MSP & MSSP & IT Industry Notes

June 9th, 2024

Arcoa Group

Why partnering with ARCOA makes sense
Electronics Recycling is an important and profitable part of the IT asset lifecycle, but it can be overwhelming with all you already do, varying state regulations, and the limited resources at hand. That’s where ARCOA comes in. When you partner with ARCOA, you get all the benefits of a big company without any of the capital investment. We’ve been doing this since 1989 and have the expertise, certifications, and nationwide resources to get the most for all your clients’ retired IT assets. Plus, positioning your clients as environmental stewards not only elevates their appeal to consumers, it meets government requirements and avoids fines.

What partnering with ARCOA looks like
Our role is to make it easy for you to bring more value to your clients. We work with you to help stretch your clients’ IT budget by reducing the total cost of ownership of their electronics. We’re experts at identifying and implementing the solutions your clients need for the end-of-use re-marketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your client.

The U.S. Government’s Transition to All-Digital Government

• NARA is the nation's record keeper, protecting and making public valuable federal records.
• NARA's Office of the Chief Records Officer manages federal records, focusing on digital records.
• NARA issues guidance on records management, including new digitization standards for permanent records.
• Agencies must manage permanent records digitally and NARA will only accept digital transfers after June 30, 2024.
• Digitization standards cover records management, documentation, quality management, metadata, file formats, and compression codecs.
• Agencies must validate digital records to ensure they are complete, accurate, and compliant.PDF/A is recommended for textual documents; raster formats are preferred for printed photographs to retain metadata.
• Standards require maintaining image properties and metadata in PDF/A files.
• Many records were created digitally but printed due to outdated processes.
• NARA provides resources to help agencies implement digitization standards and works with GSA for digital transition solutions.

Darktrace Launches Managed Detection & Response Service to Bolster Security Operations

• Launched new service, Darktrace Managed Detection & Response (MDR)
• MDR combines Darktrace's detection and response capabilities with the expertise of its global analyst team.
• Service provides AI-powered threat containment and expert alert management, augmenting internal security teams.
• Over 40% of security leaders prioritize enhancing SOC technology and processes against AI-powered threats.
• MDR leverages Darktrace's ActiveAI Security Platform for real-time threat detection and autonomous response.

87% of MSPs Require Greater AI Knowledge to Satisfy Customer Demands

• Barracuda’s new global MSP report shows that IT service providers expect 44% of revenue to come from recurring managed services in 2024, up from 34% in 2023.

• Most are planning to introduce around 6 new services on average, and their most successful products are security related.
• 77% of MSPs feel under pressure to offer customers AI insight and tools.
• 92% say cloud marketplaces will be crucial for their organization.

Visual Edge IT Adds Enterprise-grade Security Solution and Virtual CISO Services to ...

• Announced two new security solutions: Vantage Point™ and Virtual Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) services.
• Vantage Point™ is an enterprise-grade security solution offering Fortune-500 level cybersecurity to organizations of all sizes.
• Virtual CISO services aim to protect small- to medium-sized businesses from cyberattacks and ransomware. Features of
• Vantage Point™ include:
  • Integrated cyber protection tools for comprehensive security against various threats.
  • Defense in Depth approach to eliminate single points of failure and quickly detect/respond to threats.
  • 24/7/365 cyber operations driven by AI and ML for constant vigilance.
  • Collaboration with customers' IT teams to ensure optimal security performance

Kaseya Strengthens Global Presence With New Leadership Team in Europe and Asia-Pacific

• appointed new leadership in the EMEA and APAC regions.
• Dermot McCann is the new executive vice president and general manager for Europe
  • McCann, previously the senior vice president and general manager for APAC, will now lead go-to-market efforts across Europe from London.
• Daniel Garcia has been promoted to vice president and general manager for APAC.
• Garcia, formerly involved in launching TruPeer in Australia, will oversee go-to-market strategy, new business, and account management in APAC.

Kyndryl introduces new threat insights service for AWS

• Announced the Kyndryl Threat Insights Managed Service, available with Amazon Security Lake.
• Service centralizes security data from AWS environments for greater visibility and enhanced cybersecurity risk management.
• Builds on Kyndryl's collaboration with AWS to create scalable security and resiliency solutions.
• Key features include:
  • Enhanced cyber resilience by improving anticipation, protection, and recovery from cyber incidents.
  • Improved visibility and simplicity for mitigating cybersecurity risks with a single pane view of security and resiliency risks.
  • AI/ML-empowered analysis for anomaly detection, threat intelligence enhancement, and prioritized investigation.

Microsoft is killing off non-editable PDFs for good

• announces plans to develop a tool to convert non-editable PDFs into fully editable documents while preserving the original layout
  • AI-Powered Conversion: The tool, described in Microsoft's paper “Method and System of Generating an Editable Document from a Non-Editable Document,” will utilize artificial intelligence to map and identify elements within a PDF, such as text, images, and tables.
  • Maintaining Layout Integrity: The tool will use bounding boxes to ensure the layout remains unchanged and can recognize fonts and color schemes, allowing the new editable PDF to be resized without losing structural integrity.
  • Significance for Document Management: This technology aims to overcome the limitations of existing PDF converters, which often fail to maintain the original layout and font accurately.
  • Potential Security Concerns: While the tool promises enhanced document management, there is concern that it might compromise the security that PDFs traditionally offer by making them editable.

Lock in on Cyber Security with ARCOA

• IT Asset Disposition (ITAD): Manages the secure disposition of end-of-life IT equipment
• Data Destruction: Ensures sensitive data is completely erased from devices before disposal
• Asset Remarketing: Resells refurbished IT assets to maximize value recovery
• Recycling Services: Provides environmentally responsible recycling of electronics
• Compliance & Reporting: Offers documentation and reporting to meet regulatory standards
• Secure Logistics: Handles the safe transport of IT assets throughout the disposal process

Cybersecurity Notes

• American Clinical Solutions, headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, notified over 400,000 patients that their PHI was stolen during a ransomware attack.
• Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health notified over 100,000 patients that their PHI was stolen by the Medusa ransomware group.
• Paducah Dermatology of Kentucky notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was stolen by the Medusa ransomware hacking group.
• American Renal Associates, aka Innovative Renal Care, headquartered in Franklin, TN, notified nearly 20,000 patients that their PHI was stolen by the Medusa ransomware hacking group.
• United Urology Group, headquartered in Maryland, notified up to 10,000 patients that their PHI was stolen by RansomHouse hacking group.
• Malama Ke Ola Health Center of Wailuku, Hawaii notified up to 12,000 patients that their PHI may have been exposed after a cyber attack.
• A&A Services, aka Sav-Rx, headquartered in Fremont, NE, notified 2,812,336 patients that their PHI may have been exposed after cyber attack.
• Ticketmaster, headquartered in West Hollywood, CA notified 560 million customers that their info was exposed after ransomware attack.
• Christie’s Auction House of New York notified 500,000 clients that their info may have been exposed after ransomware attack.
• Charles Littlejohn was sentenced to a 5 year prison sentence for hacking and stealing tax  returns of 50,000 to 70,000 taxpayers.
• First American Financial Corp. notified 44,000 customers that their info was exposed after cyber attack.
• Palm Beach Health Network and Palm Beach Gardens Community Hospital of Florida are facing lawsuit over allegedly allowing Facebook to collect info on patients.

Sharp has another security issue

• Announced new security vulnerability that affects MFP models such as:
• • BP-90C70, 90C80, 70C65, 70C45, 70C36, 70C31
  • BP-60C45, 60C36, 60C31
  • BP-50C65, 50C55, 50C45, 50C36, 50C31, 50C26
  • MX-8081, 7081, 3571, 3071, 4061, 3561, 3061, 6051, 5051, 4051
• Could allow a hacker to access network to which MFP is connected
• Also impacts models relabeled by Toshiba, such as e-STUDIO 908/ 1058/ 1208 devices

Best AutoML Platforms to Watch in 2024

• Organizations are adopting Automated Machine Learning (AutoML) to automate ML model training, tuning, and deployment, saving time and resources for data scientists and MLOps teams.
• AutoML optimizes models for datasets, selects the best algorithms, preprocesses data, and tunes hyperparameters, aiding industries in predicting customer behavior, detecting fraud, and improving supply chain efficiency.
• Proper AutoML tools or platforms are essential for creating models, performing cross-validation, and evaluating classification metrics.
• AI TechPark highlights the top four AutoML tools and platforms:

Auto-Keras

• Open-source AutoML library developed by DATA Lab.
• Creates deep learning (DL) frameworks and searches for model architecture and hyper-parameters.
• Provides APIs like TextClassifier and ImageClassifier.
• Uses Neural Architecture Search (NAS) algorithms to adjust models automatically.

TransmogrifAI

• Open-source AutoML library built on Scala and SparkML.
• Produces data-efficient models for structured data with minimal coding.
• Automates data cleansing, feature engineering, and model selection.
• AutoML platforms transform big data into insights, improve decision-making, and streamline business processes, automating repetitive tasks for data scientists and MLOpsteams.

PrintIQ Announces Update for Print Management Service

• released the 48th version of its cloud-based print management program.
• program caters to various sectors including wide format, apparel, labels, packaging, and commercial print.
• update was influenced by customer feedback and industry requests.
• Key updates include:
  • Faster and more accurate quote creation.
  • Simplified ordering process.
  • Enhanced clarity on production floor variables.
  • More customized data.
• New features include:
  • Gang-based estimating module for large format segments.
  • Enhanced report presentation for easier data access.

Security hampers move to cloud printing

Research published by Quocirca Inc.

• 69% of customers surveyed now using cloud print management
• 74% are considering a hybrid environment
• 51% plan on installing more print servers this year
• Data security is still top barrier to wider could print adoption

Fujitsu Launches AI Framework to Overcome Enterprise Barriers in Generative AI Adoption

Key Highlights from Fujitsu's Announcement on Generative AI Framework for Enterprises:

• Generative AI Framework Launch:
  • Fujitsu Limited announced the development of a generative AI framework for enterprises, aimed at addressing diverse and evolving business needs.
  • Framework will be part of the Fujitsu Kozuchi lineup, available globally starting July 2024.
• Enterprise-Specific Challenges:
  • Enterprises face barriers in using generative AI, such as managing large data scales, meeting cost and response speed requirements, and adhering to corporate regulations.

San Diego-based Managed Service Provider ITCM Acquires Value Logic, Inc.

• ITCM acquired Value Logic, Inc., enhancing its network, cloud, infrastructure management, software development, and security services.
• acquisition, ITCM's fourth MSP, expands its expertise with IQMS implementation and maintenance.
• acquisition adds manufacturing industry knowledge and key relationships to ITCM.