Monday Morning Impact – September 25

Report: Ransomware Has Become a Major Threat to Business

Ransomware has emerged as one of the key threats to digital business, according to a report commissioned by Cisco Systems and Dimension Data.

The report cites Cisco’s 2017 Mid-Year Cyber Security Report, which says nearly 50 percent of businesses around the globe experienced at least one cyber attack in 2016, and, of those, 39% were ransomware attacks. In the US alone, the number of attacks rose 300% from 2015 to 2016.

This trend can largely be attributed to the growth of ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) attacks in the first half of 2017.

“The escalation in ransomware attacks in the digital economy makes every organization a target,” says Matthew Gyde, Group Executive, Security. “This risk escalated when cryptocurrency and bitcoin became a common avenue for ransom payment. That’s because cybercriminals cannot be traced. And as more employees work remotely on personal devices, the risk is further compounded.”

The report makes a number of recommendations, including proactive research on the dark web for exploits gaining in popularity; the effective use of identity and access management tools; proper network access control; anomaly detection; immediate incident response; and a timely and effective backup policy.

Channel Impact^®
The report underscores the opportunity for security-focused channel partners who can mitigate risks through a combination of technology and social engineering-related prevention. It also reinforces the need for backups that will be instrumental to restoring data, as opposed to paying the ransom.

Major SPs Team Up for Mobile Authentication

AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon are joining forces to develop a mobile authentication solution for enterprises and customers in 2018. The combined task force is expected to tackle a number of related issues, including network-based device authentication, geo-location and SIM card recognition.

Each company has promised to contribute the resources needed to develop an advanced, mobile authentication solution that will help reduce mobile identity risks by analyzing data and activity patterns on a mobile network to predict, with a high degree of certainty, whether the user is who they say they are.

“At a time when online and digital services are commonplace, security and authentication are issues that affect us all,” said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. “Through strong collaboration, the taskforce announced today has the potential to create impactful benefits for U.S. customers by helping to decrease fraud and identity theft, and increase trust in online transactions. Further, we will be working closely with the taskforce to ensure this solution is aligned and interoperable with solutions deployed by operators.”

The taskforce intends to work with the app developer community, industry organizations and third parties to move this initiative forward.

Channel Impact^®
Increased capabilities in this area can stimulate channel opportunities in the security space, and help partners to build a more solid foundation in the mobile device segment.

Versa Networks and CA Technologies Partner for SD-WAN Monitoring and Optimization

Versa Networks, a San Jose-based provider of software-based networking and security solutions, announced it has entered into a partnership with CA Technologies to integrate its Cloud IP Platform with the Network Operations and Analytics platform from CA.

The Versa Cloud IP Platform integrates L3 to L7 networking and multiple layers of security in software to enable flexible, scalable and secure SD-WAN and SD-Branch deployments while also collecting data across the SD-WAN to provide deep visibility into application performance. Meanwhile, CA’s Network Operations and Analytics platform includes network management and performance management.

“IT organizations today are struggling to effectively manage their networks to address digital transformation and the ongoing move to cloud IT,” said Kumar Mehta, founder and chief development officer at Versa Networks. “Versa’s partnership with CA Technologies provides visibility into the entire network infrastructure, enabling IT organizations to manage their networks more effectively to meet business objectives,”

Integration of the two products is expected to enable enterprises to centralize real-time monitoring across their entire SD-WAN and network infrastructure across a single-pane-of-glass. Other functions include performance optimization, troubleshooting, and enhanced overall visibility.

Channel Impact^®
Partners involved in the SD-WAN space may use this combination as a means of enhancing their own efficiency as they serve the needs of their customers.