The Transportation Security Administration administrator who spearheaded the development of cybersecurity directives after 2021's devastating Colonial Pipeline attack has been ousted by incoming president Trump. David Pekoske -- who was appointed by Trump to the role in 2017 -- led development of cybersecurity initiatives in the pipeline, aviation, and rail sectors under the Biden administration, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
Pekoske's cybersecurity rules led to the adoption of minimum cybersecurity standards across all critical pipelines, 57% of aviation organizations, and 68% of railways by the end of Biden's term.
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the White House provided any information regarding Pekoske's replacement -- or if there will be a replacement.
Pekoske's ouster comes amid a flurry of cybersecurity-related actions executed by Trump just hours after being inaugurated, including the reversal of Biden executive orders regarding the Office of the National Cyber Director and safe and secure artificial intelligence development.
Now, here's today's MSSP update. Drop me a line at [email protected] if you have news to share or want to say hi!
Today's MSSP Update
1. DryRun lands seed funding: AI-native security firm DryRun Security today announced its $8.7 million seed funding round from lead investors LiveOak Ventures and Work-Bench and participation from Cannage Capital. The company also announced the introduction of Natural Language Code Policies (NLCP) that makes it easier for security teams to define their security policy without custom rule writing, regardless of the language or framework.
2. Fudo Security lands $10M for PAM: San Francisco-based privileged access management (PAM) solutions company Fudo Security this week received nearly $10 million in growth equity funding. The investment from the bValue Growth fund will support technology development, including Instant Access for third parties, and expand Fudo Security's global presence, with a particular focus on the U.S. market, the company said in a statement. bValue Fund specializes in growth equity investments, supporting tech-focused businesses in Central and Eastern Europe.
3. Stellar Cyber integrates with LastPass: Stellar Cyber and LastPass announced this week an integration that combines Stellar Cyber’s threat detection capabilities with access data from LastPass. Stellar Cyber can now use the LastPass API to ingest and correlate security events like login attempts and credential changes across cloud, on-premises, and multi-tenant environments so MSSPs can more effectively respond to credential-based threats.
4. Guardz unveils 'Ultimate Plan': MDR security firm Guardz this week unveiled the details of its 'Ultimate Plan.' This premium offering gives MSPs and IT pros access to the AI-native Guardz unified detection and response platform enhanced with SentinelOne’s advanced endpoint protection. The offering helps MSPs better manage multiple point solutions and minimize manual intervention, reduce complexity, and swiftly resolve threats for SMB customers.
5. SailPoint IPO: IAM security firm SailPoint, which is owned by Thoma Bravo, filed for an IPO last week and reported smaller losses, Reuters reported. Private equity firm Thoma Bravo bought SailPoint for $6.12 billion in 2022, taking it off public markets roughly five years after the company listed in the U.S. The Austin, Texas-based firm's Friday filing revealed a loss from operations of $158.5 million for the nine months ended Oct. 31, compared with a loss of $267.5 million in the year-ago period. Proceeds from the IPO will be used to pay down debt and increase capitalization, the company said.