Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

In December, many managed service providers (MSPs) took the opportunity to review their strategies and reassess priorities, while the end of the year encourages a closer look at how the market is evolving. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) remain very strong in the MSP sector. According to a Drake Star report, 107 transactions were recorded in the United States in Q1 2025, with a disclosed total value of more than 1 trillion dollars.

Staying ahead of cyber threats has never been more critical, and WatchGuard is here to help you do just that. Join cybersecurity experts Corey Nachreiner (CSO) and Marc Laliberte (Director of Security Operations) on February 19, 2026 for the Inside the Threat Landscape: Biannual Cybersecurity Briefing, a must-attend, live webinar designed to equip you with the latest threat insights and defensive strategies straight from the WatchGuard Threat Lab.

The evolution of cyber threats is rendering many traditional firewalls obsolete as they are no longer capable of delivering the visibility and protection required in today’s environments. According to WatchGuard's Internet Security Report, network detected malware increased by 15% in the second quarter of 2025, a clear sign that legacy perimeter security solutions are no longer sufficient. Despite this reality, many companies continue to rely on outdated firewalls and hardware.

Once upon a time, the managed VPN (mVPN) was the hero of remote work. Employees worked from the office, servers lived in cupboards, and if you could gain access to the network, you were trusted. Fast forward to today, and that hero has not aged well. Hybrid work is permanent. Cloud apps rule. Attackers are smarter, faster, and annoyingly persistent. SMB IT teams are expected to hold it all together with limited time, limited budget, and zero tolerance for downtime.

Data privacy used to be the realm of hospitals, banks, and fervent devotees of the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution. Something we knew we wanted but conceptually assumed wouldn’t affect most people. Our dependence on the Internet for almost all aspects of daily life has changed that. In 2026, data privacy and cybersecurity are deeply intertwined. Protecting sensitive information isn’t just about stopping hackers.

For years, the prevailing myth among small and midsize businesses (SMBs) was that they were too small to be a target. That myth has been definitively shattered. The reality is sobering: SMBs now account for a disproportionate share of cyber incidents and data exposure. In fact, research cited in the Guardz 2025 SMB Cybersecurity Report found that 43% of U.S. SMBs have experienced a cyberattack, including 27% hit within the past year.

Data privacy in the workplace is not just compliance. It is how an organization protects employees, builds trust, and reduces business risk. Employees handle most workplace data, which makes them a major target for AI-powered threats like deepfakes and business email compromise (BEC). The best way to protect data is a mix of practical employee habits, realistic training, and strong controls like least privilege access, MFA, monitoring, and email authentication.

Guest post by WatchGuard Tech All-Star, Marko Bauer It's Monday morning, 7:30 AM. Your employees arrive at the office and can't log in. Systems are dead. Your phone rings. IT reports: Ransomware. All data encrypted. Then the email: €500,000 ransom. In 48 hours, the attackers will begin publishing customer data, contracts, and internal documents on the dark web. The first dump is already online, as “proof.” Your company is paralyzed. Production can't work. Sales has no access to orders.

Guest post by WatchGuard Tech All-Star, Michael Carter II At a glance: The trend is hard to ignore: most attackers do not “break in” anymore; they sign in using stolen or abused identities, not by bypassing a next-gen firewall, your EDR, or those fancy email and collaboration tool defenses. If an unauthorized identity can export it, you have not protected it, no matter how many controls you have in place.

In cybersecurity, incidents test more than just technical resilience ‒ they also test trust. As a managed service provider (MSP), the preventive measures you implement are critical. However, the strength of your support during your clients’ most critical times is what truly defines the trust they have in you. A cybersecurity incident may be precisely the moment when your client evaluates whether you are delivering on your promises as a quality partner for their business.