- Cybersecurity Startups at RSA Event to Get $5 Million Investments
- Fortinet Releases Standalone AI-Powered DLP Product
- Bad Actors Impersonating Government Agencies in Latest DocuSign Scams
- MSSPs Can Help Energy, Utilities Companies Build Security Resilience: LevelBlue
- N-able Folds In XDR and MDR with Adlumin Acquisition
Each week, ChannelE2E takes a trip to our affiliate site, MSSP Alert, to bring you the cybersecurity news headlines that matter to your MSP or other channel business.
Cybersecurity has become a key component of managed services businesses and, one could argue, all channel businesses, regardless of the business model. More MSPs are leading their sales conversations with cybersecurity discussions. And cybersecurity services sales continue to be a bright spot in Canalys' analysis of channel business over the last year, even as hardware sales and other sales have slowed.
Here's your roundup of key cybersecurity news for you this week.
Fortinet Releases Standalone AI-Powered DLP Product
Cybersecurity firm Fortinet launched its first standalone data loss prevention (DLP) offering, using AI tools and underpinned by technology inherited via the acquisition of startup Next DLP earlier this year.
For years, Fortinet has offered network DLP capabilities integrated into other solutions, but having a standalone DLP product that the company and partners can deliver to organizations is a key part of the Silicon Valley company’s plans for enhancing its data protection portfolio, according to Michael O’Brien, regional vice president of strategic routes to market for Fortinet.
It also will be a boon to the MSSPs that work with Fortinet, who now will have a standalone product they can sell to customers that struggle to not only protect their data in an increasingly decentralized IT world of clouds and the edge but also are facing more data protection regulations around the world. Fortinet has about 900 channel partners.
FortiDLP “immediately enables MSSPs to offer value to their customers with new managed services from Fortinet,” O’Brien told MSSP Alert. “We’re hearing from customers that have faced challenges with legacy DLP solutions, as they manage data silos and dispersed data as their hybrid workforce continues to grow.”
Bad Actors Impersonating Government Agencies in Latest DocuSign Scams
Security researchers are seeing an explosion of phishing emails mimicking DocuSign messages, many of which are targeting businesses that routinely work with state and municipal agencies and licensing boards.
Between November 8 and 14, threat researchers with cybersecurity firm SlashNext saw a 98% increase in DocuSign phishing attacks over what they detected in September and October, with some of the researchers see hundreds of such incidents a day.
MSSPs are being urged to contact clients – particularly those involved with government and municipal operations – to proactively alert them about the threat and the need to verify the legitimacy of request sent via DocuSign.
“This threat is rapidly spreading and presents unique detection challenges due to its sophisticated nature,” Stephen Kowski, field CTO at SlashNext Email Security+, told MSSP Alert. “MSSPs should enhance their monitoring systems to identify DocuSign-related phishing attempts, while educating customers about proper verification procedures to maintain security against these evolving attacks.”
MSSPs Can Help Energy, Utilities Companies Build Security Resilience: LevelBlue
Energy and utilities organizations are embracing modern technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, and the cloud for the myriad benefits they bring. But these technologies also bring new cybersecurity challenges that pose a risk to their resilience, according to a survey released this week by MSSP LevelBlue.
Like other companies in critical infrastructure sectors, those in energy and utilities see the operational efficiencies such dynamic computing brings. However, these technologies also fuel demand for new security capabilities for tech environments that, for decades, had been kept disconnected from the internet and IT networks. This is a huge opportunity for MSSPs to step in and secure this critical sector.
“As traditional security measures become insufficient in the face of rapidly evolving cyber threats, energy and utility companies find themselves in a challenging position,” Theresa Lanowitz, chief evangelist for LevelBlue, told MSSP Alert. “The same technologies that drive innovation also expose them to new risks, making it crucial to balance technological advancement with robust cybersecurity practices.”
This rapidly evolving situation also opens up opportunities for MSSPs to contribute much-needed expertise to help organizations address this paradox.
N-able Folds In XDR and MDR with Adlumin Acquisition
MSP platform provider N-able is boosting its capabilities in the high-demand areas of XDR and MDR by acquiring Adlumin, an eight-year-old company that it began partnering with last year.
The deal, which includes an initial $100 million cash payment and could more than double that in the next two years, gives N-able a more complete portfolio of capabilities that service providers can deliver to their customers, according to President and CEO John Pagliuca.
“This acquisition completes the third leg of the stool, bringing IT management, data protection, and security together under one roof [and] empowering MSPs, MSSPs, and IT professionals to better safeguard the IT assets that power today’s digital world,” Pagliuca said during a conference call with journalists and analysts.
He added that “customers having increasingly told us that XDR and MDR are a top priority for them and a solution they want N-able to provide. … By combing Adlumin’s cutting-edge XDR technology and security operations MDR capabilities with N-able’s robust security suite, data protection solution, and IT management platform, we feel we are decisively elevating our ability to secure and manage customers’ IT environments.”
Cybersecurity Startups at RSA Event to Get $5 Million Investments
For the last 20 years, the popular RSA Conference has included an event aimed at spotlighting early-stage cybersecurity startups, giving them the chance to pitch their innovations to established vendors and – just as importantly – potential investors.
Now the operator of the conference is including a mandatory $5 million investment for those startups that make it into the top 10 of the annual Innovation Sandbox (ISB) competition.
Capital venture firm Crosspoint Capital Partners, which owns the RSA Conference, announced the investment this week, hoping to accelerate efforts by entrepreneurs and investors to develop technologies to address continuously evolving threats in the cybersecurity landscape. They also said “a portion of the investment returns will be used to support the RSA Conference community.”
