MSP, MSSP and IT Notes Industry March 7th, 2021

March 7th, 2021

MSP. IT & MSSP Industry Notes

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There are two IT FREE leads including in this weeks notes!

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.

Computex Named to the 2021 Elite 150 in CRN® MSP 500 List

• The Channel Company, has named Computex, a leading IT solutions and managed service provider, to the Elite 150 category in its 2021 Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list

• MSP 500 has three sections: the MSP Pioneer 250, MSP Elite 150, Managed Security 100
• The MSP 500 list will be featured in the February 2021 issue of CRN and online at CRN.com/msp500

Shield ITSM Selects vXchnge To Power Pittsburgh Infrastructure

• Shield ITSM selects vXchnge, a carrier-neutral colocation provider with data centers across the United States, to host its Pittsburgh-based IT infrastructure
• New colocation deployment replaces an existing client's on-premises solution and will allow the managed IT services provider to serve more clients in and around western Pennsylvania
• Shield ITSM sought a non-competitive colocation company to provide a flexible and secure foundation for its client's infrastructure

Call for Exhibitors at Managed IT Services Industry Tradeshow

• The 2021 TeamLogic IT Owner's Summit Vendor Show will be held October 13 and 14 at the Renaissance at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida
• Companies that serve the needs of managed IT service providers are invited to exhibit at this annual event
• The Vendor Show coincides with the annual TeamLogic IT Owner's Summit, which will take place October 12 through 15

Lead for IT Services in Illinois

• Request for Proposals: Information Technology Services for The Urbana Free Library
• Proposal Submission Date: 03/29/2021          Time: 8:00 A.M Central Time
• Click Lead for IT Services in Illinois for web link

IBM Announces Senior Roles for "NewCo," the Independent Managed Infrastructure Services ...

• Announced key members of the executive team to lead the independent company that will be created following the previously announced separation of IBM’s Managed Infrastructure Services business ("NewCo")
• Elly Keinan was named as Group President of the new company
• Maria Bartolome Winans has been named as NewCo’s Chief Marketing Officer
• Has relationships with more than 4,600 technology-intensive, highly regulated customers and a backlog of more than $60 billion

Replay eMazzanti's Cybersecurity Workshop to Protect Against 2021 Cyber-Threats

• eMazzanti Technologies, replaying on demand the first of two informative cybersecurity workshops
• Addresses the landscape of 2021 cyber-threats featuring experts from WatchGuard and eMazzanti Technologies
• first virtual event entitled, "2021 Cyber Threat Landscape: What is Happening Now and What You Need to Know," is available any time for replay on demand
• second virtual event, "Enable Your Remote Workforce - Secure Your Wi-Fi Resources to Prevent Cyber Risk," may be viewed live, and is scheduled March 19, 2021 at 11:00 am EST

Ostendio Wins Five Top Honors at 2021 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards

• Announced it’s been recognized as a five-category winner in 2021 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards including Best Cybersecurity Company
• Best Cybersecurity Company - Gold award
• Cybersecurity Service Provider of the Year - Gold award
• Most Innovative Cybersecurity Company of the Year - Silver award
• Compliance Solution - Silver award
• Cybersecurity Executive of the Year - Grant Elliott - Silver award

OASIS Group completes acquisition of DataSpace (UK) Limited

• OASIS Group, the largest privately-owned Records and Information Management (RIM) provider in Europe today announced the acquisition of DataSpace (UK) Limited, based in the North West of England
• Transaction marks the 52^nd successful acquisition for OASIS Group
• Established in Dublin, Ireland, OASIS is currently operating across 6 European countries, employing over 1,700 Team Members and servicing over 10,000 clients

KnowledgeLake and ibml collaborate to deliver high volume content processing

• Forming a strategic technology partnership with ibml, a global provider of intelligent information capture solutions
• Will collaborate on product development, marketing, and sales initiatives, with a focus on providing legacy enterprise content management (ECM) customers

Konica Minolta Named a 2021 Channel Partners Excellence in Digital Services Award Winner

• Announced its IT Services Division, All Covered (All Covered) has been named as one of nine partner businesses receiving honors in 11 categories of the Channel Partners Excellence in Digital Services Award
• Excellence in Digital Service Awards recognize partners who deliver stellar business outcomes for their clients
• All Covered’s submission showcased its efforts to help JM Associates Federal Credit Union (JMAFCU) take a big step forward with its cybersecurity position, which included a full security assessment, deployed its security information and event management solution (SIEM), and provided 24/7 monitoring of its network

Component shortage to affect copiers?

Report published in Wirth Consulting magazine

• office printer/MFP industry is currently facing two key challenges: sharply
  reduced office print volumes, as well as potential shortages of computer chips used by office printers and MFPs, as well as other supply constraints.
• chip demand has sharply risen during the COVID-19 pandemic as lockdowns caused a surge in demand for PCs for work and education use at home, and for personal electronics such as game consoles and televisions.
• Last year the United States placed restrictions on Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC), the biggest chip factory in China, preventing it from getting advanced chip manufacturing gear
• • the restrictions also make it harder for SMIC to sell chips to companies with U.S. ties.
• According to International Data Corporation (IDC), the supply of computer chips for printers and MFPs will continue to affect manufacturers until mid-2021.
• production was affected at AKM (Asahi Kasei Microsystems, a Japanese
  semiconductor manufacturer and also a major supplier of printer components, in November 2020 by a fire.

Y Soft announces new option

• Now offering new MFX Mobile Reader for user authentication when using its Y Soft print management (secure print release) solution
• Allows users to be COVID-19 safe by using their mobile devices to authenticate rather than touching the device with a badge or entering password into keypad

IntelliChief wins ECM solution contract

IntelliChief is an enterprise content management solution provider headquartered in Tampa, FL

• Won contract from Great Dane Transportation Corp, headquartered in Chicago, IL
• Used to automate the Accounts Payable department

New video shows massive scope of California box-ship traffic jam

• Reported on Freightways.com
• Newly released U.S. Coast Guard video offers visceral proof of just how extreme the congestion has become at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach
  • Massive delays for goods from the far east
  • We’ll see Easter goods getting stuck. And we’ll see things that are actually arriving too late to go to market

Novacoast To Open Two New SOCs Amid 'Exploding' Managed Services Demand

• Plans to open two new Security Operations Centers in the coming months
• Cybersecurity-focused solution provider seeks to meet strong growth in demand from customers
• Will have a total of six SOCs with the additional centers opening this year

Konica Minolta Announces Leadership Changes to Support Digital Transformation Initiatives

• Patrick Banno will lead Konica Minolta Business Solutions, U.S.A., Inc. as President and CEO, effective April 1, 2021
• Sam Errigo has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer, Konica Minolta Business Solutions, U.S.A., Inc., effective April 1, 2021
• “These leadership changes will enable us to continue to grow our business and position us to serve our clients more effectively with their digital transformation initiatives.” said Toshimitsu Taiko, Director, Senior Vice President and Executive Officer & Lead Officer responsible for Business Technologies, Konica Minolta, Inc

SolarWinds to spend up to $25M on security following attack

• Reported on CRN.au
• Plans to invest between US$20 million and US$25 million in security-related initiatives this year
• SolarWinds admitted Dec. 13 that nation-state hackers had injected malicious code into its Orion network monitoring product from March 2020 to June 2020

Datto Selects NEXTGEN Asia as First Distributor in Southeast Asia

• Datto announced a distribution agreement with NEXTGEN Asia
• To help accelerate growth of the Managed Service Provider (MSP) channel in Southeast Asia

Lexmark Introduces New Cloud Fax models for the Lexmark GO Line Series of MFPs

• Announced the launch of new cloud fax models for the Lexmark GO Line series of multifunction products (MFPs)
• New models combine optional cloud fax from etherFAX with standard Wi-Fi and Cloud Connectors
• Cloud Connectors offer a cohesive solution that allows small businesses to "cut the cord" to the internet or analog fax lines

Lead for IT Services in Kentucky

• Close Date 3/30/2021 02:00:00 PM (ET)
• Lead Information Technology Consulting and Technical Services
• Click here for web page link
• Lead for IT Services in Kentucky

Cybersecurity Notes

• The federal government, via Department of Health & Human Services’ Office For Civil Rights, is reminding all healthcare facilities that they have until 3/1/2021 to report any breaches that exposed PHI of fewer than 500 patients.
• Crowdstrike published report warning the healthcare industry of increased cyberattacks from state sponsored hacking gangs located in:
  • North Korea
  • Vietnam
  • Iran
  • Russia
  • China
• ZDNet is warning of a sharp rise in hacking attacks aimed at colleges and universities.
  • Up 100% YoY
  • Average ransom paid = $447,000
• Margaret’s Health of Spring Valley, Illinois notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after cyber attack.
• Watermark Retirement Communities, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, notified patients in 10 states that their PHI may have been exposed after a “cyber intrusion”
• Kroger Corp., which operates grocery stores across the U.S., and in Cincinnati, OH, an unknown number of customers that their info may have been exposed after a cybersecurity incident.
• Automatic Funds Transfer Service, headquartered in Seattle, WA, notified an unknown number of customers that their info may have been exposed after being hit by “Cuba” ransomware gang. Customer impacted include:
  • State of California Department of Motor Vehicles
  • City of Seattle, WA
  • City of Auburn, WA
  • City of Kirkland, WA
  • City of Lynnwood, WA
  • City of Monroe, WA
  • City of Puyallup, WA
  • City of Redmond, WA
  • Lakewood Water District of Seattle
  • Port of Edmonds, WA
• Harvard Eye Associates, headquartered in Laguna Hills, CA notified 29,982 patients that their PHI may have been exposed after being hit by ransomware. Also impacted is Alicia Surgery Center.
• Kaspersky Security published results of research on data security:
• • $6 trillion = estimated annual loss in U.S. in 2021 from cyber crime
  • $12.9 billion = estimated size of threat intelligence market by 2023
  • $5.2 trillion = total value at risk from cybercrime over next 5 years
• Bombardier, a manufacturer of airplanes, with U.S. headquarters located in Dallas, TX, notified an unknown number of customers that their info may have been exposed after attack from the Clop ransomware gang.
• Georgetown County of South Carolina notified an unknown number of citizens that their info may have been exposed after ransomware attack.
• Fisher-Titus Medical Center of Ohio notified an unknown number of patients had their PHI exposed after email phishing attack.
• Family Medical Center of Griffin, Georgia, part of Gore Medical Management, recently began notifying 79,100 patients that their PHI may have been exposed through a hacking incident
• • FBI notified it of the data theft in November 2020 after finding the stolen files on a third-party computer that was not part of Family Medical Center's practice
• Florida Studio Theatre of Sarasota, FL notified an unknown number of employees and customers that their info was exposed after ransomware attack
• Researchers at University of Kentucky and Michigan State University have found that more than 100 American colleges have been hacked by Chinese hackers including:
• • Florida State University Law School
  • Clemson University
  • Penn State
  • MIT
  • Columbia
  • Purdue University
  • UCLA
• Jacobson Memorial Hospital and Care Center of Elgin, North Dakota informed 1,547 patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack
• Cornerstone Care of Pennsylvania notified 11,487 patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack
• TikTok, a video sharing app controlled by the Chinese government, agreed to pay $92 million to settle lawsuit regarding breach of info of 89 million users.
• Morgan County of Missouri notified an unknown number of citizens that their info may have been exposed after DoppelPaymer ransomware attack.
• An unidentified bank in Magnolia, Arkansas is notifying customers that their info was exposed after a former employee illegally accessed and used info to make fraudulent purchases.
• Clubhouse, a popular audio chatroom app, notified an unknown number of users that their info may have been exposed after a recent breach.
• IBM report states that ransomware attacks increased 20% YoY
• • Double extortion tactics used in 59% of case
• Dion Melton and Dominic Smith of Norfolk, VA men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft as part of a scheme to purchase alcohol for resale from Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) stores with stolen credit, debit, and pre-paid gift card numbers.
• T-Mobile, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, has disclosed a data breach after an unknown number of customers were apparently affected by SIM swap attacks.
• Universal Health Services, headquartered in King of Prussia, PA, admitted that the company lost $67 million in the second half of 2020 as a result of a September cyberattack.