The first day of fall, or the autumnal equinox, isn’t until September 22, but with kids back to school, college football in week 3, the NFL in week 2, and pumpkin spice latte back on the menu at Starbucks, it sure feels like the “fall season” has started (even though those of you down south are still sweltering).

And while the seasons may change, one thing stays constant: The channel never stands, with vendors continually driving innovation and growth across the ecosystem. This week’s news ranges from a free RMM tool and a passwordless authentication program to new integrations, partnerships, and leadership appointments. We’ve also info on a new consortium tackling AI interoperability standards and fresh research on how schools are faring against ransomware.

So grab your pumpkin spice latte or apple cider and dig in to the stories making headlines.

Happy reading!

Products & Solutions

MSP360 Launches Free RMM Solution

MSP360 (formerly CloudBerry Lab), a provider of backup and IT management solutions for MSPs and IT departments, announced MSP360 RMM Community Edition, a free solution designed for early-stage MSPs.

The solution includes system health monitoring, software deployment, patch management, remote access, and alerting—all immediately available across Windows, Mac, and Linux devices without restrictions. 

MSP360 RMM Community Edition also enables MSPs to add an unlimited number of administrators up to 50 endpoints for as long as needed. When MSPs exceed the 50-endpoint threshold, they can upgrade to a paid tier with pricing scaled to match their growing business requirements.

MSP360 Community Edition is available now.

Barracuda Managed XDR Adds Automated Threat Response for Microsoft and Google

Barracuda launched Barracuda Managed XDR’s automated threat response for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Google Workspace.

Now, with the addition of automated threat response as a new layer of protection for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint users, when a high-risk threat is detected on a Defender-protected device, Barracuda’s XDR can be configured to Isolate the impacted host(s) from the network, send a high-severity alert, follow up the alert immediately with a phone call from Barracuda’s SOC, and restore connectivity once the threat is cleared.

For organizations using Google Workspace and its suite of SaaS products—Gmail, Drive, Meet, Chat—Barracuda XDR Cloud Security now monitors the entire tenant. If a cloud account is compromised, the XDR solution can be configured to log out the user, disable the account, alert the SOC and customer IT team

These extended capabilities build on Barracuda’s existing automated threat response integrations with Microsoft 365, Azure, SentinelOne, and other platforms. Barracuda’s roadmap includes automated threat response coming soon for additional platforms.

Partner Programs

Secret Double Octopus Launches ZeroPassword MSP Program

Secret Double Octopus (SDO), a passwordless authentication vendor, launched its ZeroPassword MSP Program to help MSPs and MSSPs eliminate passwords across every application, system, and login for their clients.

According to SCO, the ZeroPassword MSP Program extends beyond traditional MFA, covering SaaS apps, legacy systems, on-prem environments, and even remote network access from shared accounts. With simple deployment and seamless integration into existing identity stacks, MSPs can eliminate password resets, reduce helpdesk costs, and deliver stronger security for their clients, SDO says.

The program includes MSP-focused training and support, with certification tracks for sales, support, admin, and implementation. SDO says the licensing models are flexible and designed for MSP businesses.

“Passwords remain the single most exploited vulnerability in cyberattacks. By removing them entirely, MSPs can offer unmatched security and user experience to their clients,” said Mike Llerandi, channel manager at Secret Double Octopus, in a press statement. “Our ZeroPassword MSP Program was built from the ground up for managed service providers, so they can differentiate, scale, and protect their customers with confidence.”

The ZeroPassword MSP Program is available now.

Partnerships & Integrations

Syncro Marketplace Now Includes ThreatDown

Syncro, an IT management platform for MSPs and IT teams, announced a new partnership with ThreatDown, the corporate business unit of Malwarebytes.

Through the integration, MSPs can now purchase ThreatDown solutions directly through the Syncro Marketplace, provision them instantly for clients, and consolidate charges through Syncro’s Universal Billing model.

“Empowering the channel is truly at the heart of everything we do,” said Kendra Krause, general manager at ThreatDown, in a press statement. “Our partnership with Syncro reflects our channel-first commitment, providing MSPs with scalable cybersecurity solutions and the resources they need to confidently protect their clients.”

“MSPs want enterprise-level security, but without enterprise-level complexity,” said Andy Cormier, channel chief of Syncro, in a press statement. “We partnered with ThreatDown for exactly that: proven protection that’s turnkey to operationalize, with a clear path to managed detection and response when MSPs want ThreatDown’s security experts managing client environments. Whether they want to stay hands-on or step up to MDR, Syncro’s Universal Billing is zero touch. Every license is auto-mapped and auto-invoiced to the right customer, with no spreadsheets, no portal hopping, and no month-end reconciliation.”

The ThreatDown product portfolio is available now for all Syncro Marketplace users.

Securonix and Cipher Join Forces

SIEM provider Securonix announced a strategic partnership with Cipher, a managed security services and MDR provider. The collaboration unites Cipher’s SOC capabilities with the Securonix Unified Defense SIEM, giving channel partners a turnkey solution to expand their security portfolios.

The integrated offering is powered by the Securonix Unified Defense SIEM, which brings together cloud-native architecture, open integrations, 365 days of searchable data, and agentic AI. Channel partners can now offer their customers advanced insider threat detection, behavioral analytics, and automated response—all managed through Cipher’s MDR service delivery model.

“This partnership with Securonix enables us to arm partners with future-ready protection backed by real AI and real expertise,” said Tom Smith, CEO of Cipher North America, in a press statement. “Together, we’re enabling faster wins, deeper visibility, and stronger customer outcomes in today’s evolving threat landscape.”

Standards / Industry

N-able Launches Cat-MIP, a Vendor-Agnostic Collaboration for AI Interoperability

N-able, an IT management and data protection platform, introduced the Consortium for AI Terminology for MSPs & IT Pros (Cat-MIP). The intent is to standardize and document terminology for seamless AI automation and MCP Server behaviors across MSP and IT ecosystems.

The Cat-MIP Standards Board—comprising HaloPSA, Auvik Networks, SecurityBiaS, and ScalePad—is developing a vendor-neutral dictionary that enables seamless AI integration across the IT ecosystem. Allowing AI agents to interpret and act on commands with precision, regardless of the underlying platform, this lightweight, interoperable dictionary standardizes language and maps synonyms across systems. For example, when an AI agent receives a request like “restart all my devices,” Cat-MIP reduces misinterpretation and ensures it executes the command correctly across diverse vendor environments.

“Defining terminology is the base step for any standards initiative, similar to understanding your assets prior to assessing risk,” said Kathleen Moriarty, CEO at SecurityBiaS, in a press statement. “This initial step aids in forming a foundation to secure and manage AI interactions between and across organizations and vendors, a critical step towards interoperability.”

“Cat-MIP is the semantic backbone of the N-able Ecoverse as it provides the common language and structure that makes collaboration intelligent, secure, and scalable. At its core, Cat-MIP is about making AI more accurate and trustworthy,” said Nicole Reineke, senior distinguished product manager at N-able, in a press statement. “When AI misinterprets commands, the consequences can be costly, or even dangerous from a cybersecurity standpoint. Cat-MIP works to increase precision, so organizations can trust AI actions and protect their systems with confidence. Efficiency, accuracy, and resilience are no longer optional, they’re business critical.”

M&A – Vendors

SentinelOne to Acquire Observo AI 

SentinelOne announced its intent to acquire Observo AI, a data streaming platform for AI-native telemetry pipeline management. The deal will serve as a complement to SentinelOne’s AI SIEM and data offerings.

Observo delivers an AI-native, real-time telemetry pipeline that ingests, enriches, summarizes, and routes data across the organization—before it ever reaches a SIEM or data lake. Observo AI will enhance that foundation with an intelligent, policy-driven data pipeline optimized for real-time enrichment, filtering, and routing, before data ever reaches storage or analytics layers.

The result, according to the companies, is an end-to-end architecture that ingests data from anywhere, makes it smarter in transit, and stores it with full fidelity. This foundation is intended to unlock the next frontier of security: agentic AI workflows, where autonomous agents leverage enriched, real-time data to detect, decide, and respond with human-level reasoning at machine speed, according to the company.

People

Kaseya appointed Anthony Anzevino as chief revenue officer and Pratik Wadher as chief technology officer, effective immediately. Anzevino previously led large sales organizations at Commvault, Veeam, and AWS, and Wadher has held senior executive roles at Intuit, Applatix, and Data Domain … Michelle Ragusa-McBainhas joined Red Access as senior channel advisor. Ragusa-McBain was most recently channel chief at SonicWall and prior to that she was MSP channel chief at Cisco … Synthreo today announced the appointment of Callen Sapien as CEO. Sapien previously ran strategy at ConnectWise and Refactr (prior to its acquisition by Sophos) and most recently served as CPTO of Liongard.

By the Numbers

Cybersecurity in Schools: Improving Their Grades, But Still Failing Some Subjects

Primary and secondary institutions, long seen by cybercriminals as “soft targets,” have made progress in limiting the impact of ransomware, but serious gaps remain, according to new research from Sophos.

First the progress. The fifth annual Sophos State of Ransomware in Education report finds that the education sector made fewer ransom payments, dramatically reduced costs, and had faster recovery rates.

In addition, when it comes to blocking attacks before files can be encrypted, both lower and higher education institutions reported their highest success rate in four years (67% and 38% of attacks, respectively).

Now the less-than-good news. The study finds that 64% of victims reported missing or ineffective protection solutions; 66% cited a lack of people (either expertise or capacity) to stop attacks; and 67% admitted to having security gaps.

Some of those gaps include:

• AI-powered threats: Lower education institutions reported that 22% of ransomware attacks had origins in phishing. With AI enabling more convincing emails, voice scams, and even deepfakes, schools risk becoming test grounds for emerging tactics.
• High-value data: Higher education institutions, custodians of AI research and large language model datasets, remain a prime target, with exploited vulnerabilities (35%) and security gaps the provider was not aware of (45%) as leading weaknesses that were exploited by adversaries.
• Human toll: Every institution with encrypted data reported impacts on IT staff. Over one in four staff members took leave after an attack, nearly 40% reported heightened stress, and more than one-third felt guilt they could not prevent the breach.

The report includes some recommendations to address these gaps that MSPs can discuss with their education clients, such as focusing on prevention, developing a robust incident response plan, and exploring new avenues of funding such as such as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate subsidies.