Each morning MSSP Alert broadcasts a quick lineup of news, analysis and chatter from across the global managed security services provider, SOC (security operations center) and IT outsourcing ecosystem.
Here’s the update for Thursday, August 16, 2018.
6. Momentum - Cisco Systems Security: CEO Chuck Robbins says security remains the top concern for customers and the networking giant. Those priorities are giving Cisco's revenues and profits a boost. The company's security-related revenues rose 12 percent in Q4 2018, according to figures released yesterday.
5. Funding - Cyber Training: Living Security, an Austin, Texas-based company dedicated to cybersecurity awareness and training, has raised $500,000 in seed funding.
4. M&A - Identity and Access Management: Private equity firm Thoma Bravo has completed its majority investment in Centrify, the Identity & Access Management platform provider. Financial details were note disclosed.
3. Funding - Container Security: Cloud-native security specialist Twistlock has raised $33 million in Series C funding, led by ICONIQ Capital.
2. Vague MSP Security Claims: MSPs are increasingly selecting Barkly Endpoint Protection for their needs, the company asserts. But Barkly's MSP adoption claims lack MSP adoption figures -- nothing about number of MSPs on board, number of customer seats protected via MSPs, etc. Still, a separate release says Barkly nearly doubled the size of its customer base in the first half of 2018, and quarterly revenue recently grew 151 compared to the corresponding quarter last year -- though actual dollar figures were not disclosed. We've reached out to Barkly to see if they have specific MSP adoption stats to share. Updated August 16, 2018, 1:23 p.m. ET: Barkly's MSP customer base grew by 150 percent in the past 6 months, according to a company spokesperson. The company declined to disclose specific MSP counts.
1. Symantec Under Pressure: Activist investor Starboard Value LP has taken a position in Symantec, and privately nominated five directors to the security company's 11-person board in July, The Wall Street Journal reports. In a statement, Symantec said:
Symantec maintains open communications with its stockholders and values constructive input that advances the goal of creating value for all stockholders. Over the last several weeks, we have had a dialogue with Starboard and we plan to continue these discussions.
The Nominating and Governance Committee of the Symantec Board (the “Committee”) is responsible for identifying individuals qualified to become members of the Symantec Board and recommending to the Board the director nominees to be put before stockholders at each annual meeting. To that end, the Committee is evaluating the nominations put forth by Starboard consistent with established policies.
Symantec is under pressure on several fronts. Internally, the company's board has set up an audit committee to investigate potential financial issues at the company. Externally, the company faces growing competition from next-generation security providers across the cloud, network and endpoint markets.
