Call it the ultimate imitation game. Armed with fake bait, MSPs could soon help their customers to avoid real phishing attacks. At least that's the theory from Sophos.
The strategy involves Sophos Phish Threat, an "advanced phishing attack simulator and training solution." Armed with the simulator, MSPs can launch fake attacks against their customers -- and ultimately train those customers to avoid real attacks.
Sophos acquired the technology last year from Silent Break Security, a penetration test and risk assessment consultancy. Four platform experts joined Sophos as part of that technology acquisition.
From there, Sophos quietly integrated the technology into Sophos Central, a multi-tenant dashboard for MSPs. The dashboard includes predefined attack simulations that MSPs can launch against their customers, according to Scott Barlow, VP of global MSP at Sophos.
Mitigating Phishing, Ransomware
No doubt, phishing feels like an age-old problem that nobody has gotten around to solving. But the risks are real -- and they're escalating. A case in point: Most ransomware payloads are delivered via Phishing, Barlow notes.
Sophos Phish Threat helps MSPs to mitigate the ransomware threat through simulated attacks and associated analytics. Indeed, the analytics allow MSPs to track which customers/end users fall for the simulated attacks. Then, educational materials help customers to recognize and avoid future attacks -- regardless of whether they're real or simulated.
Phish Threat is part of the broader Sophos Security Heartbeat strategy -- which synchronizes security from endpoints to network firewalls and more. Not by coincidence, Sophos Central gives partners a single, integrated screen from which to manage that security heartbeat --both in terms of the technology and customer licenses.
Sophos Phish Threat is available immediately in North America. Partners that log into Sophos Central can leverage the anti-phishing capabilities immediately. Check in with your Sophos rep for pricing information and international rollout plans.
