https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2020 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2020 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Digital Service Providers
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • CHANNEL PARTNERS ONLINE
 Channel Futures

Leadership


The Doyle Report: The One Truth Cybersecurity and Healthcare Have in Common

  • Written by Vendor
  • September 13, 2017
If we were to collectively apply what we already know consistently and thoroughly, we could blunt a great deal of cybercrime says top Verizon researcher.

Imagine you had the power to make one global change in the way medicine is practiced to improve patient outcomes and cut healthcare costs. What would you do?

Some of the very best minds in medicine believe the one thing that would make the biggest difference in healthcare is to reduce the gaps in care coordination and practice variance. If we simply applied what we already know evenly and consistently, in other words, we could transform healthcare.

This flies in the face of conventional wisdom that says the answer to our problems is more spending on research and development. But the facts are what they are. Consider, for a moment, the following conclusion that appeared on the Web site of the US National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. In a paper on healthcare best practices, researchers noted that, “More than half of the cancer occurring today is preventable by applying knowledge that we already have.”

The same could be just as easily said about many conditions and maladies. And it could also be said about cybersecurity.

“We know the tactics and know what is successful [when it comes to cybercrime],” says Marc Spitler, a researcher and co-author of Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report, which was published in the spring of 2017. While new and improved security technology is always welcomed, what really matters when it comes to staying ahead of cybercriminals is the tough, mundane stuff that people tend to forget or disregard over time. This includes things like picking better passwords, demonstrating discipline when managing email and limiting those with administrative rights to important systems.

Alas, we are all human (most of us anyway), and we get lazy, bored or, worse, curious from time to time. Thus we click on things we shouldn’t, download things we didn’t search for and gradually ignore organizational procedures over time.

Though it’s now a few months old, the findings from Verizon’s report are worth repeating—if not to your customers then to yourself. Among other things, the report concludes that:

  • Cybercrime can come in any shape or size, and not always in the form you’d expect
  • Each industry faces a distinctive pattern of threats\
  • Yet again, the overwhelming majority of incidents fall into one of nine [known] attack patterns

Given the interest in security, I asked Spitler (pictured left) for insights as to what he has learned since releasing the report. After some talking, we wandered onto the subject of healthcare, which he agreed had at least one thing in common with cybersecurity: what we already know is just as if not more important than what we don’t. As Spitler puts it, the industry already knows where attacks are likely to come from (rogue email and browser vulnerabilities), what bad guys are after (network credentials and employee/customer data) and what stops most attacks in their tracks (updated software and educated workers).

If we were to collectively apply what we already know consistently and thoroughly, we could blunt a great deal of cybercrime, Spitler insists.

So what’s holding us back? In addition to complacency, the industry is wrestling with complexity. Customers aren’t buying too few products and services; they are buying, in some instances, too many, which is giving them a false sense of—dare I say—security. Instead of layering technology on thick, they should invest in instead in a proper mix of technology, personnel training and organizational best practices.

The idea is backed up by no less than VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger, who told Fortune ahead of its annual VMworld 2017 underway this week in Las Vegas that, “The tech industry has failed our customers in security.”

“They are buying more security stuff than ever and breaches are occurring faster and are more serious than ever. That means businesses are falling further behind despite spending more,” Gelsinger said to tech editor Barb Darrow.

At some point, this reality is going to come back to haunt those who overemphasize technology wizardry. If you step away from cutting-edge innovation and sensational headlines, you realize that most new attacks including the WannaCry virus are devised using widely know vulnerabilities and do not represent a significant jump in terms of technological sophistication. Instead, they demonstrate a triumph over a persistent sense of invulnerability.

While you’re pondering this, consider some additional data points from the Verizon study:

  • 75 percent of attacks originate outside a targeted organization
  • More than half of breaches involves malware
  • 80 percent of hacking-related breaches leveraged either stolen passwords and/or weak or guessable passwords
  • 61 percent of victims are organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees

While it’s sad to think that many small businesses live by the adage that “what we don’t know can’t hurt us,” it’s even more unsettling to think that what they do know could save them—if only they put that knowledge to work.

Tags: Cloud Service Providers Digital Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Leadership Strategy

Related


  • Zero Trust Security
    3 Strategies for Selling Zero Trust in the Channel
    Switching to a zero-trust security approach reduces exposure to potential data breaches and helps drive down fixed costs.
  • Brexit
    Now That a Brexit Deal is Done, What's Next for the UK Channel?
    There's an Increased need for virtual services and video conferencing, and a focus on security moving forward.
  • Computer network connection modern city future technology
    Juniper Networks Integrates Mist, 128 Offerings Following Acquisitions
    Juniper is baking AI into its recently acquired SD-WAN offering.
  • Accelerate
    OneLogin Hires Juniper Networks Vet to Lead Accelerate Partner Program
    OneLogin last fall expanded its Accelerate partner program to include partner tiering.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • BlackBerry Research: MSSPs Increasingly Targeted by Hacker-for-Hire Groups
  • Palo Alto Networks Rolls Out Latest NextWave Partner Program
  • Fortinet Vet Geoff Kreiling Departs for Deep Instinct
  • Over 6,000 VMware vCenter Devices Exposed by Critical Vulnerabilities

Galleries

View all

Channel Partners Virtual 2021 Is the Hottest Ticket in Town

February 26, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

The “Roaring 20s” Are Coming

February 25, 2021

Three Ways MSPs Can Improve Supply Chain Security

February 24, 2021

SASE: The Key to Mitigating Business Transformation Risk

February 22, 2021

Webinars

View all

A Partner’s Perspective on Channel Success in 2021

March 17, 2021

XDR and Why it Matters to MSPs

March 24, 2021

Top Security Trends Impacting Technology Security Providers In 2021

March 25, 2021

White Papers

View all

Ready To Add Cutting Edge IoT Solutions To Your Portfolio?

  • 1
February 25, 2021

What Is The Value Of Distribution For The Internet Of Things?

February 25, 2021

The Internet of Things (IoT): Where do You Begin?

  • 1
February 25, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Virtual

March 2, 2021 - March 4, 2021

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

FASTCHAT: How SOAR Eliminates Security Challenges and Elevates Service Provider Revenues

January 6, 2021

Happy Holidays from Channel Partners & Channel Futures!

December 21, 2020

FASTCHAT: How Old, Unpatched Technologies Are Creating New Security Threats for MSPs and Their Customers

December 3, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

Amazon WorkSpaces @awscloud DaaS client will be available on @IGEL_Technology virtual endpoint client OS.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@VMware cutting more workers in California as part of ongoing #workforcerebalancing. #layoffs… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

#CPVirtual is March 2-4. It’s the hottest ticket in town — any town, since it’s 100% online — so make sure you have… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@datto, @ThreatLocker partner to streamline #MSP secure business operations. dlvr.it/RtYvJK https://t.co/nKGnwbblNO

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

Infographic: Why Partner with Sierra Wireless and GetWireless? dlvr.it/RtYh1m https://t.co/KcBFzXIx7l

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

Infographic: The Sierra Wireless Essential Series dlvr.it/RtYgxv https://t.co/CatxbRHzXr

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

#Threatprotection is no small matter for #MSSPs. Find out what vendors say you have to do this year to protect your… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

Cloud strategies and cybersecurity are key, and #COVID19 will have more impact than #Brexit on U.K. channel, says… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021

MSSP Insider

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Channel Partners Online

Want more? Find more channel news and analysis on our sister site, Channel Partners.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Online
  • Channel Partners Events
  • MSP 501
  • MSSP Insider
  • IoT World Today
  • Webhostingtalk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X