Cybersecurity took center stage at this year’s MSSP Alert Live event at MGM National Harbor in Maryland. MSSPs, MSPs, and cybersecurity leaders from across the industry gathered to network and dig into the latest strategies, technologies, and business opportunities shaping the year ahead.
The two-day event offered insight into several defining trends, including:
- Artificial Intelligence: How service providers are using AI for incident response, threat analysis, and crisis communications.
- Cybersecurity Talent Shortages: New approaches to maximizing existing teams and closing skills gaps.
- Cybersecurity Liability: What happens when a breached customer sues, and how providers can protect their businesses.
- Cyber Insurance: How the market is changing and what MSPs and MSSPs must understand heading into 2026.
The energy was as strong in the hallways as it was on the main stage. Attendees said that the industry needs more education, collaboration, and practical tools to counter increasingly sophisticated threats.
A Packed, Productive Agenda
From left: Kris Tanaka, vice president, event programming, CyberRisk Alliance; Jeff Hill, global senior director Americas service providers and MSSP, Stellar Cyber; Michael Siggins, ChannelPro founder and publisher; Greg Lewis, vice president sales North America, Stellar Cyber; Sharon Florentine, editorial director, channel brands, CyberRisk Alliance
A strategic opening session set the tone, underscoring how quickly markets like MDR, threat intelligence, cloud security, and identity protection are expanding. At the same time, the gap between “basic security” and “effective security” is widening, leaving MSPs and MSSPs opportunity to close it. They’re the ones translating complex risk into workable strategies, unifying an often-confusing tool landscape, and building the trust small and midsize businesses rely on.
The agenda spanned multiple content tracks, including:
- Threat detection and response
- Identity and access management
- The growing influence of AI
- How the growing complexity in compliance and regulatory services equates to potential revenue
Honoring Top MSSPs
On Dec. 9, the MSSP Alert Live team debuted the annual MSSP 250 list, recognizing the industry’s top-performing and fastest-growing managed security service providers. It’s always a highlight, and early conversations suggested that this year’s rankings reflect meaningful shifts in the market.
MSSP Alert Live is a sister brand of ChannelPro and part of the CyberRisk Alliance. Learn more about upcoming ChannelPro events here.
Images: Michael Siggins/The ChannelPro Network
