Monday Morning Impact – March 26

Canalys: 2017 a Record Year for Infrastructure; A “Strong” Year for Channel

Technology infrastructure had a very strong 2017, according to research released by Canalys, an independent analyst firm with offices in Singapore, Palo Alto, the UK and China.

According to Canalys, the value of worldwide infrastructure shipments, including servers, storage and networking products, reached a record US$142 billion in 2017, up 7% on the previous year. Strong growth in servers was the primary factor with server shipments valued at $66 billion. Storage returned to growth after a period of disruption, as spending moved to all-flash and software-defined products. Networking continued to grow, as investment in data center switching and 11ac Wave 2 wireless LANs for campus and branch environments remained strong. Overall, Ethernet switching grew 7% and wireless LANs were up 9%. Service provider routing remained positive at 1%, but enterprise routing fell 9%.

It was also a strong year for channel partners selling all three technology categories. “The channel continued to dominate infrastructure shipments, collectively representing 74% of the worldwide total,” said Canalys principal analyst Matthew Ball. “But direct grew faster, due to the increasing role of Chinese and Taiwanese ODM server vendors selling large volumes to cloud service providers. Direct accounted for 34% of server shipments, compared with 19% for storage and 20% for networking. The massive capital expenditure planned by the hyperscale cloud service providers in upgrading and expanding existing data centers, as well as increasing their geographic presence, will maintain this trend in 2018.”

The top three infrastructure vendors in 2017, Cisco, Dell EMC and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, collectively accounted for 50% of total worldwide shipments, according to the report.

Channel Impact^®
The data provide solid insights into the direction of the industry, demonstrating continued strength of the channel, although mitigated by the growth of direct sales.

McAfee Labs Reports Record Surges in Health Care Attacks

The healthcare industry has seen increased levels of attack, according to the March 2018 edition of the McAfee Labs Threats Report, which examines the growth and trends of new malware, ransomware, and other threats in Q4 2017.

Although publicly disclosed security incidents targeting health care actually decreased by 78% in the fourth quarter of 2017, the sector experienced a dramatic 211% overall increase in incidents in 2017. McAfee’s analysts conclude many incidents were caused by organizational failure to comply with security best practices or address known vulnerabilities in medical software.

“Health care is a valuable target for cybercriminals who have set aside ethics in favor of profits,” said Christiaan Beek, McAfee Lead Scientist and Senior Principal Engineer. “Our research uncovered classic software failures and security issues such as hardcoded embedded passwords, remote code execution, unsigned firmware, and more. Both health care organizations and developers creating software for their use must be more vigilant in ensuring they are up to date on security best practices.”

Meanwhile, fileless malware and cryptocurrency mining were also on the upswing, according to the report. McAfee Labs saw on average eight new threat samples per second, and the increasing use of fileless malware attacks leveraging Microsoft PowerShell. The Q4 spike in Bitcoin value prompted cybercriminals to focus on cryptocurrency hijacking through a variety of methods, including malicious Android apps.

“By going digital along with so many other things in our world, crime has become easier to execute, less risky and more lucrative than ever before,” said Steve Grobman, Chief Technology Officer for McAfee. “It should be no surprise to see criminals focusing on stealthy fileless PowerShell attacks, low risk routes to cash through cryptocurrency mining, and attacks on soft targets such as hospitals.”

The research is based on quarterly threat data gathered from hundreds of millions of sensors across multiple threat vectors around the world.

Channel Impact^®
Arguably the most compelling data point is the surge in healthcare attacks accompanied by the dramatic reduction in Q4. Regardless of the cause, channel partners would be wise to revisit their health care clients to ensure that their technologies and practices pass muster.

DigiCert Updates Partner Program for SSL, PKI and IoT

DigiCert Inc., a global identity and encryption vendor, has updated its partner program in the wake of the company’s acquisition of Symantec Website Security last October.

The enhanced program features four tiers with discounts based on sales volume and expertise with dedicated sales, marketing and technical assistance. In addition, a new ‘Elite’ tier enables certified partners to sell new PKI solutions for the enterprise. Program components include market development funding, deal registration, free NFR products, and sales/marketing collateral.

The company has also launched a Managed PKI program through which partners can help customers simplify enterprise authentication, mobile device management, and encrypted communications. Cloud and hybrid options are available.

“The process of transitioning the legacy Symantec frontend systems onto the DigiCert platform is a complex task, which is still ongoing,” explains Mirco Reimann, global director for encryption at DigiCert. “However, the announcement of the channel program enhancements makes it clear that we see our future as working more closely with the channel, which we believe will be an engine for strong growth opportunities over the next few years – especially in higher-value areas such as PKI-powered IoT solutions.”

DigiCert will grandfather its existing and former Symantec Website Security partners into the combined program at their current tiers and begin the first of its new training and certification workshops during Q2 of 2018.

Channel Impact^®
The growth of internet-connected devices has created a stronger need for PKI as a means of securing corporate users and devices.