MSSP Growth: Securing External Client Assets in a Noise-Free Environment

By uncovering hidden threats like stolen credentials, exploit kits, and leaked data, MSSPs can proactively protect their clients while offering a high-value, premium service. This not only strengthens security but also enhances client trust, creating opportunities to increase retention and justify higher service tiers. In this post, we’ll dive into how MSSPs can not only benefit from dark web monitoring, but also profit from it.

External asset protection: a foundation of security posture 

External asset protection, or dark web monitoring, is the process of scanning hidden forums, marketplaces, and criminal networks on the dark web to identify leaked credentials, stolen data, or other cybercriminal activity. For MSSPs, dark web monitoring provides proactive intelligence to protect external facing assets by uncovering activity in the early stages of the cyber kill chain: reconnaissance, weaponization, and delivery. Identifying threats during these phases provides a critical advantage, allowing MSSPs to determine the level of the threat and what the client should do in response. The action needed could vary from asking the employee working on the compromised device to do a simple password reset or asking the client’s IT team to take on  more complex mitigation tactics which require removing the infected device from the network. 

Account Takeovers (ATO) often begin with compromised credentials being sold on dark web marketplaces or telegram channels. Dark web monitoring enables MSSPs to detect exposed credentials early, helping to prevent credential stuffing, lateral movement, financial losses via impersonation, reputational damage, and further exploitation of compromised systems. A good dark web monitoring system also uncovers discussions or sales of exploit kits targeting unpatched vulnerabilities, including zero-days and CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), allowing MSSPs to advise clients on timely patching and remediation.

Beyond its core function of enhancing overall cybersecurity, services like dark web monitoring and external asset protection offer another massive benefit to MSSPs working in a low-margin market: a significant additional revenue stream that can be heavily automated, providing higher margin services.   

Beyond security: external asset protection creates new revenue streams 

External asset protection and dark web monitoring can be offered by MSSPs as a premium service – delivering exclusive, actionable events into emerging client-facing threats. This makes external asset protection a profitable upsell opportunity that simultaneously enhances trust, retention, and overall cybersecurity posture. 

The former CTO at a midsize MSSP describes how the process of discovering compromised credentials on the dark web leads to an upsell opportunity. 

“There are some sort of altruistic benefits from Dark web scanning but ultimately, ultimately it’s a revenue driver to say we think there might be something, here’s evidence of that via this Dark Web result search result. This is our recommendation as your MSSP that you should take these measures or you should, we should schedule another penetration test. We should do a tabletop exercise, we should review your access credentials or whatever. And it’s not doing it for the sake of doing it.”

Information about compromised credentials

“If they got valid creds, they don’t need to go password spray and they’ll just walk through the front door.” And into your client’s network (Global Head of Threat Intelligence at leading MSSP). By finding the stealer logs for compromised credentials on the dark web and following the malware path back to the infected device, you can prepare your client to catch the threat actor as he’s planning his attack. Before he wreaks havoc. 

When sensitive information is leaked on the dark web, it is critical for the relevant organization to know the following information: 

• What information was released?
  • Allowing you to prioritize remediation efforts and assess the potential impact on the client. Is it just a username and password, or does it include more sensitive data like financial information or intellectual property?
• How was this information obtained?
  • Identifying the specific malware used, its family, and its attack path.
  • Understanding of the malware’s tactics helps you pinpoint vulnerabilities in your client’s systems and implement effective countermeasures to prevent future attacks.
• Where is the information on the dark web?
  • Finding the source of the leak – the specific breach or dark web forum where the credentials appeared – is vital for de-duplication.Avoid redundant password resets by deduplicating credential data to prevent unnecessary business disruptions.
  • Analyzing the source can uncover broader security risks.

One senior VP at a large MSSP notes.  ‘Because otherwise we’re just putting information out there and without that context…it’s just going to create more work and more questions, you know?’. This includes ensuring data is deduplicated by identifying the original source of the compromise, preventing unnecessary alerts and allowing for more efficient remediation while minimizing disruptions to the business like excess password resets. Providing this complete context, including de-duplicated data and the source of the compromise, you empower your clients to take swift and decisive action to mitigate the threat. 

To achieve this level of comprehensive threat intelligence, access to a vast and reliable data source is crucial. Lunar’s repository of 13 million data points from the clear, deep, and dark web, representing the single largest repository of compromised credentials and dark web data in the world, includes information from dark web marketplaces, articles, hacker forums, and ransomware blogs. This ensures that your clients receive the most accurate and up-to-date information to protect their critical assets.

Real-Time Alerts for Domain-Specific Risks

Real-time alerts are critical for effective domain risk management in dark web monitoring. These alerts provide actionable context by detailing what occurred, where it happened, how it was executed, and recommended next steps. By focusing on domain-specific threats—such as stolen usernames and passwords from client domains, mentions on dark web forums, and chatter around vulnerable IPs, —these timely alerts enable MSSPs to mitigate risks quickly. 

Client-focused reporting 

Advanced dark web monitoring platforms equip MSSPs with powerful domain risk reporting capabilities, delivering clear and actionable insights on threats to external facing assets (credentials, IPs, etc.) to enhance client security. These tools automatically generate comprehensive, ready-to-download reports that highlight domain-specific threats—such as compromised credentials linked to a client’s domains, stealer logs, or mentions on dark web forums.

Supply chain risk monitoring

Advanced dark web monitoring platforms enable MSSPs to extend their visibility beyond client systems and focus on supply chain risks. By collecting data from both the dark and clear web, they can identify vendor issues, mergers, and acquisitions, spotting threats early. When a company acquires or merges with another, there may be gaps in security protocols, misaligned cybersecurity measures, or previously undetected vulnerabilities in the acquired company’s systems. These platforms uncover vulnerabilities in third-party relationships, closing security gaps across the entire ecosystem. For instance, if Fortinet is part of your supply chain and experiences a ransomware event or a CVE, you will be alerted. This ongoing process combines dark web intelligence with open web data for proactive asset discovery.

Exploit alerts

Advanced dark web monitoring platforms help MSSPs stay ahead of zero-day exploits and other vulnerabilities. By tracking dark web forums, ransomware blogs, or alternative social media like telegram or Discord, these tools can spot early signs of new or existing vulnerabilities being discussed or sold before they become widely known or exploited. This lets MSSPs quickly alert clients and help them take preventative action to reduce risks.

These tools identify early signs of vulnerabilities being discussed or sold before they are widely known or exploited by monitoring dark web forums. This enables MSSPs to alert clients and help them take preventative measures to mitigate risks. Traditional vulnerability scanners only detect assets related to known CVEs, but not zero-day CVEs. Zero-day CVEs are unpublished, and, therefore, reactive cybersecurity tools do not know what to look for. Integrating dark web intelligence into monitoring processes bridges the gap caused by lack of knowledge of CVEs, providing critical insights into emerging threats that vulnerability scanners alone cannot detect.

Streamline operations with integration and automation

Enhance efficiency and boost client engagement by integrating advanced dark web monitoring tools with SIEM, SOAR, and IT ticketing systems, either via IMAP from alert emails or direct integration. Automating key tasks, such as collecting dark web intelligence on compromised credentials and client domain mentions, streamlines threat detection and prioritization by correlating it with other security data. Automated alerts trigger predefined responses, like generating IT tickets, ensuring faster remediation and minimizing manual intervention. This reduces the burden on employees, accelerates response times, and delivers critical information directly to the appropriate teams, saving valuable time. Operating in this way reduces mean time to remediation (MTTR) and helps MSSPs meet service-level agreements (SLAs) by maintaining response times and resolution targets, ensuring clients are consistently informed and confident in their cybersecurity posture.

Integrating dark web monitoring into existing systems also gives security teams a clear, centralized view of threats. This lets them focus on high-priority issues instead of wasting valuable analyst time on manual research. What’s more, automation frees up resources so MSSPs can scale their operations and deliver better security services without sacrificing quality. 

Differentiating your offering with advanced threat intelligence

Dark web monitoring allows MSSPs to stand out in a competitive market by providing hard-to-access information—identifying compromised credentials, leaked data, or planned attacks before they escalate. This high-quality, verified intelligence positions MSSPs as proactive and trusted partners who go beyond standard security services. Clients value early warnings about imminent threats – and this reinforces trust, reduces churn, and strengthens loyalty. By demonstrating a commitment to protecting clients from emerging risks, MSSPs justify premium pricing and create opportunities for upselling advanced services. This proactive approach not only attracts new customers but also fosters long-term, profitable relationships with existing customers.

How Lunar Empowers MSSPs: Scalability, Value Demonstration, and Data Management

Advanced dark web monitoring platforms like Lunar, powered by Webz.io, address critical challenges faced by MSSPs, enabling them to scale operations, demonstrate value, and manage data more effectively.

Common Challenges MSSPs Face:

Data-related challenges

MSSPs face significant challenges when dealing with the vast amount of dark web data. The challenge is not just the quantity of data, but the lack of context, which can complicate the identification of actual threats. The sheer volume of information, coupled with the lack of context, makes it difficult to identify relevant threats specific to their clients. This is often exacerbated by a lack of clarity regarding the timeline of data breaches. 

One SOC Manager at a mid-sized MSSP highlighted this issue, stating:

 “We are not checking the actual password. We are checking the user and the date of the data leak in question. For example, we have a data leak that [was] detected yesterday… the user’s password [has] been reset. Today we receive the same alerts for the data leak that is dated for yesterday or even before. And then the [system] will say, ‘hey, this is an alert about user X.’ But the date of the data leak is dated before the action that we have already taken to reset his password. So we qualify this alert as a false positive, if you see what I mean.”

A Senior Vice President at a leading MSSP believes the following: 

It is important for your data to tell you an “attributable source of the dump because you might see the same credential recycled in a separate dump and then it’s not apparent immediately that that’s the same credential being recycled that’s already been flagged for rotation.“ 

Insufficient data can lead to false positives. Following up on false positives disrupts your clients’ business by requiring constant password resets and wastes valuable time and resources. To address these challenges, MSSPs need solutions that can filter and prioritize data. With accurate insights and knowledge that their large data repository won’t miss critical mention, MSSPs can focus on the most critical threats.

Lack of context

Just because you can see that there are relevant compromised credentials on dark web forums does not mean that you have access to other necessary details (the source of the breach or the specific data that was leaked). As one SOC Manager explained, “sometimes we don’t have the sources of the leak” and we are missing a “detailed view about where the hackers have found these credentials or how they have got these credentials.” This lack of context can severely hinder an MSSP’s ability to effectively remediate the threat and protect their clients.

Inability to investigate non-client data

Once the MSSP obtains the compromised credentials “there is a risk that you, you have the information about users that are not your clients. And this is a big problem for us,” (SOC Manager at a mid-sized MSSP). Dark web data may include references to non-client-related breaches or threats, limiting MSSPs’ ability to take action. Viewing sensitive data that is not related to the client whose breach you are investigating could violate GDPR or CCPA. 

Lunar provides MSSPs with actionable insights, such as identifying the malware family and attack path, allowing for more effective malware removal and permanent fixes. By pinpointing the specific breaches where compromised credentials were found, Lunar enables MSSPs to guide clients in preventing exposure to those platforms. With the largest repository of compromised credentials and dark web data, Lunar empowers MSSPs to uncover threats related to supply chain risks, helping them respond quickly and confidently without unnecessary disruption.

Scalability  

Our army of off-network auto-discovery agents enable MSSPs to identify and address threats before they can cause significant damage with actionable information. MSSPs can identify and remediate threats before they cause substantial damage with our off-network auto-discovery agent. Our off-network auto-discovery agent scans the world’s largest and continuously expanding repository of compromised credentials and dark web data to detect potential threats to your clients before a threat actor’s plan on the dark web becomes a major incident.

Proving Value  

Lunar provides real-time alerts on credential leaks, data breaches, and emerging ransomware threats. This enables MSSPs to show clients concrete evidence of risks like compromised credentials or vulnerabilities, making it easier to justify investments in security. 

Turning dark web monitoring into growth

Advanced dark web monitoring platforms like Lunar turn dark web intelligence into a strategic tool for business growth. Powered by Webz.io, Lunar delivers actionable threat intelligence that helps MSSPs proactively identify data breaches, stolen credentials, and emerging threats – boosting client trust and reducing churn. By automating dark web monitoring, Lunar reduces the need for additional manpower, increasing operational efficiency and profitability. Embedding these capabilities into their core offerings allows MSSPs to justify premium services, attract new clients, and drive long-term success. 

Learn how external asset management and dark web monitoring can improve your clients’ security posture and unlock new revenue for your organization. Contact our experts today.