The cybersecurity landscape in 2025 continues to evolve at breakneck speed, and supply chain attacks have become one of the most insidious threats facing organisations of all sizes.

The headlines are constant. A software vendor gets compromised. A trusted IT tool becomes a trojan horse. Malware rides into a network via routine updates or third-party integrations. For MSPs and MSSPs this reality isn’t just a risk it’s a strategic opportunity.

As supply chains become more digitised and interconnected, clients increasingly rely on their service providers to understand, detect and defend against these indirect yet devastating attack vectors. This blog explores how modern supply chain attacks exploit third-party vulnerabilities, why they’re growing in 2025, and how MSPs and MSSPs can deliver the layered proactive protection their clients demand.

What is a supply chain attack?

A supply chain attack occurs when a cybercriminal targets an organisation indirectly, by compromising a third-party supplier service provider or software vendor that the target organisation relies on.

Instead of attacking the business head-on, the attacker infiltrates through a “trusted” channel:

• A software update from a legitimate vendor

• A compromised remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform

• An infected open-source component

• A third-party contractor’s credentials

Once inside attackers often gain the same level of access as the trusted party, making lateral movement easy and detection difficult.

The state of supply chain attacks in 2025

In the last few years supply chain attacks have evolved from niche threats to mainstream tactics. As of early 2025:

• Over 60% of ransomware campaigns originate through third-party compromise.

• Software dependencies and open-source libraries remain a prime target with attackers embedding malicious code into repositories before public release.

• MSPs and MSSPs themselves are prime targets acting as an access point to multiple downstream clients.

• Attacks are now increasingly automated, stealthy and scalable thanks to AI-assisted malware and deepfakes used in spear phishing and credential theft.

All of this means that your clients are only as secure as their most vulnerable supplier.

Why supply chain attacks are so dangerous

1. They exploit trust
   Clients inherently trust their vendors, tools and service providers. When that trust is abused, attackers often bypass many traditional defenses.

2. They’re hard to detect
   Attackers can remain dormant for weeks or months waiting to trigger their payload. Many infiltrations are discovered long after the initial compromise.

3. They cause widespread impact
   A single compromised supplier can impact hundreds or thousands of downstream customers, as seen in previous high-profile attacks affecting managed service providers.

4. They blur the blame
   Clients often don’t know who is responsible. The result? Damaged reputations, strained relationships, and legal consequences for providers who failed to implement layered security.

What this means for MSPs and MSSPs

As the connective tissue between technology vendors and client environments MSPs and MSSPs have a dual responsibility:

• Protect your own infrastructure from compromise, as attackers frequently use MSP tools to launch downstream attacks.

• Help clients secure their entire ecosystem, including vendor relationships SaaS platforms and supply chain risk.

This is where cybersecurity becomes not just a technical offering but a business-critical service.

By offering supply chain-aware cybersecurity services MSPs can:

• Deepen client relationships

• Add high-value recurring revenue streams

• Differentiate from “basic IT providers”

• Upsell monitoring detection and vulnerability services

A supply chain-savvy cybersecurity strategy

Your clients aren’t just looking for antivirus anymore. In 2025 they need a comprehensive proactive approach that protects them across all layers of their digital supply chain.

That includes:

• Vulnerability management across internal and third-party assets.

• Threat detection and response that monitors supply chain compromise in real time.

• Zero trust architectures that segment access based on identity not location.

• Vendor risk assessments and visibility into software dependencies.

• Automated alerting reporting and compliance support.

Delivering this in-house is expensive and complex. But partnering with the right provider makes it achievable, scalable and profitable.

A smarter way to defend against supply chain attacks

At enhanced.io we help MSPs and MSSPs protect clients from modern threats including those that hide within third-party tools and software. Our modular multi-layered cybersecurity platform makes it easy to offer the right level of protection to each client, while maintaining full visibility and control across your managed environments.

A complete security offering

Our flagship cybersecurity package Enhanced Defense offers a fully integrated security stack including:

• Vulnerability management

• XDR-powered threat detection and response

• Automated alerting and prioritisation

• Unified visibility from a single dashboard

With Enhanced Defense you’re not just offering “monitoring” or “protection” you’re delivering continuous cyber resilience in a way that’s easy to deploy, manage and explain to clients.

Secure the chain, grow the business

Supply chain attacks aren’t a passing trend, they’re the new frontline of cybersecurity in 2025. For MSPs and MSSPs the stakes are high but so is the opportunity.

By taking the lead on third-party risk offering proactive vulnerability management and delivering real-time threat detection you don’t just protect your clients, you elevate your value, grow recurring revenue, and cement your reputation as a strategic cybersecurity partner.

Want to secure your clients from the next supply chain breach? Partner with enhanced.io to deliver the protection they need. Book a call to find out how.