and reputation. Remember, risk management is an ongoing process that requires vigilance, adaptability, and dynamic risk assessment strategies. 

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Let Cynomi Handle the Heavy Lifting

Managing cybersecurity risks requires more than just the right tools – it’s about strategically anticipating and countering potential threats. Risk assessment tables break down complex threats into clear priorities, making it easier to allocate resources where they are needed most. They are essential to a proactive cybersecurity strategy, empowering MSPs and MSSPs to protect clients’ valuable assets.

With Cynomi, you can provide clients with comprehensive risk assessments without manual completion – no more tables, complex spreadsheets, or calculations. Cynomi automates the manual, time-consuming work of risk assessments, speeding up the process from days to hours. It tailors the relevant questionnaires and scans to automatically build each client’s cyber profile, using guided questionnaires and express scans to uncover critical vulnerabilities. 

Request a demo to learn more.

Cyber risk unites all organizations, from new startups to well-established enterprises. Businesses strive to reduce their cyber risk to avoid costly breaches and comply with increasingly stringent data protection and system reliability laws.

But there’s a problem—risk assessment specialists are hard to come by. As many as 71% of organizations admit that the cybersecurity skills shortage has already had a negative impact. Organizations that lack in-house risk expertise often turn to MSPs and MSSPs to deliver this service for them, giving them peace of mind. 

The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2030 there could be a global talent shortage of more than 85 million cybersecurity professionals. Risk assessment training benefits individuals, organizations, and MSPs/MSSPs in different ways (as we will explore in this article), ultimately helping close knowledge gaps and keep businesses secure.

What is cyber risk assessment training?

Risk assessments are one of the foundations of any risk management strategy. They employ various methodologies and frameworks to identify, analyze, and evaluate potential cyber threats to an organization and their potential impact. Security risk assessments templates aim to aid decision-makers in making informed choices regarding cybersecurity investment and where it is needed most.

To perform a risk assessment professionally and effectively requires specific skills, knowledge, and hands-on experience with relevant cybersecurity tools and platforms. To acquire these, individuals can turn to risk assessment training courses, some of which also provide accreditation upon completion.

Risk assessment training can be provided in many different ways:

• As a university or college course.
• As a free online course, such as those provided by the CIS.
• Paid online risk assessment training, like the options offered by SANS.
• In-house risk assessment training through skill-sharing programs within the organization.

Who needs cyber risk assessment training?

Cyber risk assessment training is designed for a variety of roles in organizations and among service providers, including:

• Auditors
• Risk protection and fraud professionals
• IT team members
• Cybersecurity professionals
• Compliance professionals
• Legal experts

5 Reasons Why Risk Assessment Training is Important

Risk assessment training benefits various roles in your client’s business in different ways.

Benefits of Risk Assessment Training for IT and Risk Professionals

1. Professional development and employment opportunities

Many risk assessment training courses offer accreditation and certification, meaning professionals in IT and risk management fields can increase their market value and broaden their overall skillset with a highly demanded proficiency.

Benefits of Risk Assessment Training for Businesses

2. Proactive risk management and stronger security posture

Cyber risk mitigation is vital for any organization, and risk assessment training is at the heart of the process and strategy. When in-house IT and risk management teams are skilled in proactively identifying, assessing, and managing cyber risks, companies can enhance their overall security posture and stay ahead of vulnerabilities and potential threats.

3. Informed decision-making and effective resource allocation

Through risk assessment training, business leaders can fully understand the cyber risks threatening the organization and make strategic decisions to ensure optimal resource investment. For example, they can implement the necessary security controls, adopt appropriate tooling, and employ risk management best practices.

4. Streamlined compliance audits

By providing comprehensive risk assessment training to compliance, risk, and fraud teams, businesses can bridge the gaps between information security and IT teams and the non-technical stakeholders in legal and compliance departments.

Benefits of Risk Assessment Training for Managed Service Providers

5. Customer retention and upsell opportunities

Regulatory requirements, partner demands, and the high cost of skilled cybersecurity expertise are just some of the factors pushing small and medium businesses to seek out managed security solutions, including cyber risk management services like risk assessment training. When clients lack the ability to conduct risk assessment training in-house, they can turn to MSPs/MSSPs. 

7 Core Principles for Risk Assessment Training

Risk assessment training courses differ according to their scope, depth, target audience, and more. Here are some of the main topics and principles traditionally covered in risk assessment training.

1. The Fundamentals of Cyber Risk Assessment and Management

The first core principle of risk assessment training covers the basics of cyber risk management. These usually include:

• The definitions of business risk, cyber risk, and related terminology.
• The base components of risk, including assets, threats, and vulnerabilities.
• Risk management tiers in an organization.
• Response vs recovery.
• The risk equation and its role in risk assessment processes.
• Qualitative vs quantitative risk assessments.

2. Identifying Risk Assessment Requirements

With the basics in place, the next principle is about identifying and collecting the specific information and data required to assess the risk for an organization. Since the requirements are unique to every organization, this principle includes aspects such as:

• Gathering information.
• Outlining the scope and boundaries of the risk assessment.
• The roles and responsibilities of the parties involved in the risk assessment process.
• Business continuity, incident response, and risk.
• Business risk impact analysis.
• Operational resilience assurance.
• Asset categorization.
• How to prepare for a risk assessment.

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3. Selecting and Customizing the Appropriate Risk Assessment Standard or Framework

This principle of risk management training is especially versatile, as it differs significantly according to local regulations and cybersecurity laws, as well as different industries with specialized risk assessment standards. Some risk assessment training courses also include chapters on designing your own risk assessment framework. This principle typically addresses:

• Standards for risk management hierarchies and frameworks.
• Risk and threat modeling.
• Common risk assessment standards, methodologies, and frameworks like NIST SP 800-30, CISA OCTAVE ® (Operationally Critical Threat, Asset, and Vulnerability Evaluation), CIS RAM, CERT-RMM, and others relevant to your client’s specific industry.

4. Conducting a risk assessment

The next principle in the risk assessment training process entails learning the practicalities of applying cyber risk assessment frameworks to any specific organization or project. Skills required for this stage include:

• Identify and analyze vulnerabilities.
• Understand security controls, parameters, and enhancements.
• Define and set a security control baseline.
• Set acceptable risk tolerance and appetite.
• Determine likelihood and business impact.
• Understand how risk can be reduced through the implementation of security controls.

5. Effectively Implementing Applicable Security Controls

Next, it’s important to learn more about security controls, authorization, authentication, and other methods of reducing risk by implementing the applicable security controls. This core principle, therefore, focuses on topics like:

• Embedding security best practices to minimize risk.
• How to choose validated components to strengthen security posture.
• Reducing legacy system risk with add-on elements.
• How to select the appropriate security controls.
• Understand the topics of risk-based authorization, security authorization packages, and identity and access management (IAM).
• Applying framework-specific security controls (such as ISO, NIS2, etc).

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6. Cyber Risk Mitigation Strategy Maintenance

Often, the organization will already have a cyber risk mitigation strategy and risk assessment methodology in place. This core principle involves continuous maintenance of risk assessment and management protocols. These typically include:

• Continuous risk monitoring strategies.
• Account and system removal and decommissioning processes.
• Risk assessment planning.
• Reviewing risk assessment plans.
• Updating risk assessments.

7. Reporting and Compliance Auditing

Regulatory requirements and standards are one of the main drivers for performing risk assessment training and risk assessments. Therefore, professionals undergoing risk assessment training need a comprehensive understanding of the role of security controls and risk management in compliance assessments. Depending on the depth and scope of the risk assessment training course, the topics under this principle may include:

• Assessing compliance.
• Verifying compliance (through examinations, tests, etc).
• Aligning ownership and responsibility.
• Coordinating implementation across technical, operational, and administrative controls in the organization.
• How to develop and review security impact assessments.
• Providing evidence of compliance.

Assessing Cybersecurity Risk at Scale with Cynomi

Cybersecurity risk assessment training helps IT and risk management professionals gain the necessary skills to perform risk assessments for their organizations or as external consultants for small and medium-sized organizations. Risk assessment training is a wise investment in 2024 and covers a wide range of topics, from risk assessment frameworks to compliance auditing and reporting.

For MSPs/MSSPs looking to scale their cybersecurity risk assessment and management services, Cynomi’s vCISO platform is a go-to solution for risk assessment automation and reporting. Even those without formal risk assessment training can leverage Cynomi’s intuitive, step-by-step guidance and embedded knowledge base to conduct thorough assessments.

Cynomi features self-guided discovery questionnaires to expedite and streamline risk assessment processes, plus automated scans to uncover vulnerabilities and weaknesses in externally visible resources. In addition, Cynomi helps prepare your customers for compliance audits with one-click benchmarking of each client’s cyber risk profile against industry standards and global regulatory requirements.

To discover how Cynomi can help you scale your cybersecurity offering and automate risk assessments for your clients, book a demo.

Demand for vCISO services is growing among SMBs, and MSPs and MSSPs are identifying this as a strategic opportunity to grow their business and profits. Yet, the same service providers are worried they lack the technology and security and compliance knowledge to reap the benefits, which include enhancing customer security and upselling their products and services. A vCISO platform has been proven to help address these challenges and be a key component in the vCISO strategy. These are the findings of the new “State of the vCISO 2024 Report” commissioned by Cynomi.

The survey spanned 200 security leaders from North America in MSPs and MSSPs with 50 or more employees. They are all security-focused, providing cybersecurity strategic services or cybersecurity consulting.

vCISO Services: From Sporadic Offerings to Table Stakes

This is the second year in a row the report has been conducted, and it’s interesting to see how the MSP and MSSPs industry evolving. In 2023, only 19% of MSPs and MSSPs offered virtual CISO services. Now, the percentage has climbed to 21%, and is expected to reach 39% by the end of 2024. Even more striking, last year, 86% of service providers were planning to offer vCISO services at some point. This year, the percentage grew to over 98%! This shows how vCISO services are becoming table stakes for MSPs/MSSPs and their customers alike.

The Benefits: Better Customer Security, Better Sales

The upcoming vCISO surge is not surprising, since 43% of MSPs and MSSPs that added vCISO services report they improved customer security. In addition, 36% were able to enhance client engagement and 38% upsold more products and services while 35% expanded to new customers as a result of offering vCISO services. Overall, more than half (59%) of service providers that added vCISO services increased revenue and/or their margins!

The Challenge: Technology and Skills

So why aren’t all service providers offering vCISO services yet? Offering vCISO services comes with its own set of challenges, which service providers need to overcome. These include lack of technology (29%), lack of relevant security and compliance knowledge (26%) and lack of skilled personnel (24%).

In other words, MSPs and MSSPs need a hand before they turn a profit.

The Solution: A vCISO Platform

A vCISO platform is the technological foundation for MSPs and MSSPs that aspire to offer vCISO services. The platform streamlines the vCISO service offering in the company. This is done by establishing structured processes, from risk assessment to policy creation to task management to reporting. It also provides all security and compliance knowledge required through frameworks and policies. Finally, it provides information and reports that can be shared with leadership.

No wonder, then, that MSPs and MSSPs that use such a platform report business and security achievements like standardizing work processes (36%), accelerating onboarding of their new employees (34%), easy access to compliance frameworks (33%), increased revenue (33%) and easy upselling (32%).

These unheard of success rates do not demonstrate a high ROI. They are also the answer to the challenges raised by service providers. vCISO platforms provide the knowledge and know-how needed without requiring services providers to hire expensive personnel or invest heavily upfront. Simply because any team member can provide high-quality services with a vCISO platform.

As 2025 approaches, seems like MSPs and MSSPs planning for growth and scalability will be integrating vCISO services into their business strategies. Those truly committed to success are leveraging a vCISO platform to maximize their results.

Download the full report here.

From small startups to multinational corporations, no organization is immune to the all-seeing eye of hackers and cybercriminals.

By 2025, cybercrime is projected to cause global damages of $10.5 trillion, surpassing many countries’ GDP. Businesses face an average of 130 security breaches each year, with each incident potentially costing millions of dollars in recovery, lost business, and reputational damage. 

Many regulations and standards, including the CIS Critical Security Controls, aim to help businesses protect themselves against cyber risks. Although these regulations provide essential guidelines for protection, implementing them can be complex and time-consuming. Hence, many organizations turn to MSPs/MSSPs to help them roll out and adhere to regulations like CIS and others. 

What are CIS critical security controls?

The Center for Internet Security (CIS), a non-profit organization, created the CIS Critical Security Controls to help organizations strengthen their cybersecurity defenses. The most recent version of the Controls is V8, which was established in 2018. 

The Controls offer a practical and effective roadmap to identify and address vulnerabilities, reducing the risk of cyber attacks. Implementing these controls strengthens organizations’ security postures and protects systems and data, fostering trust among stakeholders and clients.

What are CIS Implementation Groups (IGs)?

The CIS Controls are divided into three Implementation Groups (IGs) to help organizations prioritize implementation based on their size, resources, and specific risk profile. Generally, CIS recommends:

• IG1: Covers essential cyber hygiene practices to protect against common attack vectors. Designed for small and medium-sized businesses with limited cybersecurity knowledge and resources. 

• IG2: Expands on IG1 with more recommendations applicable to larger organizations with complex operational environments and higher risk profiles. It’s also a step up from IG1 in terms of the resources and time investment required to implement.

• IG3: Includes safeguards and recommendations to protect against sophisticated attacks. IG3 is most relevant for organizations with mature cybersecurity programs, sensitive data, and strict regulatory requirements to follow. 

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Why are the CIS critical security controls important?

1. Simplified Compliance

Many industry and government regulations align with the CIS Controls, a win-win for organizations’ compliance efforts. MSPs and MSSPs can support clients in implementing the security Controls, which streamlines clients’ compliance efforts and demonstrates their commitment to security standards.

2. Proactive Risk Management

The CIS Controls emphasize preventive risk management rather than reactive, helping your clients stay ahead of emerging threats and minimize potential damage. MSPs/MSSPs can leverage this proactive approach to differentiate themselves from competitors as trusted security advisors.

3. Cost Savings

The CIS Controls can help your clients avoid costly downtime, legal fees, and reputational damage by preventing security incidents and data breaches. Highlighting these potential cost savings can attract budget-conscious clients and demonstrate the return on investment of security services.

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The 18 CIS Critical Security Controls Listed

1. Inventory and Control of Enterprise Assets

Knowing what’s on your client’s network is the first step in protecting it. You can actively manage all hardware and software assets on your client’s network, ensuring that only authorized devices and software are given access. Automated asset discovery tools can help maintain an up-to-date inventory, and regular software installation audits are also necessary to remove unauthorized applications.

2. Inventory and Control of Software Assets

Next up, you need to actively manage all software on the client’s network so that only authorized software can be installed and executed. Application whitelisting can prevent unauthorized software from running. Of course, keeping software patched and up-to-date mitigates vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit.

3. Data Protection

You can advise clients to encrypt sensitive data at rest and in transit, which adds a layer of security that makes it difficult for attackers to access the data even if they gain access to the system. Implementing strong access controls is also a go-to to prevent unauthorized access.

4. Secure Configuration of Enterprise Assets and Software

Your clients must establish and maintain secure configurations for all authorized devices and software, including developing and enforcing configuration standards for operating systems, applications, and network devices. As an MSP/MSSP, you can regularly audit configurations to ensure compliance with these standards and help identify any misconfigurations attackers could exploit.

5. Account Management

You can guide your clients in assigning and managing the authorization and authentication of all accounts, such as strong password policies. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide multiple forms of identification before accessing sensitive systems or data.

6. Access Control Management

Clients should control access to critical assets based on the least privilege and need-to-know principles. Role-based access control (RBAC) can restrict access based on job function. Plus, MSPs/MSSPs can regularly review and update clients’ access permissions to ensure access remains appropriate as roles and responsibilities change.

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7. Continuous Vulnerability Management

As an MSP/MSSP, it’s your responsibility to assess and remediate vulnerabilities in your clients’ systems and applications. Tools for vulnerability scanning can help you pinpoint vulnerabilities, and it’s crucial to prioritize remediation according to the risk level.

8. Audit Log Management

Collecting, managing, and analyzing event audit logs helps clients detect, understand, or recover from attacks. Therefore, MSPs/MSSPs can advise clients that centralizing log collection and storage is recommended. Log analysis tools can help identify suspicious activity indicating an ongoing or attempted attack.

9. Email and Web Browser Protections

MSPs/MSSPs must guide clients in improving threat detection of email and web vectors using strategies like email filtering and web application firewalls (WAFs). Web filtering can block access to malicious websites, preventing users from inadvertently downloading malware or exposing sensitive information.

10. Malware Defenses

Controlling malicious code installation, spread, and execution is paramount. Using antivirus and anti-malware software, keeping software patched and up-to-date, and educating users about safe computing practices can help achieve malware defense. 

11. Data Recovery

MSPs/MSSPs can establish and maintain data recovery practices sufficient to restore clients’ assets to a pre-incident state. Maintaining regular backups of critical data is crucial to guarantee recovery in case of a system failure, data corruption, or cyber attack, and you should always test the backups to check their ability to restore successfully. 

12. Network Infrastructure Management

Ensure that only authorized devices can access the client’s network by actively managing (tracking, reporting, and correcting) all devices. Network mapping tools can identify all network devices, including unauthorized or rogue ones. Segmenting the network helps isolate critical assets, limiting the potential damage from a security breach.

13. Network Monitoring and Defense

MSPs/MSSPs can help clients implement the Controls by maintaining comprehensive network monitoring and defense against security threats. For example, intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS) monitor network traffic for suspicious activity like fraud risks, alerting security teams to potential threats.

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14. Security Awareness and Skills Training

Your clients must establish and maintain a security awareness program to influence employees’ behavior and equip them with the necessary skills to reduce cybersecurity risks. MSPs/MSSPs can recommend phishing simulations that assess employees’ awareness and preparedness, pinpointing areas requiring further training.

15. Service Provider Management

MSPs/MSSPs can help clients develop a process to assess, manage, and monitor risks associated with using cloud providers. Monitoring cloud provider security practices is necessary to ensure they meet your client’s security requirements.

16. Application Software Security

Clients might rely on MSPs/MSSPs to manage the security life cycle of all in-house-developed and acquired software. If so, you can guide them in using practices during software development to minimize the introduction of vulnerabilities. Before releasing the software into production, it is crucial to conduct software security testing to identify and fix any vulnerabilities.

17. Incident Response Management

MSPs/MSSPs can support clients in establishing and maintaining an incident response capability that enables a timely and effective response to detected security events. For example, you can provide an incident response plan outlining the necessary actions during a security incident and conduct regular incident response drills to ensure your client’s team is prepared to respond effectively.

18. Penetration Testing

Test the effectiveness of your client’s security controls by simulating attacks against their information systems. Strategies include conducting regular penetration tests to uncover vulnerabilities that other security measures might miss and using the results to enhance security controls and fortify the organization’s overall security posture.

Implement the CIS Controls and More With Cynomi

The threat of cyber attacks is a constant concern for businesses of all sizes. The CIS Critical Security Controls provide a comprehensive framework for organizations to strengthen their defenses and protect their valuable assets. 

Cynomi’s AI-powered vCISO platform continuously analyzes your clients’ cyber profiles against the latest threat intelligence and industry frameworks, such as the CIS Controls, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, and ISO 27001. With Cynomi, MSPs/MSSPs gain the insights and tools needed to stay ahead of the curve. With automated assessments, automatic mapping of controls, customized policies, and actionable recommendations, Cynomi empowers you to deliver comprehensive cybersecurity solutions that drive business growth and instill confidence in your clients.

Book a Demo today to explore how Cynomi can help you deliver compliance assessments in line with standards like CIS and more. 

Predicting cyber attacks is like trying to fish for the first time. You can follow all the best practices recommended by expert fishermen, buy an expensive line, choose the right time of year… and you may still come home empty-handed. 

Risk management is complicated, to say the least. For this reason, 93% of organizations expect to increase cybersecurity spending over the next year, many of whom turn to MSPs/MSSPs to handle their risk. To tackle this, most MSPs/MSSPs will likely use a risk assessment software solution to help streamline and automate the task of monitoring risk, reducing the potential for human error and improving accuracy.

What are risk assessment software solutions?

Risk assessment software encompasses platforms and tools designed to help MSPs and MSSPs provide clients with more efficient and in-depth risk assessment services. The software often follows a typical risk assessment template including components such as:

• Purpose of the assessment
• Scope of the assessment 
• Asset and resource inventory 
• Threat landscape evaluation 
• Likelihood of impact 
• Risk score calculation 
• Prioritization of mitigation efforts 

Traditional and manual risk assessments are time-consuming and are prone to errors. They can put pressure on your existing resources and team. In order to scale your service offerings, you can use risk assessment software to automate many processes, including asset categorization, task prioritization, and reporting. 

Types of Risk Assessment Software Solutions

There are many types of risk assessment software solutions for service providers, and they can be grouped into a few core categories.

• Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) platforms: GRC solutions establish risk assessments and other processes, like policy enforcement, so MSPs/MSSPs can help clients manage risk across the board. 
• vCISO platforms: A virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) platform provides risk assessments as part of built-in strategic leadership and ongoing cybersecurity monitoring features. 
• Risk management software: Risk management software helps MSPs/MSSPs track risk and mitigation measures in one platform. It usually includes risk assessment capabilities plus controls and audits. 

The Value Risk Assessment Software Provides

• Managing the security posture: Risk assessment software helps you accurately and efficiently identify gaps in your clients’ security postures and ensure risk management measures align with current and future threat detection.
• Increase upsells: MSPs/MSSPs use risk assessment recommendations and data to substantiate service upsells to clients. 
• Automation: Traditional risk assessment processes can be time-consuming and require significant resources. Using risk assessment software to automate the process, MSPs/MSSPs can efficiently scale and deliver assessments without needing additional resources. 

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Key Features to Look For in a Risk Assessment Software Solution

• • Covers security and compliance: Most risk assessment software solutions only cover compliance requirements, so ensure you choose one that also includes security features like policy generation. 
  • Task management optimization: The most encompassing solutions will offer visibility overall risk assessment tasks and their impact on the overall security posture, giving you more visibility and enhancing productivity.
  • User-friendly dashboard: An easy-to-use dashboard helps your team clearly present digestible information, such as reports and risk assessment results, to clients, demonstrate the value, and improve communication. 
  • Personalized results: Ideally, the tool will perform the risk assessment in a personalized and dynamic risk assessment way, which is better suited for an ever-evolving risk landscape and attack surface. This innovative feature enables you to continuously and actively identify your clients’ individual security gaps. 

10 Top Risk Assessment Software Solutions 

1. Apptega

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Apptega’s governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) platform automates risk assessment, risk management, and policy creation processes. It also allows you to cross-reference requirements across different frameworks. 

Main features:

• AI-powered recommendations for risk management. 
• Comprehensive community support is available. 
• Centralized dashboard. 

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs new to offering compliance services and require a simple yet effective solution. 

Price:  Three pricing tiers: Starter, Advanced, and Premium.

2. Cynomi

Cynomi is an AI-powered vCISO platform designed to help MSPs/MSSPs provide and demonstrate the value of compliance and security services. Cynomi’s comprehensive risk assessments help differentiate service providers from competitors without developing in-house risk assessment expertise or scaling their existing resources. It includes a built-in customer-facing reporting suite, making showing clients the risk assessment results and progress easy. 

Main features:

• Automatically generates a tailor-made set of security policies based on the risk assessment.
• Provides built-in intuitive and tailored questionnaires for each client. 
• Cynomi’s proprietary AI algorithm creates remediation tasks, analyzes their relevancy and impact, and generates a CISO-like, prioritized task list.

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs looking to scale and elevate their risk assessment service offerings with minimal labor and resource investment.  

Price: By inquiry. 

3. RapidFireTools

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GRC solution RapidFireTools automates compliance assessment and management tasks. You can automate and schedule scans for continuous risk assessments and get handy reports at the click of a button.

Main features:

• Built-in IT security awareness risk assessment training to help users understand risk policy documents. 
• Provides risk remediation guidance. 
• Generates automated risk assessment reports, policies, and procedure manuals. 

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs looking to kill two birds with one stone and offer a risk assessment tool with built-in user education features. 

Price: By inquiry. 

4. Secureframe

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Secureframe is a compliance automation platform that provides step-by-step risk assessment processes. It supports key compliance frameworks, including PCI and SOC 2, required for risk assessments. 

Main features:

• Secureframe Knowledge Base is a built-in knowledge management feature for building in-house compliance expertise. 
• The Comply AI feature automates risk score calculations. 
• AI-powered risk management recommendations. 

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs looking for a balance of risk assessment automation and manual intervention. 

Price: By inquiry. 

5. ConnectWise Identify

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ConnectWise Identify offers a variety of risk assessment options, including risk scans, in-depth assessments, and self-serve assessments. The risk assessments are based on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. 

Main features:

• Uses heat maps to provide a visual representation of vulnerabilities.
• Integrates with other ConnectWise products like PSA. 
• Provides a holistic view of all risk assessments across your entire client base. 

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs who already use ConnectWise products and services. 

Price: By inquiry.  

6. SightGain

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SightGain is a threat exposure management platform that offers automated cybersecurity and risk assessments. It continues to run autonomous assessments in real time. 

Main features:

• Includes cyber risk quantification features to suggest the best security investments per client. 
• Automated and continuous compliance monitoring according to frameworks like ISO 27001.
• Uses real time SOC data for risk assessments and analysis.  

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs looking to continuously monitor clients’ risk posture. 

Price: By inquiry.  

7. RiskWatch Risk Assessment

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The RiskWatch software streamlines the assessment process and uses automated analysis to highlight security gaps. It includes key features like risk scoring and dashboard analytics. 

Main features:

• Suggests workflow optimizations to help your clients pass audits and gain compliance faster. 
• Add or change custom libraries, plus any regulations like PCI DSS.
• Tailor risk assessments to single or multiple frameworks. 

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs looking for a flexible solution that allows you to easily add or remove risk assessment frameworks.  

Price: By inquiry. 

8. Vanta

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Vanta is a compliance platform that automates risk management processes, including risk assessments. It is designed to help MSPs and MSSPs manage risk and tasks related to security and privacy frameworks. 

Main features:

• Analyzes past risk assessment questionnaires to build a knowledge base of your client’s security posture. 
• Auto-generates key documents required for risk assessment and compliance processes, e.g., the ‘System Description’ required by SOC 2.
• Includes a risk scenario library. 

Best for: Vanta is ideal for SaaS businesses or MSP/MSSPs with SaaS clients. 

Price: Three pricing tiers: Core, Collaborate, and Scale. 

9. RiskPal

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RiskPal automates risk assessment workflow to help you create, manage, and retain risk assessments. It is user-friendly and simple to configure, helping MSPs/MSSPs generate risk assessments quickly. 

Main features:

• Provides a library of risk assessment templates and advice. 
• Resilient cloud and application architecture for data security. 
• Option to design and create your own risk assessment templates. 

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs simply looking for a straightforward tool to generate risk assessments without bells and whistles.

Price: Four pricing tiers: Micro (up to ten users), SME (up to fifty users), Corporate (up to 250 users), and Enterprise (custom).

10. SAP Risk Management

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With SAP Risk Management software, you can create risk assessments, monitor clients’ risk levels, and define risk-relevant business activities for your clients. 

Main features:

• On-premise or cloud deployment.
• Set up client-specific organizational risk hierarchies. 
• Includes quantitative risk assessment and qualitative risk analysis features to support risk assessments. 

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs that require more visibility and insight into the context behind risk assessment results. 

Price: By inquiry. 

Overall Recommendation: Cynomi, One Platform For Risk Assessment & Automation 

Risk assessment software is an integral part of any suite of MSP/MSSP services. In a world where your clients cannot totally eliminate risk, you must stay on top of new frameworks, best practices, and innovative tools. 

Yet, creating and performing a risk assessment for each client is time-consuming and requires expertise and resources that your organization may not currently have access to. Cynomi provides everything your organization needs and wants in a risk assessment tool. Most importantly, Cynomi is specific for MSPs/MSSPs, combining all the automation capabilities you need to reach both security and compliance goals with your clients. 

Request a demo today to discover how Cynomi can help MSPs/MSSPs offer high-quality, automated, and effective risk assessment services to your clients. 

It’s no longer a question of if an attack will happen but when. Imagine waking up to find your client’s data locked behind a ransomware paywall or seeing their website is down due to a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. 

What were once worst-case scenarios are now common disasters, so it’s unsurprising that the annual average cost of cybercrime is predicted to hit more than $23 trillion by 2027. As a result, many MSPs and MSSPs are turning to robust incident response tools to support them in detecting, investigating, and responding to security incidents efficiently.

What are incident response tools?

Cybersecurity incident response tools are programs designed to help you identify, assess, and counteract threats. They reduce the time threats remain hidden and mitigate their impact as early as possible. MSPs and MSSPs use incident response tools as part of their MSP software toolkit to rapidly respond to security incidents across multiple clients, improving trust and ensuring security.

Advantages of Using Incident Response Tools

• Rapid Incident Detection: Incident response tools offer real-time monitoring and alerting capabilities, allowing MSPs/MSSPs to detect threats quickly. This early detection is crucial for preventing potential damage and maintaining the trust of your clients.
• Incident Prioritization: The tools can sort events and match severity, allowing better handling of critical issues before they escalate into huge problems. Prioritization is essential even in the early stages of risk assessment and incident forecasting. 
• Streamlined Communication: Incident response tools often include features that facilitate effective communication between the IR team and stakeholders. It ensures everyone is informed about the situation and understands their roles and responsibilities.
• Automation: Automate incident responses to reduce the number of tasks and responses that IT teams need to complete. Hence, you can handle more incidents with the same effort and your current resources. 

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Key Features to Look For in an Incident Response Tool

• Real-time monitoring and alerts enable early threat detection, allowing MSPs/MSSPs to respond quickly and minimize potential damage.
• Incident management and prioritization allocate resources efficiently to highlight the most pressing security concerns.
• Automated response capabilities take care of initial threat and dynamic risk assessments, notification, and mitigation.
• Detailed reporting and analytics, plus comprehensive reporting and analytics features, help MSPs/MSSPs understand the nature and impact of security incidents.
• Integration with other security tools improves operational functionality.

Essential Questions to Ask Before Choosing an Incident Response Tool

• Does the tool integrate with your existing security infrastructure?
• What level of automation does the tool provide for incident detection and response?
• How scalable is the tool to meet your growing needs?
• What type of reporting and analytics capabilities does the tool offer?
• What is the total cost of ownership, including licensing, maintenance, and support?

Top 10 Incident Response Tools

1. Splunk Enterprise Security

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Splunk Enterprise Security is a comprehensive platform designed for security teams to quickly detect, investigate, and respond to advanced threats.

Features

• Real-time monitoring.
• Offers structured workflows and tools for investigations.
• Integrates with external threat intelligence sources to enhance threat detection capabilities.
• Uses machine learning to identify patterns and anomalies indicative of security threats.
• Provides customized dashboards and reports to visualize security posture and incident trends.

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs of all sizes looking for real-time monitoring features.

Pricing: Splunk offers flexible pricing models to suit various business needs.

2. ASGARD Management Center

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ASGARD Management Center is a lightweight endpoint detection and response (EDR) tool designed for threat detection and incident response in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individual users.

Features

• Detects and analyzes malware behavior on endpoints.
• Monitors for indicators of compromise to identify potential security incidents.
• Conducts proactive threat hunting to identify hidden threats.
• Monitors changes in critical system files for suspicious activities.
• Enables remote forensic investigations of endpoints.

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs and individual users looking for a lightweight EDR solution.

Price: Lite products are free, and you can get other products by inquiry.

3. ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer

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ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is an SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) tool for comprehensive incident response management and log analysis.

Features

• Collects and correlates logs from various sources to identify security incidents.
• Monitors events in real-time for immediate threat detection.
• Provides automated incident detection and response capabilities.
• Generates compliance reports to meet regulatory requirements.
• Monitors user activity to detect anomalies and insider threats.

Best for: Suitable for MSPs/MSSPs of all sizes looking for an integrated SIEM solution for incident response and log management.

Price: Offers three pricing plans: Free, Premium, and Distributed.

4. BlackPoint Cyber SNAP-Defense

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BlackPoint Cyber SNAP-Defense is a managed detection and response (MDR) solution that provides proactive cybersecurity protection through real-time threat detection and response capabilities.

Features

• Real-time security monitoring.
• Rapid response to security incidents with automated actions.
• Use behavioral analysis to identify anomalous activities and potential threats.
• Conducts detailed forensic analysis to understand the scope and impact of security incidents.

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs seeking an MDR solution combining automated threat detection and expert-driven incident response capabilities.

Price: By inquiry.

5. Cisco SecureX

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Cisco SecureX is an integrated security platform that provides unified visibility, automation, and orchestration across your clients’ security infrastructure.

Features

• Centralized visibility across network, endpoint, cloud, and applications.
• Automates response workflows and orchestrates security operations.
• Integrates with threat intelligence feeds for enhanced threat detection.
• Enables fast incident investigation and response through automated actions.

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs looking for a centralized dashboard to manage security operations, threat detection, and response capabilities.

Price: By inquiry.

Top 5 Incident Response Services

6. ArcticWolf CyberSOC

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ArcticWolf CyberSOC is a managed detection and response (MDR) service that provides comprehensive cybersecurity protection by combining human expertise with machine intelligence.

Features

• 24/7 monitoring of network traffic and endpoints for threats.
• Real-time detection and response to security incidents.
• Proactive searching and scanning for vulnerabilities and hidden threats.
• Analyzes user and entity behavior to detect anomalies.

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs seeking a managed cybersecurity service that combines human expertise with AI-driven analytics.

Price: By inquiry.

7. Cysiv SOC-as-a-service

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Cysiv SOC-as-a-service is a managed security operations center (SOC) solution that provides continuous threat monitoring, detection, and response capabilities.

Features

• Continuous monitoring of security events and incidents.
• Real-time detection and response to security threats.
• Integration with threat intelligence feeds for enhanced detection capabilities.
• Conducts detailed forensic analysis of security incidents.
• Generates compliance reports based on security events and incidents.

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs looking for 24/7 threat detection and response without an in-house SOC.

Price: By inquiry. 

8. Heimdal XDR

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Heimdal XDR (Extended Detection and Response) is a managed cybersecurity solution that detects and responds to advanced threats across endpoints and networks.

Features

• Monitors and responds to threats in real-time.
• Provides comprehensive EDR capabilities to detect, investigate, and remediate endpoint threats.
• Analyzes network traffic to identify anomalies and potential security breaches.
• Uses automated workflows to streamline the incident response process.
• Uses external threat intelligence to enhance the detection and understanding of new and emerging threats.

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs looking for a managed XDR solution that combines endpoint and network security.

Pricing: By inquiry. 

9. Sophos

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The Sophos incident response service is offered in two forms: a retainer service and a rapid response service. The retainer service provides clients with immediate access to a team of incident response experts, and the rapid response option is designed to monitor threat occurrence. 

Features

• Immediate identification and neutralization of active threats. 
• 24/7 access to a team of security experts. 
• Discounted pricing on fixed-fee incident response services.
• Compatible managed detection and response (MDR) service providing 24/7 monitoring. 
• Remediation guidance. 

Best for: Smaller MSPs/MSSPs looking for a hands-off approach with their IR vendor. With Sophos, you can pay a subscription and not worry about IR for a whole year. 

Pricing: The incident response retainer service is an annual subscription, and other pricing is by inquiry. 

10. Check Point Incident Response

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Check Point Incident Response is a service that helps MSPs/MSSPs respond to cyberattacks. It includes a hotline, forensic analysis, and recommendations to improve security controls.

Features

• 24/7 hotline enables you to contact the team at any time. 
• Continuous forensic system analysis. 
• Extensive documentation and best practices guidance provided. 
• Remediation recommendations offered using real-time data. 
• Custom security controls, including custom signatures, traffic and attack analysis, rule-based protection activations, customized protections, and third-party systems and service provider protection.

Best for: MSPs/MSSPs looking for peace of mind through 24/7 incident response hotline availability. 

Pricing: By inquiry. 

Build Your Incident Response Policy

Each tool discussed above offers unique features to help you detect, respond to, and mitigate security incidents effectively. However, managing incident response can be complex and resource-intensive. MSPs/MSSPs often struggle with high operational costs, scalability constraints, and the need for specialized cybersecurity expertise. This is where Cynomi can make a significant difference.

Cynomi is an automated vCISO platform that combines proprietary AI algorithms with CISO-level knowledge. It provides a built-in incident response policy template to support your incident response, compliance, and security efforts. Our platform performs automated readiness assessments for each of your clients, then creates actionable plans and clear policies with a prioritized task list to help MSPs/MSSPs achieve compliance while tracking client progress. 

Offering incident response as part of your comprehensive set of services is a must for growing and scaling your MSP/MSSP business. Cynomi supports policy creation and provides clear reporting to help you communicate progress to clients and stakeholders, prove value, and generate upsell opportunities.

Discover how Cynomi can enhance your incident response strategies by scheduling a Demo today.

Offering vCISO services is a natural next step for a growing MSP/MSSP. SMBs and SMEs need security counseling and assistance to deal with threats, risks and compliance requirements and vCISO services can answer that need. However, MSPs and MSSPs should also ensure that their vCISO services offering will grow their revenue and profitability as expected and align with their business model. This is where this article can help.

Based on our experience working with hundreds of MSPs and MSSPs, this article provides business guidance to service providers who are offering or planning to offer vCISO services. With the information enclosed, you will be able to optimize your vCISO offering and business model and enhance profitability.

In this article, we detail:

1. The hidden costs of providing vCISO services. This section shows what budget line items MSPs and MSSPs can expect when providing these services.
2. How these costs can be cut, with automation.
   • Through ROI formulas, we demonstrate how many hours can be saved for various vCISO tasks.
   • We also show how automation helps reduce a large number of other costs.

These are all accompanied with real examples and case studies of businesses who’ve used automation to reduce expenses, increase deal size and grow their profitability significantly.

vCISO Services: What MSPs/MSSPs Have to Gain

Adding vCISO services to your MSP/MSSP offering is a strategic move that addresses a critical gap in the cybersecurity landscape. With the growing number of threats and third-party risks, a more demanding regulatory landscape and cyber insurance requirements, companies need cybersecurity guidance. vCISO services provide companies, and especially SMBs and SMEs, with access to top-tier security expertise without the overhead costs associated with hiring a full-time CISO or security team. Therefore, offering vCISO services can significantly help MSPs and MSSPs grow their revenue and enhance profitability.

According to the “State of the Virtual CISO 2024 Report”, 86% of MSPs/MSSPs currently offer or are planning to offer vCISO services by the end of 2024. This shows an understanding of the value vCISOs can bring to service providers. It also means that MSPs and MSSPs that wish to remain competitive, should consider adding vCISO services to their portfolio.

The Cost of Providing vCISO Services

However, simply offering those services on your website is not enough. First and foremost, vCISO services need to be of high-quality. Second, they should also allow you to maintain profitability.

Therefore, it’s important to understand the full spectrum of costs associated with providing high-quality vCISO services. Managing these costs correctly will ensure a sustainable business model. When possible, MSPs and MSSPs need to incorporate tools, methods and practices that cut costs and enhance profitability, while maintaining service quality.

Let’s break down the additional incurred costs of offering vCISO services:

• Salaries and Benefits for vCISO Professionals and Team – When offering vCISO services, you’ll need to make sure your team is made up of professionals that can deliver those services in a high-quality manner. vCISO professionals are highly skilled experts and the talent pool is small. Therefore, they often demand competitive compensation packages. Additionally, their teams often include other cybersecurity specialists, who are essential for comprehensive service delivery, but whose expertise is also costly.
• Training to Keep vCISO Team Up-to-Date – The cybersecurity and compliance field is fast-evolving, with new threats, risks, technologies, practices and frameworks. This necessitates continuous education for the vCISO team to remain relevant for your clients. This involves costs for certifications, workshops and other training programs, as well as the cost of their time spent on these training sessions.
• Tools and Technologies – Effective vCISO service delivery relies on advanced cybersecurity tools and technologies for risk assessment, security planning, policy creation, reporting and more. These tools require investing in licensing and subscriptions. Therefore, it’s important to choose tools that can deliver ROI on their price tag.
• Administrative and Operational Expenses – Growing your team and line of business requires office space or reimbursement for remote employees’ office needs, utilities, insurance, operational support and more. These are necessary to enable the vCISO team to focus on their job – providing security services. This section also includes the costs of hiring the vCISO team and making sure there’s little to no churn.
• Time Spent on Manual Tasks – Manual tasks, if not efficiently managed or automated, can lead to significant time (and thus financial) losses. This is even more accentuated when it comes to repetitive and low-value tasks. The vCISO and team will spend hours upon hours executing tasks, gobbling up their time and leaving them unavailable for strategic projects or those that can bring higher value.

According to “State of the Virtual CISO 2024 Report”, vCISOs have to carry out quite a number of time consuming manual tasks. For example, creating security policies takes 14.3 hours. Generating a security report manually takes 14 hours. Conducting a risk assessment takes 13.9 hours.

You can see more examples in the graph below:

Source: “State of the Virtual CISO 2023 Report”

• Marketing and Upselling vCISO Services – Creating awareness and driving demand for your new vCISO services requires marketing and selling efforts. These might include campaigns, a new website, promotional materials, sales calls, sales commissions and more.
• Onboarding Your Team to New vCISO Services – To enable scalability and redundancy, ideally there should be multiple members of your team who can deliver vCISO services and capabilities. First, this requires defining the service and its deliverables and setting up standardized processes. Then, the team needs to be trained on these methods, and management needs to supervise deliverables, at least at the start.

The ROI of an Automated vCISO Platform

As mentioned, offering vCISO services can significantly enhance profitability. But the amount of revenue and the amount of resources and work you’ll need to invest depend on your vCISO approach. Specifically, whether you choose to work manually or implement smart tools that introduce automation and AI to make your work more efficient and your processes more productive.

A vCISO platform is a solution that leverages automation and AI to simulate the expertise and decision-making capabilities of a human CISO. The core objective is to provide MSPs and MSSPs with the ability to deliver continuous, scalable and cost-effective cybersecurity leadership and guidance to their clients. Functionalities might include: guided and standardized risk assessments, automated policy creation, security plan management, security and compliance posture status and reports and more.

The main advantage of an automated vCISO platform is the ability to reduce the time spent on manual tasks that could be automated. This enables the MSP/MSSPs to cut down on the resources they spend and divert their existing resources to more profitable avenues.

Let’s calculate the advantages of automating. We’ll check out one of the most valuable and scarce resources any service provider has: work hours.

For example, generating a security report with Cynomi, an automated vCISO platform, takes 20 minutes. That’s 0.3 hours.

Manually, the exact same action takes 14.3 hours (based on the survey mentioned before). That means the gain is 14 hours (14.3 – 0.3).

Onboarding to Cynomi, i.e the cost of investment, is 1 hour. (Of course, if you use Cynomi for more than one activity that 1 hour onboarding divides itself, but for simplicity let’s use 1 hour).

14-1/1=13

The ROI is 13 hours, just for one security report. That’s approximately a day and a half of work and that’s if you only use Cynomi for one security report throughout the entire year.

Let’s take another example: risk assessment. With Cynomi, the process takes 2-4 hours. Let’s use 3 for simplicity. According to the survey, manually the process takes 13.9 hours.

((13.9-3)-1)/1=9.9 hours

The ROI for a risk assessment is nearly 10 hours of work saved for each risk assessment.

Additional examples:

• Building a remediation plan with an automated vCISO platform takes 4 hours. Manually it takes 14.7 according to the report. The ROI is 9.7 hours.
• For creating security policies, the ROI is 11.3 hours (14.3 hours manually based on the report, 2 hours with Cynomi).
• For onboarding new vCISO team members, the ROI is 3 months(!).

These are just a few examples, but the ROI can be easily calculated for any activity. Reach out for specific inquiries.

(If you don’t have Cynomi, you can replace the numbers with the time it takes to carry out activities with your own automation solutions).

How a vCISO Platform Reduces Costs and Enhances Profitability

In addition to the ROI of hours saved, which can be easily calculated based on the formula above, an automated vCISO platform helps reduce many of the other costs we delineated.

Here’s a detailed table:

Conclusion

Embracing automation is a game changer for MSPs and MSSP. Automation improves operational efficiency and significantly improves the quality of service, enabling service providers to deliver advanced cybersecurity services at a fraction of the cost and time. By automating labor-intensive tasks, MSPs and MSSPs can reallocate their precious resources towards strategic initiatives that drive growth, enhance client satisfaction and solidify their competitive standing.

As the demand for sophisticated and cost-effective cybersecurity service continues to grow, the adoption of automated vCISO platforms allows MSPs and MSSPs to grow their revenue and profitability, while ensuring clients receive unparalleled expertise and support. This makes automation an essential part of any MSP/MSSP business strategy.

Learn more about automated vCISO platforms here.