Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) News: 29 January 2020

Each business day, MSSP Alert broadcasts a quick lineup of news, analysis and chatter from across that managed security services provider ecosystem.

A. Today’s MSSP Alerts

1. Launch: CounterAct Cybersecurity Group, a startup backed by MSP veteran George Mach, has launched a suite of cybersecurity solutions "aimed at helping MSPs better defend themselves and their customers from increasingly sophisticated and damaging information security threats," the company says. We'll share more details soon.

2. MSSP Expansion: Expel will invest $1.4 million to expand its operation in the Town of Herndon in Fairfax County. The MSSP will create 164 new jobs across its engineering, customer experience, IT, marketing and sales teams over the next three years, Expel predicts.

3. Honor: SKOUT, a Top 200 MSSP, has been selected as a winner in the NYCx Cybersecurity Moonshot Challenge. This competition was run by the City of New York in partnership with The Mayor's Office of the CTO, the New York City Economic Development Corp., and NYC Cyber Command as part of the Cyber NYC initiative.

4. Funding - Data Security: Concentric has emerged from stealth mode with deep learning software to protect business-critical data and meet security, compliance and privacy mandates, the startup says. Concentric is also announcing that it has raised $7.5 million from Clear Ventures, Engineering Capital, Homebrew and Core Ventures.

5. Subcontractor Security Policies: Nearly three-quarters (71%) of enterprises who have specific data usage guidelines for partners and subcontractors received compensation after an incident that affected suppliers with whom they share information. In comparison, only 22% of organizations of the same size who do not have regulations in place reported the same feedback, Kaspersky research finds.

6. Consulting: IntSights, a threat intelligence company, has launched in-person Security Advisory Services. The service provides actionable training for hands-on analysts, SOC team members, CISOs, C-level executives, and board members.

7. Risk Analysis Tool: Arceo has launched Cyber Meteorology, a framework to analyze and contextualize risk, the company says.

8. WatchGuard Targets Cisco Meraki: The security-related partner and customer pitch is outlined here.

9. Talent - Endpoint Protection: SentinelOne has named Daniel Kollberg as VP of EMEA. Over the last six months, SentinelOne has more than tripled its EMEA business fueled by enterprise wins in Southern Europe, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East, the company says. SentinelOne did not disclose its EMEA revenue figures.

10. Talent - Identity Management: ForgeRock, a provider in digital identity solutions, has named David Hope as senior VP for Asia-Pacific and Japan.

11. Talent - Investments: ForgePoint Capital has promoted Manoj “MJ” Ramachandran to VP. Also, cyber forensics expert Shane Shook and former Cyxtera CIO Leoncio “Leo” Casusol have joined the firm as venture consultants. The appointments "further strengthen ForgePoint’s experienced and respected team and will advance their mission to invest in and support the next generation of breakout cybersecurity companies," the organization says.

12. Security Software and User Privacy: PC Matic has made a “Data Integrity Pledge” -- vowing that the antivirus software company will never never, directly or indirectly, distribute any personal information collected about its users to third parties.

13. Zoom Security Patch: Zoom has fixed a security flaw that could have let hackers join video conference calls, ZDnet reports.

14. Partnership: Threat Stack, which specializes in cloud security and compliance for infrastructure and applications, has partnered with Tevora, a specialized management consultancy focused on cybersecurity, risk, and compliance services. Together Threat Stack and Tevora will help customers seamlessly migrate and scale in the cloud without increasing risk or sacrificing compliance.

B. Next Five Cybersecurity Conferences