MSP 1337 | Cybersecurity Education & Security Guidance

A brief trip down memory lane to simpler times... Looking back 3-5 years we took on the likes of ransomware and malware with additional tools and products that made us look, dare I say, pretty good to our clients in keeping them safe as we avoided paying ransoms by recovering from backups or preventing the spread to the rest of the client's network or even warding off would-be attackers. Fast forward and 2020 seemed to take many MSPs and their clients by surprise.  Join me this week with Bryan Sullo of Clock Tower Technology as we discuss how our clients and prospects are bringing the questions and concerns to us rather than us taking our concerns and security plans to them.  

When drinking from the same cup or bowl doesn't make sense.  Adding redundancy and capacity in the event there is an outage, not so much for your client but for you, the MSP.  This week we welcome back Eric Hanson of Inland Productivity as we discuss different options for redundancy.

I recently had an opportunity to sit down with a long-time friend and colleague, Jason LeDuc of AccessIT Group, and discuss CIS Top 20 and a walk-through of the critical 6.  We spend a few minutes on each control, and that while there is no "easy button," it doesn't mean this has to be difficult. Stay tuned through the end to hear about which control is as important, if not more important, than all the other controls!

This week I had an opportunity to sit down with Corey Muson of PC Matic and talk about Cybersecurity in the K12 space.  MSPs have a huge opportunity to come into the K12 space and help the Tech Directors and other K12 staff navigate a space that is uncharted territory for many.  Join us as we share insights and opportunities to help K12 staff defend against the threat actors who are now targeting this demographic.

It is 2021 and we are jumping right in with a conversation focused on co-managed IT and an idea that says we have to educate the unwilling. We aren't as important as we would like to think we are and our clients and prospective clients hate it when we use fear to sell anything, let alone cybersecurity. I am joined again by Eric Hanson of Inland Productivity as well as a new guest Bob Coppedge of Co-Managed IT.

Each Week we talk about a different area of Cybersecurity and how it pertains to an MSP.  This week I discuss with Eric Hansen of Inland Productivity what it means to position and sell security services, The number of dashboards or panes of glass we find ourselves trying to consolidate, and whether or not that is a good idea.  Last, we talk about how each of these areas put an MSP in a position of asking one simple question... do I stay an MSP or become an MSSP?  I think we have come to the conclusion that all MSPs need to add a lower case "s" as all need to be focused on Security Services as a part of your stack but that doesn't mean you have to change who you are!

In this episode, I explore with Colin Knox of Gradient what it means to have alignment with our vendors.  That not all of our vendors are a good fit for every client.  Last but not least make sure that your clients know who your vendors are.  That if something happens it isn't just you left holding the bag.

What is the correlation between Insurance and Ransomware?  Are Insurance companies and Threat Actors in cahoots?  Find out as we explore the challenges faced by MSPs.  I am joined this week by Frank Bauer of Vade Secure and together we journey back to the days of Zenith and the earlier days or less challenge days of being an MSP when it comes to security.  Insurance was loosely goosey and largely anyone could get insurance.  Shout out to Mike Semel and his timely article ""MSP Sued" with some relevant tips to avoiding the ransomware nightmares and making sure you will have the coverage you need from your insurance provider.

What does 1337 mean? How did MSP 1337 come about? and more of shiny object syndrome.  Join me with our returning guest Joshua Smith as we talk about the mistakes we made when we ran Untangled Solutions and how to avoid our pitfalls as you evaluate Security solutions to implement in your organization.

As a former MSP and a consultant to many MSP and MSSPs I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about "Shiny Object Syndrome".  Many of you who know me know that I have always struggled with what I refer to as the shiny object syndrome which can cause some serious company problems and while historically it was tied more to business improvements and solving problems I didn't know existed until I found that shiny object.   Today it's a bit different as the shiny objects are tied more to the idea that there is a tool, widget, service of some kind that can help me and you the listener become better at security.  We will talk about SIEMs, SOC as a service, and other tools and widgets that might be a great fit but at what cost.  Do I have the resources to implement? Is it replacing something that already does it? Does it overlapping with another product but I need to keep both?  These questions and many more... Together we will step through how to make decisions in a space that is evolving faster than we can keep up with scalpel-like tools and services showing up every day.