As part of the 2021 MSP 500 project, CRN asked MSPs to describe their most significant challenges for 2021. Their answers ranged from 'finding and hiring highly trained new employees' to 'fulfilling clients' sophisticated IT security needs whilst sustaining business in the saturated MSP market.' In 2021 the cybersecurity threats have taken different shades and have compelled the MSPs to refine and increase their security offering to stay relevant and thriving in the market.

On May 18th 2021, the Center for Internet Security (CIS) released version 8 of the Critical Security Controls (CSC) - a business and technology agnostic set of recommendations that all organizations should consider and follow to prevent the most prevalent and dangerous attacks. In this blog series we discuss the ins and outs of the new guidance to get you up to speed with v8.

COVID-19 contact tracing and personal cloud apps, what could possibly go wrong? A recent federal lawsuit, filed against the state of Pennsylvania and a vendor contracted by the state’s Department of Health, provides an interesting answer. The vendor in question was contracted “to provide contact tracing and other similar services” following the outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020.

The United States Government equates cybersecurity with national security. That’s the crux of the recent Executive Order that will mandate that not only must software applications be vetted, but there will be upcoming regulations on providing all of the components that make up the software. As section 1 notes: “prevention, detection, assessment, and remediation of cyber incidents is a top priority and essential to national and economic security.”

In order to understand how to report a data breach, we first have to know what a data breach actually is. Under the GDPR, a personal data breach is “the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data.” This covers a wide range of scenarios, some of which might be surprising. The following would all be considered as data breaches under the GDPR.

What is Data Safety, why is it important, and how do you go about designing into the foundations of your data environment? When you see the phrase "Data Safety", the chances are you think of Data Security. Most people do. What is far less likely is that you think of the other two pillars of Data Safety: Data Privacy and Data Governance. Clearly, all three pillars overlap.

Reduced costs, new revenue streams, greater customer trust and new markets The best data privacy programmes are granular. They assess the root of every data source, the nuances of every data use and the specifics of every way in which data is stored and shared. From that finite visibility, liabilities can be identified and appropriate remedies put in place that carefully balance the demands of the data subjects with the needs of the business.