Best ransomware detection tools for MSPs

Buyer’s guide for MSPs

Ransomware in 2025–2026 looks very different from 2020. Groups like Akira, Black Basta, LockBit, BlackCat / ALPHV, Royal, and Play increasingly target MSPs (one MSP compromise yields dozens of client networks) and stage their tooling for days or weeks before deploying the encryption payload.

The encryption is the easy part to detect — by then it is far too late. The valuable detection window is the staging phase: credential dumping, reconnaissance commands, lateral movement, backup destruction, and indicator-of-compromise (IOC) markers specific to known ransomware tooling.

The best ransomware-detection tools for MSPs combine endpoint behavioural detection, IOC hunting against known ransomware-group tooling, and identity-layer correlation (because the attacker often phished credentials first).

What to look for

  1. Indicator-of-compromise (IOC) hunting. Active matching against IOCs from known ransomware groups (Akira, Black Basta, LockBit, etc.) — file hashes, domains, IP addresses, registry keys, and behaviour patterns.
  2. Behavioural staging detection. Detection of mass file access, abnormal credential-dumping tools (Mimikatz-class), reconnaissance commands, lateral movement patterns, and backup-destruction attempts before encryption begins.
  3. Identity correlation. Correlating endpoint signals with M365 / Entra ID activity. Modern ransomware attacks often start with phished credentials; identity-layer signals matter.
  4. Multi-tenant for MSPs. MSP detection has to scale across many client tenants with per-tenant context.
  5. Coexistence with EDR. Most MSPs run an EDR (Defender, Huntress, Sophos, SentinelOne, CrowdStrike). The ransomware-detection layer should complement, not conflict with, the EDR.
  6. Backup integrity awareness. Ransomware groups specifically target backup systems for deletion before encrypting. Detection of backup-system tampering matters.

Options to evaluate

Lavawall® Akira ransomware hunter + ITDRBundled IOC hunting + behavioural + identity correlation

Native Akira ransomware indicator hunter with IOC matching against known Akira tooling, lateral movement, and staging behaviour. Multi-tenant ITDR with M365 / Entra ID / Azure / Google Workspace endpoint correlation. Behavioural anomaly detection for staging activity. Coexists with major EDR products. Bundled with the rest of the Lavawall® platform.

Best when: MSPs that want bundled ransomware-staging detection alongside the rest of the security stack, especially serving healthcare and other ransomware-targeted sectors.

HuntressManaged detection with strong persistence detection

Managed-EDR with a particularly strong reputation for persistence and rootkit detection. 24/7 SOC. Complementary to Lavawall®; integrates via API.

Best when: MSPs that want a managed SOC for detection-and-response decisions.

SentinelOne / CrowdStrike Falcon / Microsoft Defender XDREnterprise EDR / XDR

Mature enterprise EDR / XDR products with deep behavioural detection. Pricing scales with capability tier; multi-tenant management varies.

Best when: Larger MSPs serving enterprise tenants on E5 or with budget for enterprise EDR.

Blackpoint CyberMSP-focused MDR

MDR with M365 monitoring and a 24/7 SOC. Focused on response services.

Best when: MSPs that want outsourced response decisions.

How Lavawall® fits

Lavawall® includes a dedicated Akira ransomware hunter with IOC matching against tooling, file paths, registry keys, and behaviour patterns observed in actual Akira incident response.

Behavioural staging detection covers credential dumping, reconnaissance commands (net.exe, whoami.exe with admin context, PowerShell ADRecon-class activity), lateral movement (PsExec-class activity), and backup-destruction attempts.

Multi-tenant ITDR correlates endpoint signals with M365 / Entra ID activity to catch the credential-phishing-then-pivot pattern that begins so many ransomware incidents. The platform coexists with Defender, Huntress, Sophos, SentinelOne, CrowdStrike, and other EDR products and surfaces their state alongside its own findings.

Frequently asked

Does Lavawall® replace my EDR?
No. Lavawall® complements EDR by adding IOC hunting, identity correlation, configuration assessment, and the broader platform. The EDR remains the workstation-level behavioural-detection layer.
Why focus on Akira specifically?
Akira has been particularly active against Canadian and US healthcare and accounting practices through 2024–2026, with documented techniques the IOC hunter targets directly. Detection patterns generalise to similar groups (Black Basta, LockBit) sharing tradecraft.
What about backup integrity?
Lavawall® monitors backup-system state and surfaces tampering attempts. Backup-system protection itself is delivered by the customer's backup product (Veeam, Datto, Acronis, etc.) — Lavawall® watches for the indicators of attempted destruction.