Content, Content

Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) News: 07 October 2019

Each business day, MSSP Alert broadcasts a quick lineup of news, analysis and chatter from across that managed security services provider ecosystem.

  • The Content: Written for MSSPs, SOC as a Service (SOCaaS), Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and MSP security providers — and those who need to partner up with such companies.
  • Frequency and Format: Every business morning. Typically one or two sentences for each item below.
  • Reaching Our Inbox: Send news, tips and rumors to [email protected].

A. Today’s MSSP Alerts

1. M&A - VMware and Carbon Black Update: VMware's acquisition of Carbon Black has cleared the Austrian Cartel Act. It sounds like the deal is on track to close as expected.

2. M&A - Energy Grid and Cybersecurity: A global nuclear energy company has bought FoxGuard Solutions, a cybersecurity company, according to this report.

3. Ransomware Attacks - Hospital Pays: Alabama's DCH Health System has paid hackers to decrypt various computer systems that suffered ransomware attacks last week, local reports say.

4. More Ransomware Warnings: The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has released an alert on ransomware threats to U.S. businesses and organizations.

5. Crypto Data Breach: Algo Capital, an investment firm focused on the Algorand blockchain, lost a few million dollars in USDT and ALGO tokens after its chief technology officer’s phone was breached, CoinDesk reports.

6. Research - Germany Security Risks: Internal user mistakes created the largest percentage of cybersecurity incidents over the past 12 months (80%), followed by exposures caused by poor network system or application security (36%), and external threat actors infiltrating the organization’s network or systems (31%), according to SolarWinds research focused on the German market.

7. Alleged China Cyber Crimes - FBI Warns Colleges: The FBI is reaching out to specific colleges, striving to determine if China's Huawei has stolen any intellectual property from U.S. universities, according to the Associated Press. The U.S. government has barred Huawei equipment from federal networks, but the China-based technology company has repeatedly denied various cybersecurity allegations against the company.

8. Cyberattacks Target U.S. Presidential Campaigns: Microsoft shares details here.

9. Virtual Private Network (VPN) Vulnerabilities: The United Kingdom (UK) National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has released an alert on advanced persistent threat (APT) actors exploiting vulnerabilities in VPNs.

10. Government Compliance: Palo Alto Networks is in the process of receiving FedRAMP designations for the company's Cortex XDR and Cortex Data Lake.

B. MSSP Partner Programs and Strategic Alliances

1. Managed Detection and Response: Veristor Systems has embraced eSentire for Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services.

2. Strategic Alliance: By Light Professional IT Services has inked a strategic alliance with FireEye. The relationship will bolster By Light's EmberSec portfolio of advanced cybersecurity technical service offerings, the company asserts.

3. All Partner Programs: Search the comprehensive ChannelE2E Partner Program Database here. Also, submit your company information here and your partner program can be listed in the database.

C. Next Five Cybersecurity Conferences

  1. FireEye Cyber Defense Summit (October 7-10, Washington, D.C.)
  2. EuroCACS/CSX 2019 (October 16-18, Geneva, Switzerland)
  3. Mimecast Cyber Resilience Summit (October 28-30, Dallas)
  4. Infosecurity and ISACA North America Expo and Conference (November 20-21, New York)
  5. RSA Conference USA 2020 (February 24-28,  2020, San Francisco)
  6. Bonus: The complete MSSP Alert calendar

Email me your news, rumors and tips for potential coverage here on MSSP Alert.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.