Acronis launches GenAI Protection to secure the MSP frontier

Acronis has officially launched "GenAI Protection," a new security suite designed to give Managed Service Providers (MSPs) the tools to monitor, govern, and secure generative AI usage across small and medium-sized business (SMB) environments. Announced on April 22, 2026, the solution marks the first major release under the new Acronis Cyber Workspace initiative.

The launch addresses a critical "blind spot" for MSPs. While over 50% of employees are now using generative AI tools, most do so without corporate oversight, creating significant risks for data leakage and prompt-based attacks.

Closing the "Shadow AI" Gap

The core of the Acronis offering is its ability to bring visibility to "Shadow AI", the unsanctioned use of public AI tools by employees. The platform integrates directly into the existing Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, providing three layers of defense:

• Visibility and governance: MSPs can now discover every AI application being used within a client's network. This allows them to identify unapproved tools, understand user behavior patterns, and enforce per-client usage policies from a single console.

• Prompt-level sensitive data protection: The tool inspects user prompts in real-time for sensitive information, including PII, healthcare data (PHI), and financial records (PCI-DSS). If an employee attempts to paste confidential company data into a public AI tool, the system automatically blocks the transmission.

• Prompt injection blocking: To counter the rising threat of "malicious prompting," the solution detects and neutralizes prompt injection attempts. This prevents attackers (or accidental inputs) from manipulating AI behavior or using chat interfaces to exfiltrate system data.

A new revenue stream for MSPs

Acronis is positioning GenAI Protection not just as a security tool, but as a strategic business opportunity for its partners. By turning an invisible risk into a managed service, MSPs can differentiate their offerings and capture new billable revenue.

"GenAI adoption is accelerating, but it introduces risks that businesses are not fully equipped to manage," said Gaidar Magdanurov, President at Acronis. "MSPs are uniquely positioned to help businesses adopt AI securely. GenAI Protection enables them to turn AI security into a managed service, creating new revenue opportunities while protecting their customers from emerging risks."

The road ahead: Acronis cyber workspace

The release of GenAI Protection is described as the "initial phase" of the broader Cyber Workspace strategy. Acronis has signaled that future updates will include deeper AI-native threat detection and automated workspace monitoring to streamline daily MSP operations.

GenAI Protection is now generally available as part of the Acronis service provider licensing. It can be offered as a standalone "AI Audit" service for new customers or bundled into existing premium workstation plans, allowing MSPs to scale their AI security services alongside their clients' growing reliance on generative tools.