MSSP Report: Security Industry Threat Landscape

MSSP Intelligence · 2025

MSSP Report:Security IndustryThreat Landscape

How threat actors systematically study, test, and bypass widely deployed security products — and why partnering with a Managed Security Service Provider is essential for true operational resilience.

Forum Mentions

60%

Bypass Posts

25%

0-Day Posts

14.29%

Strategic Partner

MSSP

Security Vendor References

60%

Approximately 60% of all collected posts and discussions in underground forums directly reference CTI and cybersecurity companies

Bypass & Evasion Posts

25%

Among posts referencing security firms, 25% promote or explain services designed to disable, evade, or neutralize security products

0-Day Vulnerability Posts

14.29%

0-day vulnerabilities account for 14.29% of underground posts targeting security providers, with detailed technical analysis at 3.57%

Leaked Operational Data

7.14%

Leaked information from security firms includes operational and security-related data at 7.14%, alongside 3.57% personal data exposure

By the Numbers

Underground Forum Threat Statistics

Data derived from SOCRadar's analysis of underground forum posts, leak sites, and dark web channels focused on cybersecurity vendors and their products.

The Strategic Case for MSSP Partnership

The Pain Point

The Threat Reality

The MSSP Advantage

Your Security Tools Are Active Attack Targets

Dark Web Findings

SOCRadar Dark Web Monitoring

Selected findings from dark web forums monitored by SOCRadar. These posts demonstrate how security vendor products, credentials, and intelligence data are actively targeted, traded, and exploited in underground markets.

Threat Distribution Analysis

Security Tools Create Their Own Attack Surface

Bypass techniques and exploits for security products are actively traded in underground markets. Evasion methods and misconfigurations are tested before real attacks — control effectiveness depends on continuous monitoring.

Approximately 60% of all collected posts in underground forums directly reference CTI and cybersecurity companies. This is the intelligence gap that an MSSP strategic partnership addresses.

Security Vendor References in Underground Forums

Threat Actors Treat Your Security Tools as Attack Surfaces

Threat actors analyze how AV, EDR, SIEM, and CTI platforms detect activity, how alerts are generated, and where blind spots exist. Without continuous adaptation, your security investment may provide a false sense of protection.

Approximately 25% of posts referencing cybersecurity firms promote or explain services to disable, evade, or neutralize security products. This is why MSSP partnership is not optional — it is essential for effective protection.

Bypass & Evasion Posts Among Security Vendor References

Security Tools Create Their Own Attack Surface

0-day vulnerabilities account for 14.29% of posts, while detailed technical vulnerability analysis represents 3.57%. Combined, vulnerability-focused content represents ~18% of security vendor targeting.

Leaked data from security firms includes operational & security-related data at 7.14% and personal data at 3.57% — enabling targeted phishing attacks against security professionals and their organizations.

Distribution of Dark Web Threats Across Organization Types

Dark Web Threat Categories

EDR Killers · Obfuscation

The dominant threat category — posts promoting tools to disable, evade, or neutralize security products including CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Sophos, and Cortex XDR. Approximately 25% of all posts referencing security vendors focus on bypass and evasion techniques.

CVE Exploitation

0-day vulnerabilities account for 14.29% of posts, with detailed technical analysis at 3.57%. Covers local privilege escalation, firewall authentication bypass, and full-chain RCE exploits for security vendor products — sold for up to $15,000.

Initial Access Broker

Verified corporate access sold to threat actors for follow-on operations. Listings include intelligence platform accounts (Mandiant Advantage), domain admin access, and RDP/VPN credentials — priced by revenue size and observed security posture.

MSSP Takeaway: Threat Post Types

These five categories represent the primary threat post types targeting cybersecurity vendors, extracted from SOCRadar's monitoring of underground forums and channels.

CrowdStrike

SentinelOne

Palo Alto

Sophos

Fortinet

Underground Forum Ecosystem

Dark Web Threat Post Distribution

Accenture, Deloitte, Capgemini, KPMG, and Infosys appear frequently in data leak posts — reflecting that MSSP and consulting firms handling security operations are high-value targets. Leaked employee data and credentials from these organizations enable targeted phishing against security professionals.

Breakdown of underground forum post types targeting cybersecurity vendors — showing the relative share of bypass/evasion content, vulnerability exploits, data leaks, and access sales.

Major Consulting Firms Also Targeted

CrowdStrike Falcon appears across bypass/evasion posts, vulnerability discussions, data leaks, and campaign posts — making it the most consistently referenced security vendor in monitored underground forums. This reflects both its market penetration and attacker prioritization.

Most Referenced Vendor

SOCRadar provides Extended Threat Intelligence (XTI) that combines Cyber Threat Intelligence, Brand Protection, External Attack Surface Management, and Dark Web Radar Services. Trusted by 21,000+ companies in 150+ countries.

SOCRadar Extended

Threat Intelligence (XTI)

SOCRadar's fusion of its unique Dark Web recon technology with the human analyst eye provides in-depth insights into financially-targeted APT groups and the threat landscape. Continuous monitoring of underground forums, leak sites, and Telegram channels — with correlation against your specific security stack and supply chain partners — gives you the early warning that vendor updates cannot provide.

Scan millions of data points on the surface, deep, and Dark Web to accurately identify the leakage of your customers' Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in compliance with regulations. Automated detection combined with human analyst validation ensures the lowest false positive rate and fastest response time available in the market.

Achieve digital resilience by maintaining an internet-facing digital asset inventory. Significantly accelerate this process through automated discovery, mapping, and continuous asset monitoring. External Attack Surface Management identifies exposed assets before threat actors do — closing the gap between shadow IT and your security team's awareness before exploitation occurs.

Enhance your fraud detection mechanisms with automation speed by identifying stolen credit card data on popular global black markets, carding forums, social channels, and chatters. Real-time alerting reduces the window between compromise and detection from days to minutes — enabling your team to act on intelligence rather than react to incidents.

11 · Your Strategic MSSP Partner: SOCRadar

The MSSP Advantage

MSSP Strategic Partnership Benefits

24/7 Expert Analysis

Continuous human review of alerts to interpret weak signals and unrelated events

Correlation of internal alerts with external intelligence and underground forum discussions

Detection of activity that does not yet match known signatures or playbooks

Your security controls generate alerts based on predefined logic. But threat actors evolve faster than these rules can be updated. An MSSP provides continuous human review to interpret weak signals, connect seemingly unrelated events, and recognize early stages of intrusion.

Proactive Threat Adaptation

Track how attackers bypass your specific deployed security products

Rapidly adjust detection logic to reflect emerging evasion methods

Adapt response playbooks ahead of actual attacks

New evasion techniques surface in forums, private channels, and malware testing discussions before they appear in real-world incidents. Without active monitoring of these sources, organizations rely on vendor updates that arrive after techniques are already in use.

Four core capabilities that an MSSP strategic partner delivers — transforming static product deployment into dynamic, human-led defense that evolves as fast as the threats do.