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Brian talks with Gill Langston, Head Security Nerd at Solarwinds MSP, Matthew Koenig, VP of Sales with Secure Now! and Justin Kallhoff, CEO at Infogressive.
Our experts share insights and tips on some issues that you may miss if you panic and rush your deployments in order to salve a frantic client. The mindset of a worker at home versus the same worker in an office environment, many will feel safe and potentially disregard cybersecurity measures in place in the office. The full security stack needs to be deployed in a home office including security awareness training.
BYOK?….Bring your own Keyboard! If rolling a truck is absolutely required to assist customers with their computers or servers, know that this virus can live on device surfaces including keyboards and the mouse. Bring your own device to ensure you are working with sanitized equipment.
The message is clear…Slow down, don’t panic and work smart and safe, not fast!
To help you quickly respond to the needs of your clients and end users, and keep them safe as they work remotely, Solarwinds MSP are extending FREE use of a Take Control Plus license for 90 days if you request it before June 30, 2020. During this period, they are also increasing the number of end-user accounts provided with Take Control Plus—from 10 accounts to 35. These end-user accounts can be offered to your employees or clients, enabling them to safely access their computers remotely using a simplified Take Control interface.
Brian talks with Dan Wensley, CEO with Warranty Master; An Automated Asset Lifecycle Management platform for IT Service Providers.
Dan talks about the steps Warranty Master as a company took to go remote in a very quick response to Covid-19 and to do their part with social distancing. The anxiety that change brings can be troubling, however IT Service Providers are best equipped for this change and stand poised to play an integral part in helping the SMB adapt and maintain their businesses as best they can through this difficult time.
First, a note from listener Chris.
Issue clarification Link:
https://www.informationweek.com/cdc-plagued-by-virus-of-a-different-strain/d/d-id/1051659
Topic 1: Louisiana Secretary of State on Defining MSPs
We do a little analysis on Dave’s interview on his Business of Tech podcast. What consitutes “malpractice” for an IT service provider?
“If self-regulation doesn’t work, the government will step in.”
And, of course, how will legislation define MSPs and MSSPs?
Topic 2: COVID-19 and a Possible Recession
I’m not any of us understands what’s going on with the Covid-19 virus or with the economy. But there definitely appears to be a connection. We analyze a bit for the IT consultants out there.
Topic 3: Robots aren’t taking our jobs, they are becoming our bosses
An interesting twist from The Verge. AI without humanity can be very stressful. We speculate on what this means and where we’re heading.
🙂
Brian catches up with Bobby Kuzma, Practice Director of Security Assessment & Testing with the Herjavec Group.
Bobby gives some great insights and things you can be doing to reduce your risk and exposure to the bad guys. What are the profitable attacks for cybercrime?….Concentrating on the fundamentals and compensating controls of cybersecurity is the first step to keeping the risk low for both you and your customers.
What?! Episode 50 of the Killing IT Podcast! We’re almost at the one year mark. And we really appreciate your listenership.
Topic 1: Coronavirus / Covid-19 and Traveling Today
All of us travel a lot. Some notes from Karl’s travels to Thailand and Cambodia, etc.
We also discuss several industry cancellations and the longer-term implications of this on the broader economy. Since this recording (a couple days a go), CompTIA’s CCF, Channel Partners, and South by Southwest have all canceled.
Other comments on caution vs. panic, supply chain, Christmas sales, and more.
Related links:
https://scoop.upworthy.com/17-year-old-builds-website-track-coronavirus-epidemic
https://www.zdnet.com/article/coronavirus-update-2020-tech-conference-cancellations-and-travel-bans/
Topic 2: Technology in Cambodia
Karl’s notes from the field, particularly with regard to sensitive humanitarian work and the effect of China/Cambodia relationships. How this relates to the sex slave trade. The economics of working with other countries.
Again: How does this reality affect your, your clients, and their business?
Related Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/business/china-coronavirus-surveillance.html
Topic 3: Defending High-Tech And Its Billionaire Entrepreneurs
Dave declares a rant regarding a commentary piece in CRN magazine. Ryan and Karl throw in their two cents.
Related Link: https://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/column-defending-high-tech-and-its-billionaire-entrepreneurs
That’s it for this week. Comments welcome. There’s a form below.
More information on Karl’s SMB Online Conference here: https://www.smbonlineconference.com.
Brian has a round table discussion with three IoTSSA Advisory Board Members discussing how they have integrated cybersecurity into the culture of their IT Services practice.
Join Dawn Wilson, CEO of BlueFin Technology in Jacksonville Florida, Eric Rieger, President of WebIT Services in Chicago, Illinois and Daniel Johnson, President of Machine Logic in Denver, Colorado.
They generously share their insights on how they are making cybersecurity a top priority in order to protect their clients and their own businesses. The shift from MSP to MSSP being an entirely different business model. ‘Cybersecurity is not a bolt on service, rather an integration into your company culture’ states Eric Rieger
Karl’s out this week in Cambodia, so Dave and Ryan are the hosts this week.
Topic One: ChannelPro State of the Channel Info
ChannelPro released their “State of the Channel” report. Dave and Ryan focus in on a few key data points. Number one is, who is a managed service provider (as compared to those who claim to be one).
Once again, we question whether the term MSP has any meaning any more.
Next point – Only 67% are paying attention to security challenges. Does that make sense?
Other topics include cloud revenue and management of cloud infrastructure. Related link: https://www.channelpronetwork.com/article/2020-state-channel-cloud-and-managed-services-are-all-grown?page=0%2C0
Topic Two: Asigra warns that RMM platforms with integrated backup will be the next attack vector for ransomware
Dave and Ryan see this as FUD – fear, uncertainty, and doubt. This “press release” is really just a marketing piece.
Dave says this is an irresponsible move in the current era of outright attacks on MSPs and our clients. Ryan takes the argument to a different level and wonders whether they’re really saying that aggregated services are naturally less secure.
Dave awards to Asigra the first ever Troll Press Release Award.
Link: https://www.pr.com/press-release/806072
Topic Three: Low code and no code application development
Ryan digs into new changes in “Low Code” application development. This concept hit Gartner’s radar about three years ago. There are now hundreds of services that make low-code and no-code development easy to use for the masses.
This is very interesting to folks in IT who used to make a bunch of money selling programming. Now clients can do a lot of this themselves.
But is it a good idea? Will clients destroy their own security? Or perhaps they’ll create something that’s not backed up, not documented, not encrypted, etc.
Link: https://medium.com/swlh/what-is-low-code-development-f45550c3243d 🙂
Brian talks with Head Security Nerd at Solarwinds MSP, Gill Langston about his role in making MSPs successful. Gill’s excitement about speaking with MSPs about their challenges and successes with security is infectious. He shares some stories and scenarios on what he has been seeing and hearing from channel partners and the different levels that many are at tackling the multi-headed beast that is cybersecurity.
Check out and Follow Gill’s Head Security Blog and you can also follow him on twitter https://twitter.com/cybersec_nerd
As many experts have predicted in early 2020, the next big vulnerability on the horizon is phone security and how this will greatly increase the attack surface for the bad guys. This very timely podcast edition you will likely want to listen to twice….be ready to take some notes!
Brian has a candid chat with George Bardissi, President and CEO of bvoip, a cloud-unified communication solution built specifically for IT Service Providers. George shares some scary scenarios where you and your customers are vulnerable if phone systems aren’t treated the same as any other endpoint on the network. From brute force attacks to compliance requirements they cover a lot of ground in this 38 minute podcast.
Brian sits down with Luis Alvarez, President and CEO of Alvarez Technology Group to discuss the shift from MSP to developing an IoT practice. Luis talks about how innovation and digital transformation started as a cost savings initiative for businesses, however has now evolved into a necessity driven by regulation in both current and emerging industries such as Cannabis.
Identifying these opportunities and becoming a trusted advisor starts with getting yourself educated on not only the technologies but your client’s businesses and how they operate.
