The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) recently published guidance for SMEs on selecting and working with MSPs. With cyber threats escalating and attackers increasingly targeting service providers, this guidance is critical for MSPs to strengthen controls, demonstrate accountability, and protect their clients.
At the same time, government and regulatory pressure is rising. A Ministerial letter published in November encourages small businesses to adopt tools like the Cyber Action Toolkit or Cyber Essentials, while medium and large MSPs classified as “Relevant Managed Service Providers” under the NIS Regulations must implement risk management measures, report incidents, and register with regulators.
In this blog, we explore what MSPs need to take away from the NCSC guidance and regulatory context, and why alignment with national cybersecurity standards is essential for compliance, client trust, and business resilience.
The MSP responsibility shift
As you know, the cyber threat landscape has evolved. Breaches are no longer localised; they are systemic and attackers increasingly aim to hit multiple organisations at once through a single compromised source. With MSPs being central to many customers’ IT environments, it makes them ideal targets.
Threat actors know that compromising one MSP can provide access to dozens, even hundreds of end clients. This puts pressure on MSPs and means it’s crucial to ensure they have the right measures in place while also proving their security posture through transparent practices.
Clear expectations
With threats escalating and regulatory pressure rising, SMEs now have clearer criteria for selecting MSPs with the NCSC guidance outlining what to look for. MSPs must respond by strengthening their own defences, improving supply chain assurance, and demonstrating accountability.
SMEs are encouraged to choose MSPs with recognised security certifications such as Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001, or SOC 2, which signal a commitment to best practice. MSPs should also maintain transparency in communication, incident handling, and contractual clarity to build and maintain trust.
By meeting these expectations, MSPs not only reduce operational risk but also position themselves as reliable, future-ready partners in a landscape where security maturity and regulatory compliance are increasingly critical.
What SMEs are looking for in an MSP …
MSPs need to be combining technical safeguards, clear processes, and accountability to deliver real value to SMEs.
Here’s what this looks like in practice:
- Cybersecurity controls & hygiene: Implementing MFA, access controls, patching, backups, network segmentation, and monitoring.
- Service Definitions & SLAs: Clearly define services, responsibilities, incident response, data ownership, and logging.
- Transparency & accountability: Provide reporting, audit trails, and clear communication channels.
- Vendor & supply-chain management: Vet and monitor third-party access.
- Incident response & recovery: Maintain tested response plans and backup restoration procedures.
- Ongoing risk & lifecycle management: Regularly review systems, patching, vendor access, and plan upgrades or decommission legacy systems.
- Evidence of compliance: Provide certifications, policies, audit logs, and references where necessary.
How NCSC alignment strengthens MSP credibility
Aligning with NCSC guidance is not just good security practice, it will reinforce confidence in the services MSPs deliver, through:
- Assurance during reviews and onboarding
- Easier collaboration with regulated or sensitive sectors
- Transparent risk reporting
- Alignment with recognised standards (Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001, SOC 2)
- Lifecycle and exit planning
In a landscape of escalating cyber threats, proactive security maturity is the foundation for trusted partnerships and not just meeting a compliance checkbox.
What the NIS Regulations mean for MSPs
Alongside NCSC guidance, the UK Cyber Security and Resilience (NIS) Bill will bring many MSPs under formal regulation. ‘Relevant Managed Service Providers’ (RMSPs) will face new obligations for risk management, incident reporting, and registration with the regulator.
The Bill covers ongoing IT support, cloud services, managed security services, and infrastructure management. For MSPs, this means security measures like access controls, logging, incident response, and supply‑chain management are shifting away from best practice to a baseline requirement.
For SMEs, it provides clarity to evaluate MSPs on objective standards.
Getting started …
A straightforward way for MSPs to act now:
- Assess where you currently align with national guidance and UK regulations
- Identify high-impact risks to prioritise and address
- Partner with the right vendors and distributor for the best advice, support and right security solutions
How we help MSPS accelerate cyber maturity
Navigating today’s threat landscape, regulatory expectations, and rising client demands requires more than technology, it requires expertise, process, and trust.
At Brigantia, we understand the challenges MSPs face in a fast-moving threat landscape, and that navigating compliance, operations, and customer trust takes more than hardware or software. That’s why we’re committed to being a long-term cybersecurity partner, helping MSPs, build not just secure infrastructure, but robust security practices that can scale.
Our vendor portfolio is hand-picked to reflect the latest in security maturity, compliance readiness, and operational robustness - helping MSPs to truly protect clients. To find out more, get in touch.
To read the full NCSC guidance, click here: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/choosing-a-managed-service-provider-msp
To read the full Ministerial letter to small businesses, click here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-letter-on-cyber-security-to-small-businesses
To read the policy paper on Relevant Manged Service Providers, click here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-security-and-resilience-network-and-information-systems-bill-factsheets/relevant-managed-service-providers
