As cyberthreats continue to get more invasive and damaging, managed service providers (MSPs) and their clients are searching for better ways to protect and defend against them. One of the most effective and popular solutions in the market today is extended detection and response (XDR).
To get a better understanding of the benefits of managed XDR and how it can defuse specific cyberattacks, SmarterMSP reached out to Aidan Kehoe, former CEO and Founder of SKOUT Cybersecurity, and now SVP, MSP Managed XDR. Aidan offered his expertise into why MSPs should look to add Barracuda XDR, its value in a cybersecurity solution stack, and how it positively impacts MSP business growth overall.
What is managed XDR?
Extended detection and response (XDR) refers to a security threat detection and incident response tool that can integrate multiple cybersecurity solutions and services to track and remediate threats. MSPs can build out their own XDR service to offer SMB clients, but many instead opt to partner with a vendor who can manage, staff, and operate the XDR for them under the MSP’s branding — This is Managed XDR.
Managed XDR limits the workload and staffing burden of an MSP with externally operated SOC, NOC, and Help Desk services. By choosing a managed XDR, MSPs won’t have to dedicate finances, time, and other resources to identifying, hiring, educating, and training cybersecurity staff, which are hard to come by to begin with.
Cybersecurity and business headaches that Managed XDR cures
Speaking to how Barracuda XDR offering addresses and eliminates the risks posed by cyberthreats, Aidan identifies phishing, ransomware, business email compromise, among other constantly evolving cyberthreats, as particular pain points that Barracuda XDR can resolve. With its proactive threat detection, analysis, and response, Barracuda XDR enables quick responses to these cyberattacks and less time spent by the MSP on remediation activities.
Barracuda XDR services provide a more well-rounded cybersecurity defense to safeguard clients from all cyberthreats and better enables organizations to meet industry-specific legal and compliance regulations. Barracuda’s offering provides access to experienced security professionals, which addresses any skills shortage and staffing challenges that MSPs face when trying to build out their cybersecurity portfolio
Finding the right solution for an MSP’s security stack
All MSPs need to make the journey to become security-centric, and Barracuda XDR fully integrates with other cybersecurity solutions and services already implemented to form a well-rounded cybersecurity defense. Barracuda XDR offering integrates with common identity, endpoint, Microsoft 365 solutions, and PSA and ticketing systems to eliminate as many vulnerabilities as possible. MSP partners can also connect their email, network, and application security, as well as their RMM tool to the Barracuda XDR platform.
On top of these integrations, Barracuda XDR offering filters cybersecurity events to identify alerts that matter most and take highest priority to ensure they are addressed. With these alerts and its fully staffed SOC service, Barracuda XDR is able to react quickly and keep downtime to a minimum for the affected client organizations.
Aidan states, “When I started at SKOUT, I wanted to do something where I could help the most people by protecting them from cyber-attacks. Part of the reason I started working with MSPs was because I truly believe they are the best way to achieve that.”
“Now that SKOUT has joined the Barracuda family, I’m even more excited because Barracuda brings a scale so much larger than ever before. I am most excited about being able to have a bigger reach, work with more MSP partners, and help more people.”
Photo: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock
