MSPWorld 2018

By Bruce Nelson

The MSPWorld conference is a gathering of top Managed Service Providers from across the world who come together to learn, share ideas and focus on improving their business.

This year I was fortunate to be invited to present a session on Security, Compliance and the Role of the MSP in Healthcare.  It was a great session with strong attendance and interaction from the attendees.  While my presentation was fun the best part of these events are the opportunities to learn from my peers.

They opened the conference with a Cyber Security Panel which consisted of a retired FBI agent, an attorney and a fellow MSP.  The take away from that discussion and others breakout sessions was clear.  For small and medium size businesses the focus on security needs to be in three areas:

  1. Cover the basics – managed patching, firewalls, anti-virus, supported platforms. When asked for a main take away the FBI agent responded that he really wished people would focus on the basics.  He said you have no idea how much damage is done because the bad guys are just taking advantage of known vulnerabilities and exploiting companies with poor technology management.
  2. Contracts, policies and insurances – organizations should be reviewing IT contracts, policies and insurances on a regular basis. The integration of technology throughout organizations is continues to accelerate.  This drive both increased productivity and risk.  Organizations need to take a close look at how technology has changed their organization and make the necessary adjustments to related policies and contracts.  This is highly recommended but for organizations that have compliance requirements (Healthcare and Finance) this is a MUST DO!
  3. End user training – This topic came up throughout the conference. Security is everyone’s responsibility.  Helping users understand the types of attacks, acceptable use policies and ongoing training all help mitigate the risk.  To our great disappointment we have not been handpicked by a Nigerian Prince to inherit his vast fortune.

Marcus Luttrell was the Key Note speaker.  Marcus was the Lone Survivor of Operation Red Wing, in which 19 or the 20 men sent in were killed.  Many of you have probably seen the move or heard the story.  To hear him talk about his life, the operation and the guys that didn’t make it is something I will not forget.  His message, we all face challenges.  Some are life and death like his, but we all face challenges.  They are not going away.  So get up and move forward!

Is your organization focusing on everything it should regarding cyber security?