The second ChannelPro event of the year found itself in Chicago, IL on May 2, with the special pre-day event hosted by The 20, Cytracom, Compliancy Group, and Deep Instinct on May 1!
The event kicked off with a pre-day workshop on The Building Blocks of a Mature MSP.
The 20 hosted this alongside Cytracom, Compliancy Group, and Deep Instinct. The workshop covered the top challenges MSPs face, go-to-market strategy, adding monthly recurring revenue, developing stickier client relationships, and more!
The seminar also included two panel sessions, including one highlighting successful MSP owners: Rob Boles of BLOKWORX, James Velco of Tech Noir Solutions, Will Foret of Spot Migration and Paul Redding of Carlin Bradley. The vendor panel session featured Chuck Everett of Deep Instinct, Dave Goldie of Cytracom, Marc Haskelson of Compliancy Group and Tim Conkle of The 20.
It was a full house and so much fun.
The theme was Bigger. Better. Business. and the jam-packed event featured presentations from some of the brightest minds in the business who shared their insights on the hottest tech solutions in the SMB marketplace today. IT consultants, VARs, integrators, and managed service providers of all types networked with peers, and got detailed information on the latest technology trends and solutions.
The event concluded with attendees honoring vendor sponsors with the following awards:
Best in Show: Datto
Best Cloud Solution: Webroot
Best Hardware Solution: Epson and HP (tie)
Best New Solution: Domotz
Most Innovative Solution: TruGrid
Best Partner Community: Datto
Best Software Solution: NinjaRMM, RapidFire Tools (tie)
Best Revenue Booster: Datto
Best Add-On Product: SherWeb
Best On-Stage Presentation: The 20
Best Solution Presentation (Platinum or Gold sponsors): The 20
Best Solution Presentation (Silver sponsors): NinjaRMM
Best Distributor: SYNNEX
Best Silver Selfie: ConnectBooster, Domotz (tie)
Best IoT Solution: Domotz
The next seminar will be held in San Jose September 4-5!
Spots are filling up fast, so interested attendees should register immediately here!
We hope to see you there!
Crystal McFerran, SVP Sales and Marketing.
The 20-hosted workshop.
Tim Conkle, CEO.
Earlier this month, we saw the first of four ChannelPro SMB Forum events this year that featured presentations from industry experts and some of the top managed service providers in the country!
The event kicked off with a pre-day workshop on The Building Blocks of a Mature MSP.
The 20 hosted this alongside Cytracom, Compliancy Group, and Deep Instinct. The workshop covered the top challenges MSPs face, go-to-market strategy, adding monthly recurring revenue, developing stickier client relationships, and more!
The seminar also included two panel sessions, including one highlighting successful MSP owners: Rob Boles of BLOKWORX, Scott Meeler of Managed IT Systems, Terry Barden of Forward Systems and Paul Redding of Carlin Bradley. The vendor panel session featured Vance Carlaw of Deep Instinct, Dave Goldie of Cytracom, Marc Haskelson of Compliancy Group and Crystal McFerran of The 20.
It was a full house and so much fun.
The theme was Bigger. Better. Business. and the jam-packed event featured presentations from some of the brightest minds in the business who shared their insights on the hottest tech solutions in the SMB marketplace today. IT consultants, VARs, integrators, and managed service providers of all types networked with peers, and got detailed information on the latest technology trends and solutions.
The event concluded with attendees honoring vendor sponsors with the following awards:
Best in Show: Datto
Best Cloud Solution: Datto and SherWeb
Best Hardware Solution: Epson
Best New Solution: Domotz
Most Innovative Solution: Compliancy Group
Best Partner Community: Datto
Best Software Solution: Webroot
Best Revenue Booster: Cytracom
Best IoT Solution: Domotz and SYNNEX
Best Add-On: RapidFire Tools
Best On-Stage Presentation: The 20
Best Solution Presentation (Sapphire, Platinum, Diamond, Gold sponsors): Datto
Best Solution Presentation (Silver sponsors): bvoip
Best Distributor: SYNNEX
Best Silver Selfie: Domotz
The next seminar will be held in Chicago May 1-2!
Spots are filling up fast, so interested attendees should register immediately here!
We hope to see you there!
The Internet of Things (IoT) is an idea that could radically alter our relationship with technology. The promise of a world in which all of the electronic devices around us are part of a single, interconnected network was once a thing of science fiction. But IoT has not only entered the world of nonfiction — it’s actually taking the world by storm.
While the possibilities of these new technologies are mind-boggling, they also reveal severe IoT cybersecurity challenges. During the last few years, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number and the sophistication of attacks targeting IoT devices.
A Growing Network
IoT devices are no longer a niche market. They have started to move from our workspaces into our (smart) homes, where IoT devices are expected to have the most significant impact on our daily lives. Most smart home devices will be benign, everyday appliances like kettles and toasters. Even if these devices are hacked and compromised, short of ruining your breakfast, there’s not a lot a hacker can do to cause you grief. However, IoT will encompass a significant portion of the electronics around us in a variety of settings. This includes situations involving intruders and could have lethal consequences.
IoT Cybersecurity Challenges
Numerous cybersecurity experts have exposed severe security flaws in IoT architectures. Some have demonstrated how cars can be hijacked and controlled remotely. Perhaps more alarmingly, they’ve shown how medical devices, such as pacemakers, can be switched on and off at will. While this is undoubtedly alarming, what makes it even more shocking is just how little attention people pay to cybersecurity. IoT cybersecurity challenges are plentiful—and those are just the ones we know of.
Researchers who were able to access a multitude of IoT medical devices found that they weren’t password protected. And when they were password protected, many were using default passwords that an experienced attacker with information from the device manufacturer could crack in a few seconds. We can’t afford to have such basic cybersecurity blunders jeopardize the promise of IoT.
Regulate and Standardize Cybersecurity
Consider the difference in the number of security threats that exist for iPhones versus Android phones. Because all iPhone generations run on the same hardware—representing standardization across devices—it’s much easier to secure them from attacks, implementing comprehensive security measures.
If the IoT revolution is going to succeed, we need to have a robust regulatory framework in place to ensure that device manufacturers adhere to minimum, mutually intelligible IoT cybersecurity standards. We should also standardize device-level security protocols to ensure that each network element is part of a general strategy for combatting common threats. We can’t afford to leave any weak, low-level links unguarded.
With new types of cyber-attacks emerging constantly, it’s essential to get ahead of the curve as soon as possible. Every IoT device has a corresponding IP address. Therefore, each small device can have serious implications for global network privacy. An attacker could potentially infiltrate the network and follow a trail of data from any given device to an end-user.
The next few years will be critical for IoT. The entire concept may well rise or fall on the basis of how well we collectively address cybersecurity risks. Connectivity is always a double-edged sword, and most IoT cybersecurity challenges have yet to be overcome. Fortunately, it seems that device manufacturers are being spurred into action.
Yes.
Of course you should be.
Experts predict that by 2020 there will be 200 billion connected things. We’re talking cars, planes, homes, cities, and yes, even animals. Software is being placed everywhere, and it’s changing the way we live, and how we behave and interact with the world around us. As technology becomes more and more integrated into our day-to-day lives, we become more and more dependent on it. But this dependence makes us vulnerable if technology fails.
I mean, I know for me, when I’m on the road and my iPhone runs out of battery, it pretty much feels like the end of the world. Am I directionally challenged? Yes. But even more than my GPS being gone, I’m not able to access my contacts; my messages are disabled. In such moments, you realize how dependent you are on technology. It’s ridiculous, but it’s 100% true.
In today’s world, it’s important that technology is available, protected and secure. If not, we will all suffer consequences in our daily lives.
Cybersecurity Problems Are Everywhere
While I have a generally positive view of technology, I am worried about our future. I believe it’s important to be aware of the serious cybersecurity problems currently affecting technology.
And it seems that the same problems keep happening over and over again. We are not getting any better as far as what’s vulnerable and what’s secure. Technology appears to be becoming more and more insecure as we get more and more dependent on it.
From what I can see, most technology is vulnerable and can be hacked. We see examples of this every day: alarm systems, power grids, automobiles, traffic systems, the list goes on. Every year, thousands of cybersecurity problems are identified in technologies from well-known vendors. Some of those vendors are among the best at cybersecurity, yet they still have hundreds of security problems each year.
Cybersecurity Threats Are Increasing
A recent report on IoT cybersecurity found that 70% of devices did not encrypt communications, while this survey found that IoT cybersecurity and privacy are a top concern for people and companies.
Another report found that cyberattacks have been growing quickly over the last couple of years, and there’s nothing to indicate they won’t just keep increasing.
All of these cybersecurity problems make cyberattacks easier and more dangerous. So why are there so many cybersecurity problems in today’s technology? My research has shown that the main problems are threefold.
First, a lack of knowledge and awareness about the importance of cybersecurity. Some companies don’t care about cybersecurity, while others care but don’t know what to do or how to do it. Second, complex scenarios where old, new and different technologies are used together. This happens frequently as businesses update, and just one insecure component could make a whole system insecure. Finally, a lack of time and money for security. Products need to be built and released quickly. There is a “fail fast, fail often” mantra, which is only fine as long as you “fail safe.”
The Economic Impact of Cybersecurity Attacks is Significant
Cybersecurity problems and attacks cause billions of dollars in losses every year. For example, the smart alarm SimpliSafe hack that affected 300,000 devices, and the only possible fix was to replace all of them. The UK company TalkTalk was hacked and lost about £50 million. They also lost more than 100,000 customers, and their stock value declined by 20%. A car hack in 2015 resulted in 1.4 million cars being recalled by Chrysler. And we can’t forget the Sony hacking scandal that resulted in millions of dollars in losses.
It’s clear that there are growing cybersecurity problems. And beyond having an economic impact, they also have an impact in our daily lives as our technology dependence continues to grow. In 2018, we must work together to change this situation before it gets even worse.
