Phishing emails are getting smarter, and Darktrace wants to ensure the people fighting them can keep up.
Darktrace brings managed security service capabilities to the channel
The Cambridge-based AI cybersecurity company announced Tuesday the launch of its first managed security service offering, built specifically for Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs), enabling partners to deliver AI-powered email protection to their customers without building the underlying technology themselves.
The timing is no coincidence. Darktrace’s research, drawn from analysis of 32 million phishing emails detected across its global customer base in 2025, found that AI-assisted phishing techniques rose from 32% to 38% year-over-year.
Attacks are getting longer, more targeted, and harder for traditional defenses to catch. The company also says roughly 17% of email threats slip past Secure Email Gateways, but are caught by Darktrace’s AI.
At the same time, smaller businesses increasingly lack the in-house resources to address this growing threat landscape, prompting them to turn to managed service providers for help.
What the email security offering actually brings to MSSPs
The new managed email security product is built on Darktrace’s existing Darktrace/EMAIL platform.
Rather than relying on static rules, the system uses what Darktrace calls Self-Learning AI, continuously mapping normal communication behavior for every user it monitors and flagging anything that looks off.
Coverage extends beyond traditional inbox protection. MSSPs can deliver threat detection across Microsoft Teams, user identity monitoring, data loss prevention, DMARC monitoring, and even behavior-driven security awareness training through Darktrace’s Adaptive Human Defense tool.
For MSSPs, the pitch is operational efficiency, AI-driven alert triage, automated investigation, and a new SOC Alert Triage Dashboard built into the ActiveAI Security Portal that gives analysts a single view across all their client environments.
Partners celebrate new route to market with Darktrace solution
The launch has already drawn praise from early partners.
“As a longstanding Darktrace customer and partner, we’ve seen firsthand how effective its AI-driven approach can be in stopping advanced threats,” said Bob Keblusek, chief innovation and technology officer at Sentinel Technologies. “With this new managed services model, we’re able to bring Darktrace’s advanced capabilities to more customers.”
Similarly, Mathias Schick, Bechtle’s business manager for security, noted that the market is looking for simplicity, not more tools.
“Customers today are looking for outcomes, not more standalone security tools,” Schick said. “Especially in the mid-market, organizations often lack the capacity, both financially and operationally, to manage complex security environments themselves.”
A more flexible partnership
The launch also includes a revamp of the Darktrace Defenders Partner Program. The goal is to let IT providers choose how they want to work, whether they want to just resell the software or manage the entire security operation for their clients.
“Our partners are at the forefront of helping organizations defend against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats,” said Darktrace’s Chief Partner Officer Dan Monahan. “By expanding MSSP capabilities … we’re enabling partners to bring innovative AI-powered protection to market as managed services.”