---
title: Why MSPs should manage security awareness training like any other security control
description: AI phishing, BEC and social engineering have made user behavior part of the attack path. Acronis Security Awareness Training helps MSPs reduce human risk at scale.
canonical_url: https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/why-msps-should-manage-security-awareness-training-like-any-other-security-control/
locale: en
last_updated: 2026-10-27
---

[Acronis Blog](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/)
# Why MSPs should manage security awareness training like any other security control

AI phishing, BEC and social engineering have made user behavior part of the attack path. Acronis Security Awareness Training helps MSPs reduce human risk at scale.

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[![Image 2: Acronis Editorial Team](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/d85707ae91461544212d39836dc32b42.png)](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/acronis/ "Acronis Editorial Team")

[Acronis Editorial Team](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/acronis/)

5 min read

Last updated 11 June 2026

**Author: Umair Ahmed**, Product Marketing Manager, Security

**AI phishing, BEC and social engineering have made user behavior part of the attack path. Acronis Security Awareness Training helps MSPs reduce human risk at scale.**

Many client breaches do not begin with a dramatic failure. The attack path often starts with a routine work moment: an employee enters credentials on a fake Microsoft 365 login page, scans a malicious QR code, trusts a convincing invoice, follows a fake HR message or approves a request that looks legitimate. Even with email security, endpoint protection, backup and MFA in place, users still make security decisions every day, and attackers continue to exploit phishing, impersonation and social engineering.

For MSP technicians, the question is simple: Are users prepared for the social engineering attacks that still reach them? When users are not trained continuously, human risk remains an active attack path, and recurring mistakes can turn into avoidable phishing investigations, password resets and other support tickets.

According to the [Verizon 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR),](https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/) frequent breach causes continue to involve the human element, including social engineering, phishing and stolen credentials. It also lists employee training to spot phishing and threats as one way businesses can reduce breach risk.

[](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/why-msps-should-manage-security-awareness-training-like-any-other-security-control/)That is why MSPs should treat awareness training like any other security control: as an ongoing, managed layer that helps reduce risky behavior and lower operational noise over time.

[![Image 3: Deliver and manage effective SAT programs for your clients, including training against modern AI-powered phishing and social engineering attacks](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/c2a97def6823ea859c5fbb1d98216f07.png) Acronis Security Awareness Training Save 50% on Acronis Security Awareness training for six months — Limited time offer Get the offer](https://www.acronis.com/en/lp/acronis-sat-promotion/)
Modern attacks do not always look like scams. They often look like normal work. That is why security awareness training needs to be continuous, realistic and tied to the behaviors users face every day.

Two examples show why awareness needs to be continuous.

### Example 1: AI-generated phishing makes scam detection harder

**What happens**

Attackers use generative AI to create phishing messages that are cleaner, more personalized and harder to spot by grammar or formatting mistakes. The message may reference a user’s role, a business activity, a vendor relationship or a familiar workflow. It looks less like a scam and more like normal communication.

**Why it matters for clients**

Traditional phishing training taught users to look for obvious mistakes. That is no longer enough. Modern phishing can be well written, targeted and context aware.

Users need to recognize suspicious behavior, question urgency, verify unusual requests and report messages before a mistake becomes an incident.

**How Acronis helps reduce the risk**

[Acronis Security Awareness Training (SAT)](https://www.acronis.com/en/products/cloud/cyber-protect/security-awareness-training/) helps MSPs deliver and manage training programs for clients, including training against [AI-powered phishing](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/ai-and-phishing-a-toxic-pair/) and social engineering attacks.

With automated simulations and micro lessons, MSPs can reinforce awareness over time. Training becomes an ongoing service, not a one-time compliance task.

### Example 2: Business email compromise (BEC) exploits trust, not malware

**What happens**

A user receives a payment request, vendor update, document share, contract change or urgent executive instruction. The email may not contain malware or an attachment. The attack relies on trust, timing and pressure.

**Why it matters for clients**

Business email compromise often bypasses the indicators users associate with phishing. The message can look operationally normal, especially when it appears to come from a familiar person or process.

The risk is not just a click. It can become a fraudulent payment, exposed credentials, leaked data or a support escalation.

**How Acronis helps reduce the risk**

Acronis SAT includes phishing simulations and short training content that help employees recognize and report suspicious activity earlier.

For technicians, this turns risky behavior into a measurable learning opportunity instead of another one-off incident. It can also reduce repeat tickets. When users know what to look for and how to report it, MSPs spend less time on avoidable phishing investigations, password resets and cleanup after risky clicks.

## Training gaps create repeat risk

One annual course is not enough to change behavior across a client’s workforce. Users forget. Attackers change tactics. New employees join. Different departments face different risks.

Finance, HR, executives and IT admins are not targeted in the same way as general users. That is why MSPs need to treat security awareness as a managed control, not a compliance checkbox.

When users cannot spot modern phishing, credentials can end up in fake login pages. When training is too generic, users may complete it but fail to retain the lesson. When failed simulations do not trigger follow up, risky behavior continues.

The goal is not to shame users. It is to reduce the number of risky actions that become incidents, tickets and client escalations.

## Why manual training does not scale

Security awareness training is manageable for one client. Across dozens or hundreds of clients, it can quickly turn into operational overhead.

Technicians need to import users, assign training, schedule phishing simulations, send reminders, review failures, export reports and answer client questions. Then they need to repeat the process for the next tenant.

As the client base grows, this becomes inconsistent and time consuming. It also creates more work downstream.

When users are not trained to recognize phishing, business email compromise, fake login pages or suspicious attachments, mistakes often turn into support tickets. Technicians spend time investigating emails, resetting passwords, responding to account takeover attempts and explaining the same security basics again.

Effective SAT helps reduce that noise. When users can recognize and report suspicious activity earlier, MSPs can reduce repeat mistakes and lower the volume of avoidable tickets.

## Where Acronis Security Awareness Training fits

Acronis Security Awareness Training helps MSPs deliver training and phishing simulations from the [Acronis Cyber Platform (formerly Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud)](https://www.acronis.com/en/products/cloud/cyber-protect/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=MF-X-X-Cloud-Americas-NAM-EN-MQL-CloudSEMb-MSPcloud-G-PS&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=897344085&gbraid=0AAAAAD7eew-PobnpYMkFSqibmlt8qCq-9&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlqTRBhCBARIsANrkrxhGwydEPLmWaQvirEh4oqhsIeWiCHHUQQRzKm57GdQ1pcHSyglD7sIaAvQdEALw_wcB) console. The service is built to help MSPs keep clients secure and compliant with engaging SAT and phishing simulations.

For technicians, the value is practical. SAT can become part of a standard client security routine instead of a separate project. Clients receive regular training, realistic phishing simulations, automatic monthly content and reporting [without the MSP rebuilding the process each time](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/acronis-takes-security-awareness-training-in-a-new-direction/).

Acronis SAT is also built for repeatability. MSPs can use templates, bulk operations and multiclient management to reduce manual work when pushing training and simulations across clients.

A simple model works well: run a baseline phishing simulation, assign short training based on the results, use reminders to drive completion, trigger follow-up lessons when users fail and review reporting with the client.

Over time, the MSP can show whether users are clicking less, reporting more and completing training faster. That is more useful than a one-time completion certificate because it shows behavior improving over time.

Acronis SAT also supports compliance-driven conversations by helping clients provide evidence of training completion, progress and risk trends for regulatory, cyber insurance, customer and vendor requirements.

For MSP technicians, this reduces tool sprawl and makes SAT easier to package as part of a broader managed security stack. It is not just “users completed a course.” It is a managed program that helps reduce human risk, lower operational noise and provide evidence clients can use.

## Why this should be enabled now

Attackers are already targeting the human layer with better phishing, stronger impersonation and more convincing social engineering. AI makes those attacks easier to scale.

MSPs cannot remove every risky message before it reaches a user. They also cannot rely on yearly training to prepare users for threats that change every month.

With Acronis Security Awareness Training, MSPs can deliver phishing simulations, adaptive lessons and client-ready reporting from Acronis Cyber Platform (formerly Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud). That helps technicians save time, reduce repetitive administration, lower avoidable ticket volume and give clients a stronger human layer of defense.

Turn your clients’ weakest link into their first line of defense with Acronis Security Awareness Training.

[![Image 4: Deliver and manage effective SAT programs for your clients, including training against modern AI-powered phishing and social engineering attacks](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/c2a97def6823ea859c5fbb1d98216f07.png) Acronis Security Awareness Training Deliver and manage effective SAT programs for your clients, including training against modern AI-powered phishing and social engineering attacks Try now](https://www.acronis.com/en/products/cloud/cyber-protect/security-awareness-training/)

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[Phishing](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/phishing/)

## Written by

![Image 5: Acronis Editorial Team](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/d85707ae91461544212d39836dc32b42.png)

Acronis Editorial Team

Acronis is a global cyber protection company that provides natively integrated cybersecurity, data protection, and endpoint management for managed service providers (MSPs), small and medium businesses (SMBs), and enterprise IT departments.

[Previous post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/acronis-named-a-leader-in-cloud-email-security-in-the-g2-summer-2026-grid-report/)  
[Acronis Named a Leader in Cloud Email Security in the G2 Summer 2026 Grid Report](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/acronis-named-a-leader-in-cloud-email-security-in-the-g2-summer-2026-grid-report/)

[Next post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/acronis-named-a-leader-in-cloud-security-in-the-g2-summer-2026-grid-report/)  
[Acronis named a Leader in Cloud Security in the G2 Summer 2026 Grid Report](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/acronis-named-a-leader-in-cloud-security-in-the-g2-summer-2026-grid-report/)

About Acronis

Acronis is a leader in AI-native cyber protection, unifying data protection, cybersecurity, IT operations and hybrid infrastructure to deliver business continuity, security and compliance with less cost and complexity. More than 21,000 service providers trust Acronis to protect over 750,000 businesses in 150 countries. Acronis is headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

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