When phishing emails flood inboxes and ransomware lurks behind a single errant click, businesses face a sobering reality: their employees are often the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain. As a seasoned cybersecurity expert, I’ve watched the threat landscape evolve from rudimentary viruses to sophisticated, AI-driven attacks that exploit human error with surgical precision. The Verizon 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report underscores this vulnerability, noting that 68% of breaches involve a human element—whether it’s falling for a phishing scam or misconfiguring a system. For companies, this statistic isn’t just a warning; it’s a call to action. Increasingly, businesses—especially small to mid-sized enterprises—are turning to Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to deliver employee cybersecurity training, a shift that reflects both necessity and pragmatism in an era of escalating cyber risks.
The Rising Tide of Cyber Threats
Let’s set the stage. Cyberattacks aren’t slowing down; they’re accelerating. The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024 pegs the average global cost of a breach at $4.88 million, a 10% jump from the previous year, driven largely by business disruption and remediation efforts. Meanwhile, generative AI has supercharged attackers’ arsenals, enabling them to craft hyper-personalized phishing emails or deepfake voicemails that trick even the savviest users. For engineering firms, healthcare providers, or any business handling sensitive data, the stakes are even higher—think intellectual property theft or regulatory fines from breaches of HIPAA or GDPR.
Employees, though, aren’t the villains here. They’re the front line, often unwittingly so. A distracted engineer might click a malicious link disguised as a project update; an overworked admin might reuse a password across systems. Traditional defenses—firewalls, endpoint protection—can’t stop these human-driven breaches alone. That’s where training comes in, transforming staff into a “human firewall.” But building an effective, up-to-date training program in-house is a tall order for most companies, especially those without a dedicated IT staff. Enter MSPs.
Why MSPs? The Case for Outsourcing Cybersecurity Training
Managed Service Providers have long been the go-to for outsourced IT support—handling servers, networks, and cloud migrations. But their role has evolved. Today, MSPs are stepping up as cybersecurity educators, offering tailored training programs that go beyond generic slideshows. Why are businesses leaning on them? Three reasons stand out: expertise, efficiency, and adaptability.
First, expertise. MSPs live and breathe cybersecurity. They’re not just patching systems; they’re tracking threat intelligence, analyzing attack vectors, and staying ahead of trends—like the spike in election-season phishing or the rise of AI-generated scams. In-house IT teams, often stretched thin, rarely have the bandwidth to match this depth. An MSP can deploy training that’s grounded in real-world threats, from simulated phishing campaigns to lessons on spotting social engineering tactics. For a 50-person engineering firm, this means engineers learn to recognize a spoofed email about a CAD file update—not just a vague “don’t click bad links” warning.
Second, efficiency. Developing a training program from scratch is resource-intensive—time, money, and personnel most small businesses don’t have. MSPs deliver turnkey solutions: pre-built modules, phishing simulations, and progress tracking, all managed externally. This frees up internal teams to focus on core operations—designing bridges, not debugging training platforms. A study by Cybersecurity Ventures projects the security awareness training market to hit $10 billion by 2027, up from $5.6 billion in 2023, reflecting the growing demand for these outsourced services.
Third, adaptability. Cyber threats don’t stand still, and neither can training. MSPs update content dynamically—think new modules on deepfake awareness or zero-day exploit risks—without businesses lifting a finger. This is critical in industries like engineering, where remote work and collaboration tools (e.g., BIM 360) introduce fresh vulnerabilities. An MSP can pivot training to address these shifts, ensuring employees stay sharp as the threat landscape morphs.
The MSP Advantage in Action
Consider a mid-sized manufacturing firm with 75 employees. Their legacy IT setup—two overworked techs and an aging server—can barely keep the lights on, let alone train staff on cybersecurity. Last year, a phishing email posing as a supplier invoice slipped through, costing them $50,000 in ransomware recovery. Post-incident, they turned to an MSP. Within weeks, the MSP rolled out a program: monthly video lessons on password hygiene, quarterly phishing tests, and real-time coaching for “clickers.” Six months later, phishing susceptibility dropped 70%, and the firm avoided a second breach. This isn’t hypothetical—it’s a pattern I’ve seen across industries.
MSPs also bring scalability. A 20-person startup and a 200-person consultancy have different needs, but an MSP can tailor training to fit. For smaller firms, it’s basic awareness—spotting scams, securing devices. For larger ones, it’s advanced topics like insider threat detection or compliance with NIST standards. This flexibility is gold for businesses that can’t afford bespoke in-house programs.
A Voice from the Field
Charles Swihart, founder of Preactive IT Solutions, captures the essence of this trend succinctly: “Engineering firms can’t afford downtime or guesswork. IT support has to know the tools—Revit included—as well as the engineers do, and that extends to training employees to spot threats before they strike.” Swihart’s point hits home. MSPs don’t just train; they align training with industry-specific workflows, making it relevant and actionable. For an engineering team, that might mean drills on securing cloud-based design files or recognizing phishing disguised as project updates—skills generic IT crews can’t teach.
Beyond Compliance: Building a Security Culture
Training via MSPs isn’t just about compliance checkboxes—it’s about culture. The old “once-a-year lunch-and-learn” model is dead. Modern MSP-led programs aim to change behavior, not just impart knowledge. Take Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training, for example. It uses story-driven episodes—think animated hacker characters like “DeeDee”—to make lessons stick, paired with phishing simulations based on current threats. Employees don’t just memorize rules; they internalize instincts. Kron from KnowBe4 nails it: “Changing behavior should be the focus of an awareness program.” MSPs make this scalable, delivering consistent, engaging content without draining internal resources.
This shift also sidesteps a common pitfall: overburdened HR departments. Historically detached from cybersecurity, HR now often shoulders training duties—a role they’re ill-equipped for amid hiring and retention challenges. MSPs lighten that load, letting HR focus on people, not passwords.
Challenges and Considerations
It’s not all smooth sailing. Outsourcing training raises questions of cost—MSP services aren’t cheap, though they often beat the expense of a breach. There’s also the risk of over-reliance; businesses must still foster accountability internally. And not all MSPs are equal—choosing one without AEC expertise, for instance, could mean generic training that misses the mark for engineering firms. Vetting providers for industry alignment and proven outcomes is key.
The Future of MSP-Driven Training
Looking ahead, MSPs will likely lean harder into AI and analytics—think personalized training paths based on employee risk profiles or real-time threat feeds shaping content. As remote work persists and tools like Microsoft 365 dominate, training will zero in on cloud security and collaboration risks. Businesses that embrace this trend won’t just survive cyber threats—they’ll thrive despite them.
Closing Thoughts
The pivot to MSPs for cybersecurity training reflects a broader truth: in a world where humans are the soft target, education is the sharpest defense. Businesses—especially lean engineering firms—can’t afford to go it alone. MSPs bring the expertise, efficiency, and agility needed to turn employees from liabilities into assets. The data’s clear, the threats are real, and the solution’s here. It’s time to train smarter, not harder.
Leave a Comment