MSP, MSSP and IT Notes Industry January 11th, 2021

^{January 11th, 2021}

MSP, MSSP and IT Industry Notes

Sponsored by

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 remarketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your clients will see better results.

Advanced Cybersecurity Solutions are Needed as Workforce Dynamics Change

• A recent Skybox survey of almost 70 organizations revealed that more than a third of the combined workforce is expected to remain remote for at least another 18 months
• Furthering the need for technologies for cloud services and digital collaborative tools such as Slack, Zoom and Skype
• Personal devices, home routers, and transfer if sensitive information over unsanctioned and unsecured channels like IM, apps, personal email addresses and cloud-based document processors are all expected to play a key role in future data breaches and hacks

Navisite to acquire cloud provider Velocity

• Reported on Capacity
• Navisite acquired Velocity Technology Solutions
• Velocity Technology provide cloud managed services
• Velocity founded in 2003, headquarters in Charlotte, NC
• "We look forward to what we can accomplish together with Navisite," said Steve Kloeblen, CEO of Velocity Technology Solutions.

ICS Announces Acquisition Of AKUITY Technologies

• ICS, a portfolio company of ClearLight Partners and a provider of Information Technology (IT) Managed Services in the Northeast, announced it has acquired AKUITY Technologies
• AKUITY provides IT Managed Services in New England
• AKUITY founded in 1988, headquarters in Auburn, MA
• ICS was founded in 1986

Milestone Technologies Acquires Covestic, LLC. a ServiceNow Elite Partner and IT Managed ...

• Milestone Technologies, a Silicon Valley based global IT managed services firm, announced the acquisition of Covestic, LLC
• Covestic offers Manager IT services along with being a ServiceNow Elite Partner
• ServiceNow offers modern digital workflows
• “We are excited to be joining the Milestone family and I am looking forward to working with our new colleagues to continue to deliver world-class services and solutions to our clients,” said John Schaffer, President and CEO of Covestic

WatServ Provides Innovative, Multi-Cloud Solutions with Alert Logic's Managed Detection and ...

• WatServ partnering with Alert Logic
• WatServ to provide multi-cloud solutions for Alert Logics MDR
• WatServ clients to have access to Alert Logics MDR platform
• "WatServ currently manages several of our customers' cloud environments using Alert Logic MDR," said Kazim Somji, Chief Technology Officer at WatServ
• "Digital transformation is a top priority for most organizations operating in today's highly competitive market," said Dan Webb, Vice President of Partner Sales & Alliances at Alert Logic

Indellient Launches Managed IT Solutions Team and Application Upgrades to Optimize the AWS ...

• Indellient, announces formation of their Managed IT Solutions team
• Provide organizations the ongoing support they need to get the most out of their AWS solutions
• "Indellient has been providing ongoing support on an as-needed for increasingly sophisticated cloud and hybrid-cloud applications for several years for our clients," said VP of Data Services and Operations Chris Venantius

Excalibur Data Systems Announces A New Managed Services Offering

• Excalibur Data Systems, today announced their Cherwell Software managed services offering
• Designed to address day-to-day administrative activities with your Cherwell CSM and CAM Platforms
• Ideal for any organization looking for a cost-effective way to manage their Cherwell Service Management Platform

ISG Technology Ramps Up Mid-Market Managed Service Offering With Two IT Veterans

• ISG announces addition of two industry veterans to staff
• Brian McCollum for Director of Managed Services and Jeffrey Meyers as Support Center Manager
• Part of ISG Technology's plan to better serve mid-market companies that view IT as a strategic differentiator for their business

ePlus Acquires Systems Management Planning For Strong AI, Collaboration Expansion

• Reported on CRN
• ePlus on Monday said it acquired competitor and fellow solution provider Systems Management & Planning for an undisclosed sum'
• Eplus garners presence in upstate NY and northeaster US

Toshiba's detector sniffs out spy chips lurking in hardware

• Reported on NIKKEI Asia
• Toshiba and Waseda University develops system to detect spy chips
• Spy chips are tiny intruders that are barley visible to the naked eye or are incorporated om circuity
• Spy chips made headlines about two years ago when China allegedly planted the devices into servers, which reportedly reach 30 American companies
• HTfinder can provide results in 2 weeks
• Fees are expected to hover around 2 million yen ($19,444) per product analyzed, though rates will differ depending on the type of hardware
• Spy chips can be hidden in semiconductors and circuit boards by resembling part of the circuit

Keyavi Data™ Cybersecurity Experts Issue Top 2021 Predictions

• The network perimeter is now anywhere and everywhere data flows. As many organizations extend remote work for their employees while COVID-19 lingers, securing email gateways, web gateways and endpoints – and the endless river of data flowing through those channels – will be a major business priority and challenge to protect
• Nation-state threat actors in China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are getting bolder and using more destructive attacks aimed at targets with the highest payoff potential or the most geopolitical gain. Data, the lifeblood of every organization, has become the high-value target of choice for these criminals
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are becoming the weapons of choice among cybercriminals for scamming, planting malware and committing fraud using deepfakes
• Data epidemiology – a new arrow in the hack-detection quiver – is bridging gaps in an organization’s understanding of its attack surface with tools that automatically collect and analyze large amounts of threat data and prioritize incident responses based on perceived threat levels
• “Strong security always comes back to defense-in-depth – a multilayered approach to protecting data,” said Celine Gravelines, Keyavi’s director of professional services and cybersecurity analyst

WestFax Selects NewWave Technologies as an Authorized Distributor of Its HIPAA Compliant Fax ...

• WestFax, a HIPAA Compliant Fax company, announced today its distributor partnership with NewWave Technologies, Inc
• partnership expands the WestFax cloud-based fax solutions offering to NewWave’s existing channel of over 1500 copier, MFP, and document scanner dealers to provide a fully integrated document workflow solution
• new partnership will allow NewWave dealers to sell the WestFax solution through their channel effective January 1, 2021

Feds say don’t use Chinese hardware

• The US Department of Homeland Security published a “business advisory” warning US customers against using hardware created or linked to Chinese companies
• FBI is investigating more than 1,000 cases of data theft by Chinese government
• Claims that Chinese designed products could contain backdoors or hidden data collection mechanisms accessible by Chinese hackers
• “Any person or entity that chooses to procure data services and equipment from PRC-linked firms, or store data on software or equipment developed by such firms, should be aware of the economic, reputational, and, in certain instances, legal, risks associated with doing business with these firms.”

Canon sued by employees over breach

• Class action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• Plaintiffs includes current or former employees who now live in Ohio, New York, Florida and Illinois
• Claims that Canon violated several state trade practices by failing to guard against hackers who targeted Canon with ransomware attack that supposedly exposed 10 terabytes of confidential information

Epson Announces New Desktop Document Scanners Designed for Maximum Productivity and ...

• Epson announced three new document scanning solutions – the WorkForce ES-580W, ES-500W II and ES-400 II duplex desktop document scanners
• allow users to easily scan to a smartphone, tablet or cloud storage accounts,² including Dropbox^®, Evernote^®, Google Drive™ and OneDrive, from a desktop or mobile device using the Epson Smart Panel app.³ With the WorkForce ES-580W, users can scan directly to a USB memory drive without using a computer
• 4.3" touchscreen
• 100-sheet auto document feeder
• scan speeds of up to 35 ppm/70 ipm

Cybersecurity Updates

• The FBI is reporting that pranksters are hacking into smart devices in the home, accessing the audio and video feeds from the devise (i.e. Alexa, smart TVs, etc.) and then contacting local law enforcement to report a fake crime
• • Hacker than watches the live footage of police response
  • This is called “swatting”
• Ticketmaster Corp. of New York agreed to pay $10 million to resolve charges stemming from insider-caused breach.
• • Former employee Zeehsan Zaidi pled guilty to the incident
• T-Mobile Corp., headquartered in Bellevue, WA, notified an unknown number of customers that their info may have been exposed after a cybersecurity incident.
• Mednax, headquartered in Sunrise, Florida, notified over 1.2 million patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack.
• Microsoft Corp., headquartered in Redmond, WA, notified an unknown number of customers that Russian government hackers gained access to potentially valuable source code.
• Mattapan Community Health Center of Massachusetts notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack.
• Control Security is reporting that more than 100,000 Zyxel firewalls, VPN gateways and access point controllers contain a backdoor that can be accessed by hackers.
• Prestera Center for Mental Health Services of West Virginia notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack.
• Five Points Eye Care of Athens, Georgia notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack.
• Apex Laboratory, headquartered in Farmingdale, NY, notified over 10,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack.
• South Country Health Alliance of Owatonna, Minnesota notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after a email phishing attack.
• Walmart Corp. is being sued for allegedly suffering a data breach, which supposedly resulted in customer info being posted on the Dark Web.
• • Walmart denies that it suffered a breach.
• Wyndham Capital Mortgage, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is being sued by customers as a result of a data breach.
• • Allegedly an employee illegally emailed customer information to an unauthorized account
• Five Points Eye Care of Athens, Georgia notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack
• GetSchooled, a charity headquartered in New York City, NY, and founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation of Seattle, WA, notified families of 900,000 children who info may have been exposed after data breach.
• The City of Cornelia in Georgia is notified an unknown number of citizens that their info may have been exposed after ransomware attack.
• Treasure Valley Community College of Ontario, Oregon notified an unknown number of students that their info may have been exposed after email phishing attack.
• Roanoke College of Salem, Virginia notified an unknown number of students that their info may have been exposed after ransomware attack.
• Sabre Hospitality Solutions, headquartered in Southlake, TX, agreed to pay $2.4 million to settle charges resulting from data breach that exposed info on 1.3 million customers.
• Leon Medical Centers of Florida notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI may have been exposed after a ransomware attack.
• Agency for Community Treatment Services of Tampa, Florida notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI may have been exposed after a ransomware attack.
• 5th Avenue Theater Inc. of Seattle, WA notified an unknown number of customers that their info may have been exposed after office was broken into and computers and backup tapes were stolen.