MSP Replaces ‘Alert Waterfall’ With Precise, Automated Verdicts

For years, the core expectation of cybersecurity providers was that they would alert businesses to threats and tell them when and how to act. See something, say something.

But the speed of attackers today has turned reactive defense into a bygone era. In 2025, we witnessed a record breakout time  (initial access to lateral movement) of 47 seconds. To withstand AI-accelerated digital threats, businesses now need to truly understand their exposure and prioritize proactive risk management.

Patrick Hayes, CxO and Field CISO for Third Wave Innovations, a managed security service provider, saw the writing on the wall: “We needed to defend our clients and help them respond, but also make them stronger first to withstand the storm better.”

Hayes knew his team needed to make the transition from security analysts to strategic security advisors. Below, we’ll explore how Wirespeed, an automated managed detection and response provider, worked with Third Wave to provide real risk reduction for mutual customers with a faster, smarter approach to MDR. 

Beyond the ‘heaviness’ of SIEM and XDR

Third Wave was looking to expand its existing MDR offering and include more proactive features, such as attack surface monitoring and risk management. Before Wirespeed, Third Wave worked with various vendors to find ways to scale and broaden their services. 

But many of the available solutions, such as security information and event management (SIEM) and extended detection and response (XDR), offered features and capabilities beyond the needs of most small and midsize businesses (SMBs). 

“When you strip away the heaviness of SIEM and XDR, you can get straight to the point of what you are protecting, how fast you need to protect it, and how to defend your organization,” said Hayes.

Automation helps reduce the cost of constant human monitoring and allows Third Wave to provide high-level security to more clients. 

In addition, the price of existing tools often operates as a barrier for many SMBs and previously limited Third Wave’s ability to easily scale operations. Automation helps reduce the cost of constant human monitoring and allows Third Wave to provide high-level security to more clients. 

From ‘see something, say something’ to strategic advisory 

SMBs are often the most in need of proactive guidance when it comes to reducing their cyber risk: 79% experienced at least one cyber attack in the last five years. 

Third Wave needed to spend less time sorting through alerts to offer hands-on guidance to its clients. But without the right solutions in place, it was an uphill battle to overcome a reactive security mindset.

“I came from one of the largest MDR vendors, and we still were doing the ‘see something, say something’ mindset,” said Hayes. “It’s hard to transition into an advisory role unless you have the right tools. And now we have the right tools and the right partnership.” 

Since implementing Wirespeed, Third Wave has expanded its core MDR practice. 

Third Wave’s SOC analysts have transitioned to cybersecurity advisor roles to help clients better understand their cyber risk exposure long-term. This guidance can help Third Wave clients meet regulatory compliance, purchase cyber insurance, or recover from potential future incidents. 

The Third Wave team has been able to evolve and focus its efforts on proactive security measures like threat hunts, risk management events, and exploration. 

Simultaneously, Wirespeed is handling the initial triage and investigations that typically bog down a human analyst — and faster. With a median time to verdict of 1,801 milliseconds, Wirespeed can outpace automated attackers. 

Replacing the ‘alert waterfall’ 

One of the hardest parts of security is proving value when nothing goes wrong. Clients have asked: “It’s been so quiet, what are we paying you for?”

With help from Wirespeed’s deterministic logic and automated verdict capabilities, Third Wave can make sure that only real and pressing security threats are escalated to clients. When in doubt, clients can see exactly how each decision and verdict is made in the Wirespeed platform.

“Wirespeed has taken the proverbial alert waterfall and turned it into an eyedropper. Clients now only get one or two drips a day or a week from us." - Patrick Hayes, Third Wave

“Wirespeed has taken the proverbial alert waterfall and turned it into an eyedropper. Clients now only get one or two drips a day or a week from us,” said Hayes. “We are creating silence because all that noise is not meaningful.”

And with less time spent on unnecessary alerts, Third Wave can get their clients to focus their attention on stepping out of defense mode. These analysts turned advisors are now identifying which external vectors need to be addressed to dramatically reduce cyber risk, and offering guidance to help prevent common attacks.

Wirespeed x MSPs

The relationship between Wirespeed and Third Wave is driven by a shared goal to help protect businesses from digital risk.  Third Wave can deliver peace of mind to its clients while Wirespeed provides a technical foundation to make it faster and more affordable. 

To learn more about how Wirespeed teams up with MSPs to help protect their clients, watch the full conversation between me and Patrick Hayes, CxO and Field CISO at Third Wave here.

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