MSP & MSSP & IT Industry Notes

Sponsored by

October 24th, 2021

Arcoa Group

Why partnering with ARCOA makes sense
Electronics Recycling is an important and profitable part of the IT asset lifecycle, but it can be overwhelming with all you already do, varying state regulations, and the limited resources at hand. That’s where ARCOA comes in. When you partner with ARCOA, you get all the benefits of a big company without any of the capital investment. We’ve been doing this since 1989 and have the expertise, certifications, and nationwide resources to get the most for all your clients’ retired IT assets. Plus, positioning your clients as environmental stewards not only elevates their appeal to consumers, it meets government requirements and avoids fines.

What partnering with ARCOA looks like
Our role is to make it easy for you to bring more value to your clients. We work with you to help stretch your clients’ IT budget by reducing the total cost of ownership of their electronics. We’re experts at identifying and implementing the solutions your clients need for the end-of-use remarketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your clients will see better results.

CGI Acquires Cognicase Management Consulting

• Canadian IT (CGI) company acquires Cognicase Consulting
• Cognicase offers technology and management consulting services
• CGI stated the acquisition will strengthen their space in Spain
• Acquisition price was not disclosed

DigiPlex Hires Industry Veteran to Manage Next Phase of Growth at Stockholm Data Center

• DigiPlex higher Tommy Wahledow for new operations manager
• Operations Managers at DigiPlex sites play a crucial role in ensuring that all customers are onboarded and supported with the highest levels of services 24/7

Expedient Continues Expansion with Addition of New Milwaukee Data Center

• Announced the opening of a new data center in the City of Franklin, Wisconsin, located in Milwaukee County
• Facility can house more than 8,000 physical servers
• Facility equipped with 1.2-megawatts of critical power serving the data center
• Facility designed to meet or exceed the criteria of a Tier 3 data center as defined by the Uptime Institute's Data Center Classification System

Digital Agent Launches Channel Partner Program for IT, Cybersecurity, and Telecommunications Services

• Digital Agent launches their channel partner program
• Digital Agent has partnered with a few selected master agents
• Digital Agent is an in-house provider for managed IT, cybersecurity, phone and internet

Laserfiche Named as a Visionary in 2021 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Content Services Platforms

• Laserfiche was evaluated as one of 18 vendors in the market
• Laserfiche product suite — including e-forms, document management, workflow rules management, content collaboration, dashboard analytics, records management and robotic process automation (RPA)
• Laserfiche is the leading SaaS provider of intelligent content management and business process automation.

Microsoft Claims Universal Print Compatible with Zero-Trust Network Security

• Microsoft claimed this week that its Universal Print service is part of its "zero-trust" vision for networks
• The claim is that Azure Active Directory is used to validate printers managed under the Universal Print service

OpenText Named a Leader in IDC MarketScape for Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Commerce Network for Second Consecutive Report

• Announced it has been named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Commerce Network (MESCCN) 2021 Vendor Assessment for the second time
• IDC MarketScape for MESCCN report evaluates multi-enterprise supply chain vendors success based on capability and business strategy
• Report specifically notes the following about OpenText:
  • Largest connected community with global scale and reach
  • Integration depth and breadth
  • Over 200 API connectors for integration
  • Strategic partnership with SAP
  • Breadth of trading partner enablers
  • Self-service capabilities
  • Unique OpenText Identity and Access Management

Governor Northam Announces IT Consulting Firm to Expand Headquarters in Fairfax County

• Northam today announced that Intact Technology, a software consulting and managed services firm, will invest at least $700,000
• Intact Technology located in Fairfax County, Va
• Will create 40 new jobs

Toronto ON 24/7 IT Support/System Maintenance – Small Business Services Updated

• VBS IT Services’ recently updated their managed IT service solutions

One Leaked Password

• Colonial Pipeline operates the largest gas pipeline system in the United States
• The attack vector was a single leaked password to an active VPN account that was no longer in use
• Following the ransomware attack, Colonial Pipeline took its systems offline to contain the threat

Hacking tool linked with Russian crime ring used in Sinclair ransomware attack, analysts say

• The code also overlaps with previous hacking tools attributed to the Russian group, according to some analysts who have studied it
• Evil Corp, is believed to be primarily motivated by money, and known for flaunting its ill-gotten wealth

Xerox to relabel Lexmark A4 units

• Launched the C235, a color laser A4 desktop MFP and the C230, a desktop color laser print only device
• (since its technology agreement with Fujifilm expired in 3/2021, Xerox is free to source from other vendors)
• Both models are 24ppm top speed
• MSRPs of $489.99 for MFP and $329.99 for printer
• My first thought is Xerox now bringing Ninestar (Ninestar owns Lexmark) devices to their clients. Would have the chat with my client about who Ninestar is and their relationship with China government

ABBYY launches new solution offerings

• ABBYY is OCR, document processing solution provider, founded by David Yang in Russia
• Now offering Vantage, which delivers document skills for RPA (robotic process
  automation), automation systems, chatbots and mobile solutions
• Also offering Marketplace, which offers skills, connectors and assets

Sec expert warns against believing chatter around REvil disappearance

• Seasoned ransomware threat researcher has warned against taking any of the chatter around the disappearance of the Windows REvil ransomware group for a second time seriously
• "Everybody knows the forums are monitored, and that includes the crims. The information they post is likely to be complete bollocks intended to mislead anybody who may be trying to work out what they’re actually up to. Law enforcement, for example."

Acronis Cyber Readiness Report 2021 shows false sense of security, record-high attacks, critical security gaps and more

• annual cybersecurity report from Acronis has arrived
• With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continuing to cripple businesses worldwide, with previous Acronis research showing more than 80% of global companies admitted they were not prepared to switch to remote work
• Ahead of next week’s Acronis #CyberFit Summit World Tour 2021 kicking off in Miami, Florida on October 25-27 with a hybrid event, the launch of the detailed, 20-page Cyber Readiness Report 2021 has a range of alarming findings that need immediate action to solve

Connect IT Global 2021 is Back in Person and Bigger Than Ever

• Kaseya “Connect IT Global” which is taking place from October 19-22 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas
• Kaseya announces innovative enhancements, including several within its state-of-the-art professional services automation (PSA) solution BMS, that strengthen its comprehensive IT Complete suite of integrated tools for the multi-function IT professional
• Key Product Enhancements:
  • IP Access Control in IT Glue

• Security Checklist Templates in IT Glue
• RapidFire Tools VulScan Portable Vulnerability Scanner (PVS)
• Enhanced Graphus capabilities for MSPs
• Repair Lookup Relationships in Spanning Backup for Salesforce
• Azure Infrastructure Discovery and Reports in RapidFire Tools Network Detective Pro™

DocuWare offers partners free e-signature packages for new cloud customers

• Now offering version 7.5 of its document management solution
• New integrations with 3rd party applications
• Email, team portals, CRMs, ERPs and HR systems
• New user interface languages
• Desktop App allows index data from selected documents exported in CSV format
• Webhooks send file cabinet notifications automatically when documents are newly stored
• 3rd party apps can respond by synchronizing the data set and triggering workflowRelevant content in PDFs attached to email are scanned and transferred without manual intervention to corresponding index fields
• Filing and editing table fields allow tables to be filled more quickly
• Supports 3 additional LDAP attributes; common name, display name and name

Cybersecurity

• ReproSource of Massachusetts notified 350,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack.
• Jonathan Toebbe, a US Navy nuclear engineer, was arrested for allegedly attempting to sell top secret nuclear submarine designs to a foreign intelligence agency for $100,000 in bitcoin.
• Independent Health of Williamsville, New York notified 541 patients that their PHI was exposed after it was inadvertently emailed to “business partners”
• Mandiant Security published warning for healthcare industry in the U.S. of a new Russian hacking group, named “FIN12” that is targeting the vertical with the Ryuk ransomware to steal PHI and collect ransom payments.
• Columbus Regional Health of Indiana notified its patients that its network is being hit with “a record number of attempts” by ransomware attacks.
• United Health Centers, headquartered in Fresno, California, notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed during recent Vice Society ransomware attack.
• Oregon Eye Specialists of Portland, OR notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack.
• - OptumCare, headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, had its New Mexico operation hit by a lawsuit, accusing the firm of allowing two former employees to steal PHI from 24,000 patients
  and sell to a competitor.
• Premier Patient Healthcare of Carrollton, Texas notified 38,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after it was illegally accessed by a former employee.
• Diamond Institute for Infertility of Millburn, New Jersey, announced it will pay $495,000 to settle lawsuit that claim negligence allowed the PHI of 14,663 patients to be stolen by
  hackers.
• Olympus Corp. announced that its operations in the Americas were impacted by a ransomware attack.
• Adobe Corp. stated it has patched 10 new security vulnerabilities discovered in its Acrobat and Reader software applications.
• Exacq Technologies announced that some of its video surveillance systems have been discovered to have critical security vulnerabilities.
• Sophos Corp. published report claiming hacking group stole millions of dollars from users of Tinder, Bumble, Grindr and Facebook dating apps
• Harvard-Westlake High School of Los Angeles, CA notified an unknown number of students that their info was exposed after ransomware attack.
• Lion Street Financial of Texas notified an unknown number of customers that their info was exposed after ransomware attack.
• The University of Alabama notified an unknown number of employees that their info was exposed after a laptop computer was stolen.
• Align Technology of San Jose, CA notified an unknown number of dental patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack.
• HP Inc. published new cybersecurity research report:
• • 12% of email malware bypassed at least one gateway scanner
  • 89% of malware was delivered via email
  • 23% of malware was in MS Word documents
  • 17% of malware was in MS Excel documents
• Twitch, a division of Amazon, notified an unknown number of users of its live streaming service that their info may have been exposed due to cybersecurity breach.
• The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education notified an unknown number of employees that their info was exposed during recent cybersecurity event.
• American Osteopathic Association, headquartered in Chicago, IL, notified 28,000 members that their info was exposed after hacking incident.
• American College of Emergency Physicians, headquartered in Irving, TX, notified 28,000 members that their info was exposed after hacking incident.
• Broadcom Software published report warning of a new form of ransomware named “Yanluowang”, that may have been developed in China.

Sponsored by

September 29th, 2021

Arcoa Group

Why partnering with ARCOA makes sense
Electronics Recycling is an important and profitable part of the IT asset lifecycle, but it can be overwhelming with all you already do, varying state regulations, and the limited resources at hand. That’s where ARCOA comes in. When you partner with ARCOA, you get all the benefits of a big company without any of the capital investment. We’ve been doing this since 1989 and have the expertise, certifications, and nationwide resources to get the most for all your clients’ retired IT assets. Plus, positioning your clients as environmental stewards not only elevates their appeal to consumers, it meets government requirements and avoids fines.

What partnering with ARCOA looks like
Our role is to make it easy for you to bring more value to your clients. We work with you to help stretch your clients’ IT budget by reducing the total cost of ownership of their electronics. We’re experts at identifying and implementing the solutions your clients need for the end-of-use remarketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your clients will see better results.

Exela Technologies Expands Electronic Signature Platform, DrySign, to the UK - Yahoo Finance

• announced the launch of its electronic signature solution, DrySign®
• DrySign enables users to cost effectively sign documents from almost anywhere, requiring only an internet-enabled device
• DrySign is compliant with UK eIDAS Regulations

Corsica Technologies Named to MSSP Alert's Top 250 MSSPs List for 2021

• MSSP Alert, published by After Nines Inc., has named Corsica Technologies, one of the top managed IT and cybersecurity providers in the country
• The list and research identify and honor the top MSSPs, managed detection and response (MDR) and Security Operations Center as a Service (SOCaaS) providers worldwide
• Rankings are based on MSSP Alert's 2021 readership survey combined with the digital media site's global editorial coverage of managed security services providers

Pythian Expands FinOps Managed Services to Customers with

• Announced that the company’s cloud cost management and optimization services, known as FinOps, are now available for Google Cloud, AWS and Microsoft Azure cloud and multi-cloud deployments
• According to Flexera's 2021 State of the Cloud Report, 92 percent of enterprises have a multi-cloud strategy and use an average of 2.6 public clouds

Crayon Group reaches investment agreement with UK cloud managed services provider ...

• Announced it has reached an investment agreement with Cloud Direct, a UK-based cloud managed services provider
• Under the agreement, Crayon has made a GBP 3 million investment for a minority ownership in Cloud Direct and it establishes a commercial partnership
• Also will have the option later to further invest in a majority ownership
• Cloud Direct is one of the leading Microsoft partners in the UK and has annual revenues of GBP 20 million
• Companies have agreed to not disclose any further details on the transaction at this stage

CloudMile has achieved Managed Services Provider (MSP) status with Google Cloud in Singapore

• CloudMile is now able to offer its clients access to additional services as a Google Cloud Managed Service Provider
• Now include 24/7 monitoring, multi-account management, system performance tuning and monthly reporting
• CloudMile is a provider of cloud and AI application development and managed IT services for businesses in Singapore

DocuWare solution automates team's business processes to drive back-office efficiencies that fuel on-field success

• announced it is expanding its decade-long partnership with the Philadelphia Eagles to digitize the team's information management processes using DocuWare
• DocuWare also helps ensure documents are secured to protect data and stay compliant, which is particularly important to the Eagles, who need to keep employee and financial records secured

PandaDoc, the e-document startup, now valued at $1B as it closes a big Series C | TechCrunch

• PandaDoc, which lets users create, share and sign official documents online, has closed a Series C that the company confirms values it at $1 billion
• PandaDoc is not making public the full amount of funding in this round
• Reported on Techcrunch

Laserfiche Announces Launch of Cloud Document Management and Process Automation ...

• Announced the availability of Laserfiche Cloud in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region
• prebuilt solution templates and customisable e-forms and processes support digital resiliency and agility

HP Inc. announced HP Managed Print Flex, a new cloud-first Managed Print Service (MPS) subscription plan

• HP Inc. announced HP Managed Print Flex, a new cloud-first Managed Print Service (MPS) subscription plan
• HP Smart Pricing Plan automatically adjusts month-by-month to ensure lowest cost option
• Low touch, recurring revenue opportunity for channel partners
• Maximize productivity with a secure and scalable solution for home and office

HP Simplifies Managed Print Services with New Cloud-Based

• HP Inc. announced HP Managed Print Flex
• New cloud-first Managed Print Service (MPS) subscription plan that helps businesses optimize costs by simplifying management, improving productivity and delivering flexibility to scale or customize as business needs change
• Moving to the cloud, customers and partners can select the printers that best suit their needs and quickly and effectively equip workers in the office or at home with the print technology they need to be productive Subscription offers
  • Supplies auto replenishment proactively schedules supplies delivery before you run out
  • Break fix services with 2-hour call back and next business day onsite support if not resolved remotely¹
  • Short-term 1 year commitment with automatic renewal²
  • HP Roam³ so workers can print securely from virtually anywhere
  • All printers consolidated in an analytics dashboard and billed under single contract
  • A page is a page; plans do not differentiate between mono and color⁴
  • The Wolf Security pack⁵ ensures endpoints are configured with the right security settings

• Datto Networking WiFi-6 APs: Delivering MSPs Efficiency, Security, and Expanded Coverage By David Weiss

  • WiFi-6 Access Points (APs) have arrived for Datto partners
  • Complex operations that were previously nearly impossible with WiFi-5 are now easily workable when you deploy Datto’s new AP840 & AP840E
  • WiFi-6 APs are made specifically for MSPs and their clients
    • Increased Efficiency
    • Security
    • Expanded Coverage and Range

  Buchanan Technologies Acquires Cybernoor to Expand Managed - GlobeNewswire

  • BuchananTechnologies, a managed IT services provider, has announced the acquisition of Cybernoor,
  • Cyberoor is an expert in Oracle application performance management solutions
  • “This partnership allows us to expand our services to better meet the needs of today’s modern organizations, including many of Buchanan’s enterprise customers who are already leveraging the Oracle platform,” said James Buchanan, Founder and CEO of Buchanan Technologies

  Comport Receives Cohesity's Americas Rising Star Partner of the Year Award

  • Comport announced that it has received the FY21 "Americas Rising Star Partner of the Year" award from Cohesity
  • Rising Star Partner of the Year is awarded to the partner who has demonstrated exceptional success servicing new customer opportunities
  • IT Solutions Company since 1982, Comport is uniquely positioned as both a solutions and services provider to modernize and simplify IT from the mobile edge to the data centers to the cloud

  Open Source Services Market worth $50.0 billion by 2026

  • Global Open Source Services Market size is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.2% during the forecast period
  • To reach USD 50.0 billion by 2026 from USD 21.7 billion in 2021

  Microsoft still not fixed PrintNightmare?

  • Released yet another patch to fix a remote code executive vulnerability, but according to report in Bleeping Computer magazine, the patch may break network printing altogether
  • The vulnerability allows hackers to execute malicious code on PCs
  • Most likely Microsoft will be issuing yet another patch to repair issues with its Windows Print Spooler

• HP admits another security vulnerability

  • Millions of HP OMEN gaming laptop computers, OMEN desktop PCs, HP
  • Pavilion laptop computers and several HP Envy models, were found to have a flaw that would allow a “Escalation of Privilege and Denial of Service” attack by a hackers
  • Could allow a hacker to create a profile with administrator rights to access data
  • Computer could also be used in a massive botnet
  • HP release an update to fix the problem that users must download

CyberSecurity

• Central Texas Medical Specialists, aka Austin Cancer Centers, notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack
• The Alaska Department of Health & Social Services notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack
• Simon Eye, headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack
• The City of Mount Vernon in New York notified an unknown number of residents that their info may have been exposed after ransomware attack
• Sierra Johnson of Tempe, Arizona was arrested after allegedly stealing PHI was working for a rehabilitation facility to use stolen identities to acquire expensive vehicles and lease apartments
• The Mankato Clinic of Minnesota notified 535 patients that their PHI was exposed after employee was caught emailing it to an external email account
• The federal Office for Civil Rights in DHS reports that breaches in August, 2021 resulted in exposure of PHI for over 5 million patients in the U.S
• Gastroenterology Consultants in Houston, Texas notified 161,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack
• Walgreen’s notified an unknown number of patients who used its COVID-19 test registration system, that their PHI may have been exposed after it was inadvertently made accessible on public website
• St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System of Savannah, Georgia was hit by a lawsuit filed by patients affected by a recent ransomware attack involving 1.4 million patients
• Ivanov Tolpintsev was extradited from Ukraine to face charges after he allegedly made $80,000 stealing and reselling the stolen info on the Dark Web
• 3 Americans avoid prison even though they hacked into computers for a foreign country?
• • The U.S. Department of Justice announced it has fined Marc Baier, Ryan Adams and Daniel Gericke a total of $1,685,000
  • Were caught hacking into computers and phones for the benefit of the United Arab Emirates government
• Directions For Living, headquartered in Clearwater, FL, notified 19,494 patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack
• Texoma Community Center of Texas notified 24,030 patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack.
• The North East Independent School District of San Antonio, TX notified an unknown number of students that their info was exposed after ransomware attack
• Indian Creek Foundation of Souderton, PA notified an unknown number of patients that that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack
• The City of Yonkers of New York notified an unknown number of residents that their info may have been exposed after ransomware attack
• Missouri Delta Medical Center of Sikeston notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack
• Dorchester County of South Carolina notified an unknown number of residents that their info was exposed after ransomware attack

• HBP Financial Services Group of Woodbridge, CT and Pathology Consultants of New London notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack
• The notorious Russian hacking group, REvil, which claimed to have shut down, apparently has restarted its ransomware attacks according to Emsisoft Security
• Dr. Douglas Burka, while working at Vanderbilt University Medical Center of Nashville, TN, was caught illegally accessing the PHI of his ex-wife and was hit by lawsuit
• Denton County of Texas notified 346,000 residents that their PHI was exposed after it inadvertently put their COVID-19 info on a publicly accessible website
• The Wedge Recovery Centers of Pennsylvania notified 29,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack.
• LifeLong Medical Care of California notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack
• GetHealth, headquartered in New York City, may be notifying up to 61 million people that use fitness tracker apps after a breach

Sponsored by

August 22nd, 2021

Arcoa Group

Why partnering with ARCOA makes sense
Electronics Recycling is an important and profitable part of the IT asset lifecycle, but it can be overwhelming with all you already do, varying state regulations, and the limited resources at hand. That’s where ARCOA comes in. When you partner with ARCOA, you get all the benefits of a big company without any of the capital investment. We’ve been doing this since 1989 and have the expertise, certifications, and nationwide resources to get the most for all your clients’ retired IT assets. Plus, positioning your clients as environmental stewards not only elevates their appeal to consumers, it meets government requirements and avoids fines.

What partnering with ARCOA looks like
Our role is to make it easy for you to bring more value to your clients. We work with you to help stretch your clients’ IT budget by reducing the total cost of ownership of their electronics. We’re experts at identifying and implementing the solutions your clients need for the end-of-use remarketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your clients will see better results.

TPx Offers Free Ransomware Evaluation to Small Businesses Nationwide

• launched a free ransomware evaluation for businesses nationwide
• FBI reporting a 300% increase in cybercrimes since the pandemic began
• According to recent research, 43% of online attacks target small businesses, and a mere 14% of those businesses are prepared to defend themselves.

TierPoint Announces Plan to Build New St. Louis Area Data Center

• announced plans to build a new, 23,000 square foot, Tier III data center in the Westport area of St. Louis County, Missouri
• Backed by an approximately $20 million commitment
• TierPoint (com) is a provider of secure, connected data center and cloud solutions

Frontline Managed Services Continues Strategic Expansion with Acquisition of Legal IT

• announces the acquisition of LOGICFORCE, a legal IT consulting service
• Through this acquisition, Frontline Managed Services adds 50 professionals to its IT Managed Services staff

Core BTS Recognized as Microsoft Azure Expert Managed Service Provider

• announced it has been recognized as a Microsoft Azure Expert Managed Service Provider
• Microsoft requires partner organizations to prove their capabilities in developing and supporting mission-critical apps, migrating datacenter footprints, and monitoring and managing hybrid environments via an intensive third-party audit that ensures Azure expertise
• Core BTS is a technology consulting firm and managed service provider

High Street Capital Acquires Controlling Share in NeoSystems

• NeoSystems announced today that it is being acquired by High Street Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm
• Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed
• Company will continue to be led by NeoSystems CEO and Co-Founder, Michael Tinsley
• NeoSystems, based in Tysons Corner, Virginia, is a full service strategic outsourcer, IT systems integrator and managed service provider

DocuWare solution automates team's business processes to drive back-office efficiencies that fuel on-field success

• announced it is expanding its decade-long partnership with the Philadelphia Eagles to digitize the team's information management processes using DocuWare
• DocuWare also helps ensure documents are secured to protect data and stay compliant, which is particularly important to the Eagles, who need to keep employee and financial records secured

Apogee Names Higher Education and Managed IT Services Veteran Scott Drossos as Chief ...

• Apogee today announced the appointment of Scott Drossos as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in a leadership transition aimed at taking the company to the next level of innovation and growth
• Apogee is the only managed technology services provider with a sole focus on higher education
• After two decades as CEO, Apogee Founder Charles “Chuck” Brady will transition to Chairman.

Computer chip shortage in the news

• General Motors announced on 9/2/2021 that it is shutting down most of its North American manufacturing plants for a few weeks
• “being driven by the continued parts shortages caused by semiconductor supply constraints from international markets..” stated Dan Flores of FM

Backorders caused by ship bottleneck

• Kyodo News reports that there are now 44 large container ships stuck off the coast of California
• The record amount of ships stuck is worsening shipping delays and costs
• The backup is caused by labor shortage, COVID-19 related disruptions, and holiday buying surges
• Port of Los Angeles now has average wait time of 7.6 days to unload ships
• Transit times from Shanghai, China to Chicago, IL has more than doubled from 35 days to 73 days
• Shipping container freight rates increased 351% to $9,817.72 per square foot
• The world’s biggest port in terms of cargo tonnage, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port of China, locked down on 8/11/2021 due to COVID-19 outbreak, and reopened on 8/25/2021
• Average container prices in China ports increased 180% to $15,336.00 per
  square foot
• China produces 96% of the world’s dry cargo containers

• The China International Marine Containers Group (CIMC) reported a 1739% in
  net profit to $678 million

Lead for IT Services

• RFI Information Technology Service Management
• https://www.purdue.edu/procure...ss-opportunities.php

Steele Raymond Adopting Document and Email Management in the Cloud as Part of ...

• Steele Raymond, has selected Ascertus Limited to help the firm adopt best practice document and email management
• iManage Work will be the central hub and “go to” application for all client matters as well as internal firm-related information
• Ascertus provides information and document lifecycle management consultancy, software solutions and IT support services to law firms, corporate legal departments and other professional services organisations around the world

Minimize Cybersecurity Risk and Relieve Overstretched Security Teams with Trend Micro ...

• announced the launch of Trend Micro Service One, consolidating its managed services to optimize enterprise threat management
• Contract new services bundles, which can include premium support, an early warning service, Managed XDR and incident response, help customers prevent, detect and respond to cyber threats

Protera Announces Michael BeDell as Chief Executive Officer - Yahoo Finance

• announced today that its board of directors has appointed technology industry leader Michael (Mike) BeDell as its new chief executive
• Former CEO of NTT Managed Services, North America and Secure-24 appointed to lead Protera as CEO
• Protera is a global SAP® partner certified in Hosting, Cloud, Application Management, Global Outsourcing, and SAP HANA Operations Services

Data Storage Corporation signs managed services deal with Precisely

• deal is intended to bring new security software solutions to the Data Storage cloud
• goal is to strengthen the ezSecurity offering

All Covered and FORZA Partner with Oberon Americas powered by MPS Monitor for Meter Tracking

• announce a new technology partnership formed by FORZA, the company’s ERP solution, and Oberon Americas’ Print Fleet Management solution, MPS Monitor
• Oberon Americas brings together in one award-winning platform the power of IoT, Artificial Intelligence, MFD embedded development and cloud computing powered by MPS Monitor, focusing on the Internet of Printers  (IoP)
• Oberon Americas specializes in researching, designing and delivering of cloud software platforms for printers of all brands & models.

Cybersecurity

• Denton County of Texas notified 1,286,106 patients that their PHI may have been exposed after it was inadvertently exposed online from a COVID-19 database.
• The FBI published a warning to businesses in the U.S. of an expected increase in ransomware attacks during upcoming holiday season.
• Beaumont Health of Michigan notified 1,500 patients that their PHI was exposed after cyber security incident.
• Tech Republic magazine reports that “Cybercriminals are holding schools ransom for billions and some are paying up”
• Ponemon Institute publishes results of survey that shows over half of firms find it impossible or very difficult to prevent insider caused breaches.
• The FBI published report warning the Agriculture vertical that hackers plan on attacking their businesses with ransomware.
• Cetera Corp. of El Segundo, CA notified an unknown number of customers that their info was exposed during recent data breach.
• Career Group of Los Angeles, CA notified 49,000 customers that their info was exposed after ransomware attack.
• An un-named credit union in New York City, NY notified 20,000 customers that their info was exposed by a former employee.
• The Police Department of Dallas, TX notified an unknown number of citizens that their info was exposed after it was accessed by employee.
• Rapid7 Security announced that hackers can remotely disarm Fortress Security home security systems.
• The Department of Defense notified 38 patients that their PHI was illegally access by 1,310 individuals.
• City of Deerfield in North Carolina notified an unknown number of residents that their info was exposed after a data breach.
• Dallas Independent School District of Texas notified an unknown number of students that their info was exposed after cyber attack.
• Coalinga State Hospital of California notified 1,800 patients that their PHI was exposed after data security breach.
• Syracuse University of New York notified 10,000 students that their info was exposed after data breach.
• Sandhills Center of North Carolina notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was stolen after ransomware attack.

Sponsored by

August 22nd, 2021

Arcoa Group

Why partnering with ARCOA makes sense
Electronics Recycling is an important and profitable part of the IT asset lifecycle, but it can be overwhelming with all you already do, varying state regulations, and the limited resources at hand. That’s where ARCOA comes in. When you partner with ARCOA, you get all the benefits of a big company without any of the capital investment. We’ve been doing this since 1989 and have the expertise, certifications, and nationwide resources to get the most for all your clients’ retired IT assets. Plus, positioning your clients as environmental stewards not only elevates their appeal to consumers, it meets government requirements and avoids fines.

What partnering with ARCOA looks like
Our role is to make it easy for you to bring more value to your clients. We work with you to help stretch your clients’ IT budget by reducing the total cost of ownership of their electronics. We’re experts at identifying and implementing the solutions your clients need for the end-of-use remarketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your clients will see better results.MSP, MSSP and IT Notes Industry July 12th, 2021MSP, MSSP and IT Notes Industry July 12th, 2021

Toshiba launches new solution platform

• Launched the Elevate Sky platform for cloud-based workplace solutions
• Scan to cloud providers such as Google, Microsoft, Box and Dropbox
• Document management, workflow and print management solutions

Cygnet Infotech and Document Accounting Solutions (DAS) Partner to Offer An Enhanced E ...

• Cygnet Infotech has partnered with Document Accounting Solutions (DAS)
• Will offer enhanced e-signing and document management capability
• Created “Cygnature Node” for the ‘Square9 Suite of products’ Square9 is a leading developer of enterprise content management solutions

Lead for Managed IT Services

• Seeking Unified Back Office System
• https://www.p4photel.com/topic/lead-for-it-services-7

Apogee Enhances the Customer Experience with Appointment of Higher Education Industry ...

• Announced the appointment of David Hinson as Campus Chief Information Officer
• Will provide essential hands-on, strategic leadership at higher education campuses it serves across the country
• "Higher education IT departments must modernize and innovate, and there's no better partner for that than Apogee,” said David Hinson

Data Intensity Awarded 2021 Top Oracle Solution Provider

• Announced it has been recognized by CIO Applications as a 2021 Top Oracle Solution Provider
• Highlights organizations that excel in providing mission-critical solutions powered by Oracle Applications and Technology stacks
• "What makes Data Intensity a best-in-class provider is its absolute commitment toward investing in its people, process, and tools to drive scalable technology service management that delivers unprecedented service availability and reliability," said Joe Philip, managing editor of CIO Applications

Options Announce Microsoft Cloud Productivity Gold Partner Status

• Announced it has achieved the Microsoft Cloud Productivity Gold Partner Status
• Prestigious accolade is awarded to only the top 1% of Microsoft partners worldwide
• Microsoft’s Cloud Productivity competency focuses on Options’ skills in delivering innovative Office 365 solutions and helping clients deploy and manage applications such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Microsoft Team

Medicus IT Named to Inc. 5000 List for Seventh Time

• Named it one of the Top 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in the country by Inc. magazine
• This is Medicus IT's seventh year earning a spot on the list
• The annual Inc. 500|5000 list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy's most dynamic segment: independent small businesses

Microsoft issues another patch to fix print

• Provided a more comprehensive fix for the dangerous Windows Print Spooler security flaws publicly knowns as “PrintNightmare”
• Exposes users to remote code executive, ransomware attacks and privilege
  escalation attacks and may stop jobs from printing on printer or MFP
• Second patch issued and default setting changed to hopefully finally resolve the vulnerability

Kofax makes acquisition of competitor

• Kofax, which is owned by Thoma Bravo, is headquartered in Irvine, CA, and maker of document capture, RPA, and print management solutions
• Announced it has acquired Printix.net ApS, headquartered in Denmark.
• Provider of cloud-based SaaS (software-as-a-service) print management software
• Kofax will extend this offering to its dealers
• Purchase price not announced

BCM One Ranks on the 2021 Inc. 5000 List of the Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America

• BCM One, a provider of NextGen Communications and Managed Services for IT leaders and resellers, is named to its annual Inc. 5000 list
• We are excited to be recognized by Inc. as one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S.," stated Geoff Bloss, CEO of BCM One

Corsica Technologies Recognized as One of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies ...

• Corsica Technologies, recognized as one of the top managed IT and cybersecurity providers in the country from magazine
• Companies on the 2021 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2017 to 2020
• Corsica Technologies was recognized for its strong 337.4% revenue growth

IRS Awards $184 Million Contract to ViON

• Announced today it has been awarded a $184 million contract value with the Internal Revenue Service, Managed Infrastructure Data Service (MIDS) program
• To provide managed services to reengineer, maintain, and operate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) storage and compute infrastructure environment with on-premise, infrastructure-as-a-service for storage and compute capabilities
• Contract period has a one-year base plus the option of eight additional one-year terms

Network Remedy Named Best Managed IT Service Provider in Silicon Valley by Digital.com

• Named Network Remedy among the best managed IT services in San Francisco and San Jose for 2021
• firms were evaluated based on multiple service lines, size of firm, and industry focus
• Experts at Digital.com examined providers that work with clients across various industries and different types of organizations

airSlate Among Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies

• Named one of the fastest-growing private companies by Inc. 5000
• airSlate ranked No. 2313 in the annual list, after reporting 186% revenue growth in the last three years
• Record company growth, reaching $100 million ARR and more than 100 million users across its portfolio of award-winning electronic signature, PDF editing, and no-code workflow automation solutions — signNow, pdfFiller, and airSlate

Managed IT Systems Ranked Among Elite Managed Service Providers on 2021 NextGen 101 List

• Named as one of the world’s premier managed service providers on the prestigious Channel Futures 2021 NextGen 101 rankings
• NextGen 101 list, honors industry-leading managed services and technology providers who are driving a new wave of growth and innovation for the tech channel via the groundbreaking solutions they deliver for their customers

Datto’s Rae: ‘Who Is Key In Digital Transformation? The Managed Service Provider’

• Reported on CRN
• Told an audience of MSPs at this week’s XChange+ 2021 conference that they are in the middle of what he termed the “golden age” of managed services
• “Very, very few MSPs went out of business during this time. ... The time is now to take advantage of this golden age,” he said.

NTT DATA Awarded $15.4 Million Contract to Provide Managed IT and Security Services to ...

• Won a $15.4 million contract to deliver superior end-user support services for Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne)
• Argonne chose NTT DATA based on its ability to support these unique IT needs, as well as alignment to its core values of impact, innovation, client focus, integrity and teamwork
• NTT DATA will work with Argonne to mature their IT operations, modernize their end-user experience, and identify technologies that drive the most impact

Remote Work is Here to Stay—But Only if You Meet the Requirements

New survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals

• Majority of U.S. hiring decision-makers (70%) agree onboarding employees remotely requires more time and money than doing it in an office
• • More than half (55%) say their company hired and onboarded new employees remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • A similar proportion (51%) report their company plans to do so once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides
• A survey by Owl Labs found that 59% of employees would be more likely to choose one employer over another if offered remote work.
• Hiring decision-makers are split as to whether they will use specific criteria to determine which employees can work remotely (51%) or if all existing employees will be allowed to work remotely (49%)

Brother launches print subscriptions

• Introduced the Brother Refresh EZ Print Subscription Service
  - Monthly printing plan that delivers Brother ink or toner cartridges directly to a
  customer’s door before printer or MFP runs out of ink or toner
  - No long term commitments or contracts
  - 2 month risk free trial for eligible b/w laser printer models
  - Plans start as low as $3.49 per month flat fee
  o Applies to 100 page per month with low end b/w laser printer
  - Unused pages roll over to next month and never expire
  - If print more pages than plan allotment, overage charges apply

IT, MSP & MSSP Industry Notes

Sponsored by

August 9th, 2021

Arcoa Group

Why partnering with ARCOA makes sense
Electronics Recycling is an important and profitable part of the IT asset lifecycle, but it can be overwhelming with all you already do, varying state regulations, and the limited resources at hand. That’s where ARCOA comes in. When you partner with ARCOA, you get all the benefits of a big company without any of the capital investment. We’ve been doing this since 1989 and have the expertise, certifications, and nationwide resources to get the most for all your clients’ retired IT assets. Plus, positioning your clients as environmental stewards not only elevates their appeal to consumers, it meets government requirements and avoids fines.

What partnering with ARCOA looks like
Our role is to make it easy for you to bring more value to your clients. We work with you to help stretch your clients’ IT budget by reducing the total cost of ownership of their electronics. We’re experts at identifying and implementing the solutions your clients need for the end-of-use remarketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your clients will see better results.MSP, MSSP and IT Notes Industry July 12th, 2021MSP, MSSP and IT Notes Industry July 12th, 2021

Lead for IT Services

Project Title

• Information Technology Assessment and Improvement Project
• Bid Due Date 09/09/2021 11:00 AM (PDT)
• 1600 W Beverly Blvd, Montebello, California
• https://pbsystem.planetbids.co...2/bo/bo-detail/85216

SAP Helps Red Hat Advance Contingent Workforce Management

• SAP SE announced that Red Hat, the world's leading provider of enterprise open source solutions, has streamlined and consolidated its external workforce program in North America
• Partnership with Monument Consulting, with SAP® Fieldglass® Contingent Workforce Management application

NTT DATA Launches Health and Wellbeing Initiative

• NTT DATA announced launch of Health and Wellbeing initiative in collaboration with other NTT Group companies
• to elevate the importance of Health and Wellbeing at every level, individually and collectively
• With this initiative, NTT provides new insights through the launch of a whitepaper, Improving the Health of Me, which examines how individuals and organizations can embrace technology to improve health outcomes

NEON CORP. Selects Aptum to Enhance its Retail and eCommerce Platforms

• Announced partnership with NEON CORP., a turnkey eCommerce platform and retail solutions provider, to transition its IT infrastructure to Microsoft Azure Cloud
• NEON provides eCommerce platform build services including order fulfillment and management, customer service, marketing services, hosting and cybersecurity
• Aptum assisted NEON in making the transition to Azure with its Azure Design & Build, Azure Managed Services and Aptum Managed Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Vital Records Control Announces International Expansion to Further Customer-Centric Mission

• Has expanded its services to include protecting, storing, and providing secure access to a range of valuable information assets, from critical business documents, highly sensitive digital data, historical artifacts, medical records to specialty assets
• Recently, it has added its first international facility in the Bahamas
• Vital Records Control helps clients manage and govern their physical and digital information assets

Artificial Intelligence Increases Document Processing Efficiency 350% for California-Based ...

• Announced the successful adoption of Foundation AI's SaaS-based offering, Extract Filer
• Benefits include
  • More than 3X increase in document processing efficiency
  • Dramatic decreases in document sorting and filing errors
  • 81% reduction in non-billable document intake hours
  • Increased firm profitability
• Foundation AI is a California-based technology company on a mission to build artificial intelligence for the real world

Lead for IT Services

• Information Technology Support and Maintenance Services
• 8/19/2021 2:00 PM   (UTC-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)
• The City of Goodlettsville is requesting proposals from qualified suppliers for Information Technology Support and Maintenance Services. Also included are cloud-based data hosting services
• https://vrapp.vendorregistry.c...b6-b156-c708e4e137d3

Konica Minolta Ranked on Channel Futures MSP 501—Tech Industry’s Most Prestigious List of Global Managed Service Providers

• Konica Minolta Business Solutions, U.S.A., Inc. announced it has been named to the 2021 Channel Futures MSP 501 rankings
• Channel Futures MSP 501 survey examines organizational performance based on annual sales, recurring revenue, profit margins, revenue mix, growth opportunities, innovation, technology solutions supported, and company and customer demographics
• 2021 MSP 501 list is based on confidential data collected and analyzed by the Channel Futures editorial and research teams. Data was collected online from March 1-May 24, 2021
• The complete 2021 MSP 501 list is available on Channel Futures’ website.

TPx Named a TMC 2021 Communications Solutions Products of the Year Award Winner

• Announced today that TMC, a global, integrated media company, awarded TPx's UCx with Webex a 2021 Communications Solutions Products of the Year Award
• UCx was designed to address the pain points of small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) and provide a simple, seamless and secure solution to meet their needs

• UCx has four core capabilities (Collaboration, Messaging, Meetings and Enterprise VoIP) that work together to provide one seamless solution

Cerberus Sentinel announces acquisition of VelocIT

• Announced that it has acquired VelocIT, a New Jersey-based managed services provide
• VelocIT will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Cerberus Sentinel and will continue to focus on providing integrated risk managed services to a diverse set of national customers
• VelocIT will continue to be based in New Jersey and has plans to grow operations on the East Coast
• Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed

IT Solutions Voted Best Place to Work for Fifth Year by Employees

• announced that its employees voted the company one of Philadelphia’s Best Places to Work 2021 in an annual competition conducted by the Philadelphia Business Journal and Quantum Workplace
• Award applicants were grouped according to the number of employees located in the Greater Philadelphia area

Microsoft fixes printing issues

• Released an update for Windows 10 to fix issue that prevented some printers, MFPs, and scanners from working
• Also involved devices using smart card (PIV) authentication
• This was a separate issue to the so-called “PrintNightmare” bugs that Microsoft also sent out patches to correct
• Microsoft also published patches to fix Windows Print Spooler bugs

TeamLogic IT Opens in Jacksonville, FL

• TeamLogic IT, a provider of managed IT services and technology support for businesses, just opened an office in Jacksonville, FL
• Business is owned by Larry McKinley
• TeamLogic IT named the 2020 MSP (managed service provider) of the Year, and has been recognized on the Channel Futures MSP 501 Worldwide Ranking
• Named the number one technology franchise by Franchise Business Review, has been recognized on the 2020 Inc

Tampa firm OPSWAT acquires a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions

• OPSWAT announced on Monday that it has acquired all assets of Bayshore Networks
• OPSWAT will add Bayshore’s tech solutions and retain its team members
• OPSWAT caters to the defense and manufacturing sectors

MSP Acquired: Evergreen Services, NetGain Buy TruTechnology

• NetGain, backed by Evergreen Services Group, acquires TruTechnology, a Florida-based MSP (managed IT services provider)
• The post MSP Acquired: Evergreen Services, NetGain Buy TruTechnology appeared first on ChannelE2E

IT, MSP & MSSP Industry Notes

Sponsored by

July 12th, 2021

Arcoa Group

Why partnering with ARCOA makes sense
Electronics Recycling is an important and profitable part of the IT asset lifecycle, but it can be overwhelming with all you already do, varying state regulations, and the limited resources at hand. That’s where ARCOA comes in. When you partner with ARCOA, you get all the benefits of a big company without any of the capital investment. We’ve been doing this since 1989 and have the expertise, certifications, and nationwide resources to get the most for all your clients’ retired IT assets. Plus, positioning your clients as environmental stewards not only elevates their appeal to consumers, it meets government requirements and avoids fines.

What partnering with ARCOA looks like
Our role is to make it easy for you to bring more value to your clients. We work with you to help stretch your clients’ IT budget by reducing the total cost of ownership of their electronics. We’re experts at identifying and implementing the solutions your clients need for the end-of-use remarketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your clients will see better results.MSP, MSSP and IT Notes Industry July 12th, 2021MSP, MSSP and IT Notes Industry July 12th, 2021

Deft Celebrates Seventh Year as an AWS Managed Service Provider

• announced its renewal into the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Managed Service Provider (MSP) Partner Program
• seventh consecutive year, Deft has completed its AWS MSP audit
• audit confirms Deft’s ability to deliver elite-level managed services in cloud architecture, automation, optimization, and management within the AWS environment
• one of only 49 AWS MSPs nationwide and 150 worldwide

Fluid Networks Selects Cyren Inbox Security to Protect MSP Customers' Inboxes

• announced Fluid Networks, a provider in IT support, strategic technology, cloud, cyber security solutions and advisory services, selected Cyren Inbox Security (CIS) and has deployed the anti-phishing solution to its customers
• "Cyren has shifted a huge burden from our team's shoulders. Other solutions we tried either didn't have IR capabilities on par with Cyren, or didn't allow us to test them," said Damian Stalls, Virtual CIO (vCIO) Director at Fluid

• Networks. "I no longer deal with phishing emails. I log into the system just to see how much Cyren Inbox Security has taken off my plate and handled without my involvement or the involvement of my team."

Maryland towns impacted in Kaseya ransomware breach

• Reported on statescoop.com
• Leonardtown and North Beach were affected by REvil ransomware attack against Kaseya
• Hackers behind the global ransomware strike went after Kaseya’s VSA platform, which is used around the world by managed service providers, which in turn support organizations — like small businesses and local governments — that outsource their IT functions

San Diego-Based Managed Services Provider Establishing Investment Fund to Fuel Growth

• announced approval from the board of directors to secure and build an investment fund to accelerate hyper-growth
• Xceptional provides a portfolio of Managed Security, Compliance, and IT Services, as well as IT design/consulting/implementation services to a wide variety of organizations both locally and nationally
• investment fund will accelerate Xceptional’s expansion and growth strategy, enabling the organization to reach a greater number of customers across the Western United States
• looking to establish strategic partnerships with other IT managed services and solutions organizations within California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona that offer complementary services

Aligned Technology Solutions Ranked on Channel Futures MSP 501 – Tech Industry’s Most Prestigious List of Global Managed Service Providers

• named as one of the world’s premier managed service providers in the prestigious 2021 Channel Futures MSP 501 rankings
• Channel Futures MSP 501 survey examines organizational performance based on annual sales, recurring revenue, profit margins, revenue mix, growth opportunities, innovation, technology solutions supported, and company and customer demographics
• the MSP 501 winners will be recognized at the MSP 501 Awards Gala at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo / MSP Summit, Nov. 1-4, in Las Vegas

Buchanan Technologies Joins Fortinet's Engage Partner Program

• announced that it has joined Fortinet’s Engage Partner Program
• Fortinet’s Engage Partner Program offers partners the flexibility to build solutions aligned with customer growth markets
• Fortinet Security Fabric platform enables Buchanan Technologies to create important and relevant value as customers embrace digital innovations for business agility, performance, and simplicity

Castra Taps NetForce to Fill IT Positions as Demand Surges

• Castra has signed an agreement to become the largest customer to date for its NetForce IT staffing service
• "We're seeing huge demand for 24x7 threat hunting and incident response," said Tony Simone, Castra's co-founder
• Castra works with Fortune 50 organizations, SMBs, and everything in between

Mindbreeze Is Again Recognized in KMWorld's AI 50 List

• Mindbreeze, was again included in this year’s AI 50 list from KMWorld
• “A spectrum of AI technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing, and workflow automation, is increasingly being deployed by sophisticated organizations,” stated KMWorld Group Publisher Tom Hogan, Jr.
• This year’s KMWorld AI 50 report will highlight fifty AI companies that are providing knowledge management solutions. Take a look at this year’s list on the KMWorld website to see more details

Fujitsu Celebrating 20th Anniversary of Iconic ScanSnap Series that Transformed Document ...

• Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. celebrates the 20th anniversary of its legendary ScanSnap scanner series.
• more than six million units sold since 2001
• The ScanSnap series began in 2001 as a single, personal document scanner

Canon's uniFLOW Online 2021.2 Now Supports Microsoft Teams

• Reported Americansecuritytoday.com
• Allows clients to print and scan to MS Teams

etherFAX Releases New Artificial Intelligence Solution for Automated Data Extraction

• etherFAX announced the release of its new artificial intelligence (AI) solutions: searchable PDFs, OCR, and document data extraction
• uses Microsoft’s Cognitive Services to extract and digitize data from a range of unstructured documents and forms
• “Powerful AI document data extraction transforms unstructured documents — such as faxes, PDFs, and paper-based forms — into structured, searchable data ready to integrate into workflow processes and applications,” said Ben Manning, Director of Product at etherFAX
• etherFAX’s AI solution for document data extraction can be used with multiple formats including JPG, PNG, PDF, and TIFF while results can be extracted into JSON or XML format

Acronis Names New CEO With Plans To Expand MSP Base, Partner Investments

• Reported on crn.com
• Named Patrick Pulvermueller, former partners business president for web hosting company GoDaddy, as its new CEO
• “We will double down on our partner program and really make it even more compelling going forward,” Pulvermueller told CRN
• Acronis now has 1,600 employees in 33 locations across 18 countries

Keyloop Acquires MotorDocs to Accelerate Digitalisation in Automotive Retail and Aftersales

• announced its acquisition of MotorDocs, the provider of digital documents specifically designed for automotive retail and aftersales
• Keyloop launched in March this year after being acquired by Francisco Partners, a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology businesses
• Keyloop stated its intention to move swiftly to achieve its mission of transforming the car buying and ownership experience

Sponsored by

May 22nd, 2021

Arcoa Group

Why partnering with ARCOA makes sense
Electronics Recycling is an important and profitable part of the IT asset lifecycle, but it can be overwhelming with all you already do, varying state regulations, and the limited resources at hand. That’s where ARCOA comes in. When you partner with ARCOA, you get all the benefits of a big company without any of the capital investment. We’ve been doing this since 1989 and have the expertise, certifications, and nationwide resources to get the most for all your clients’ retired IT assets. Plus, positioning your clients as environmental stewards not only elevates their appeal to consumers, it meets government requirements and avoids fines.

What partnering with ARCOA looks like
Our role is to make it easy for you to bring more value to your clients. We work with you to help stretch your clients’ IT budget by reducing the total cost of ownership of their electronics. We’re experts at identifying and implementing the solutions your clients need for the end-of-use remarketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your clients will see better results.

The CIA to stop using fax machines

• The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency announced it will retire its secure fax machines that it was using to share secret information with its private contractors
• Will instead use new Gray Magic special encrypted email network

Lead for IT Asset Services in Missouri

• Follow this link https://oa.mo.gov/purchasing/b...ract-document-search

Ransomware Operational Costs

(Webroot claims of ransomware victims that 49% were unaware of the infection for more than 24 hours) reported on webroot

• 9% Less than one hour
• 43% less than 24 hours
• 43% less than 24 hours
• 28% 2-3 days
• 14% within a week
• 4% within one month
• 3% over a month

ABBYY solution company receives $$

• ABBYY, with US headquarters in Milpitas, CA, is provider of OCR, document capture
  and process automation solutions
• Announced it received a “significant investment” from Marlin Equity Partners of LosAngeles, CA

MSPAlliance Updates MSP/Cloud Verify Standard to Address Cybersecurity and MSP Assurance

• MSPAlliance® announced the newest release of its Unified Certification Standard (UCS) for Cloud & Managed Service Providers
• UCS v.21 adds more detail around existing Cybersecurity coverage within the standard, including further mapping to frameworks such as CMMC and ISO 27001
• Less than 3% of the MSPs worldwide possess an MSP Verify (or equivalent) certification or audit
• MSPAlliance® is a global industry association and accrediting body for the Cyber Security, Cloud Computing, and Managed Services Provider (MSP) industry

20 jobs forecast following merger at city firm Intuity Technologies

• Reported on Galway Bay fm
• 20 new jobs are forecast to be created at Ballybrit firm Intuity Technologies
• merger between Intuity Technologies and Roscommon firm myITdepartment

Lead for IT Services in Illinois

• $75K opportunity
• Click link for info http://apps.mwrd.org/ContractA...ails?contractID=2232

IDC predicted that four hundred billion fewer pages would be printed in 2020

• Demand for managed print services has fallen sharply during the Covid pandemic
• estimations came after IDC predicted that four hundred billion fewer pages would be printed in 2020 than previous years - the equivalent of seven football fields-worth of paged every minute
• Maruggi told CRN that, while there's a lot of speculation about how badly the print sector will be hit in the aftermath of the pandemic, Apogee is working with the assumption that it will lose around 15 to 20 per cent of normal print levels post-Covid

ATCO Australia Pivots to the Cloud with OpenText

• OpenText™, announced ATCO Australia has moved their information management solutions to the OpenText™ Cloud
• ATCO Australia is an energy company responsible for developing, building, owning and operating energy infrastructure assets
• "With OpenText Cloud Managed Services, we no longer have to maintain infrastructure or worry about upgrades and patches," said Chris Marshall, General Manager IT at ATCO Australia
• OpenText, The Information Company™, enables organizations to gain insight through market leading information management solutions, powered by OpenText Cloud Editions

TPx Awarded Most Promising in SMB Cybersecurity in the Coveted Global InfoSec Awards at RSA 2021

• TPx, announced it was recognized with the Most Promising in SMB Cybersecurity award from Cyber Defense Magazine (CDM)
• To see the full list of winners, visit http://www.cyberdefenseawards.com/
• TPx is a managed services provider focused on the success of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with approximately 25,000 customers in more than 50,000 locations across the U.S

ReachOut Technology Remains Bullish on Infrastructure and Cybersecurity; Seeks to Acquire 75 ...

• According to Pew Research, 64 percent of Americans have an online account involving health, financial or other sensitive data and nearly two-thirds of those have experienced some form of data theft
• roughly half (49%) of all Americans feel their personal information is less secure than it was five years ago
• a full 70% of Americans expect that the U.S. will experience a significant cyberattack on its public infrastructure in the next five years.¹
• In recent years, ReachOut Technology has quietly been acquiring local Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and private security companies across the U.S.
• Founder and CEO Rick Jordan has committed to a goal of actively acquiring 75 in the next 24 months. J

Toshiba Tec is hacked with ransomware

• A Toshiba Corp. unit said it was hacked by the DarkSide ransomware group
• Toshiba Tec, which makes products such as printer/MFPs and is valued at $2.3 billion, was hacked by DarkSide
• Claims “that only a minimal amount of work data had been lost”
• "There are around 30 groups within DarkSide that are attempting to hack companies all the time, and they succeeded this time with Toshiba," said Takashi Yoshikawa, a senior malware analyst at Mitsui Bussan Secure Directions

Ricoh Canada's Document Processing Services Chooses ancora Software to Enhance their ...

• ancora Software, Inc., announced that Ricoh Canada's Document Processing Services has signed an agreement to use ancora's flagship product ancoraDocs to enhance their Intelligent Capture ServicesA
• ancoraDocs is available either on premise or as a true multi-tenant cloud service hosted by ancora on Microsoft Azure
• "We are really happy to sign an agreement with Ricoh Canada's Document Processing Services group," said Noel Flynn, CEO at ancora

WBM Technologies Wins HP's North American Smart Device Services Award for Predictive Analytics in Print

• WBM Technologies (WBM) was named HP's top partner in North America in the area of Smart Device Services

• award acknowledges WBM's innovative and proactive use of remote monitoring technologies and predictive analytics

HP rehires Christian Slater for security push

In past, company ran video ads featuring actor Christian Slater as a hacker named “The Wolf” who access company data by hacking into printers and MFPs

• Has brought him back for new set of ads to promote new HP Wolf Security solutions
• New focus on potential security vulnerabilities from remote workers using devices at home
• New report published with results of latest survey:
• • 45% of IT decision makers say they have seen evidence in their company of compromised printers being used as an attack point in past year
  • 86% have concerns around the security of their home printers
  • 1.5 attacks per minute on endpoints connected to Internet, including
    printers and MFPs
  • 91% plan on making endpoint security just as important as network security
• HP Wolf Security solution offers:
  • Self-healing firmware
  • In-memory breach detection
  • Threat containment via virtualization
    • • Cloud-based intelligence
      • Remote recovery from firmware attacks
      • Threat data collection
      • Alerts
      • Next-gen anti-virus
    • Is offering online training and resources for dealers to sell new solution
    • Is planning a series of virtual “road shows” for dealers and their customers

HP sells printer/MFP plant to Sharp’s parent

Business Korea magazine reported that HP Inc has sold a laser printer/MFP
manufacturing plant in Weihai, China

• The buyers is Foxconn, aka Hon Hai Precision of Taiwan, which is the owner of Sharp
• In 2017, HP bought the printer/MFP plant from Samsung for $1.05 billion
• The Shandong plant will continue to supply HP with LaserJet branded product
• (unknown if plant will also be used to make Sharp-branded product, or how this will impact HP’s other supplier, Canon)

CGI to continue modernization of Department of Interior's mission-critical National Trust Information ...

• CGI announced an award from the Department of Interior's (DOI) Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for continued enhancement of its Trust Asset Accounting Management System (TAAMS)
• BIA leverages TAAMS to administer and manage natural resources on 55 million surface acres and 57 million acres of subsurface minerals estates held in trust by the United States for American Indians, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives

Bell Techlogix earns spot on CRN® Tech Elite 250 and MSP 500 lists for second consecutive year

• Bell Techlogix, announced that CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company, has named the company to its annual Tech Elite 250 , Security 100 and MSP 500 lists for the second consecutive year
• The Tech Elite 250 list is comprised of solution providers in the U.S. and Canada who have the highest level and most certifications from Amazon, Cisco, Dell, HPE and VMware
• Fifth year Bell Techlogix has been named to the Tech Elite 250. The Managed Security 100 spotlights MSPs with cloud-based security services expertise.

NetDocuments Cloud Platform Records Unprecedented Q1 2021 Growth

• announced unprecedented growth in Q1 2021 (1Q21), continuing its record setting sales momentum
• 1Q21 was a record first quarter for new customer acquisition representing 27% growth over the previous largest Q1, and the biggest non-Q4 quarter on record
• Company continued its record growth within the small-medium law firm segment, recording 84+% growth, and a record 1st quarter 2021 in new corporate legal accounts, representing a 163% increase compared to Q120

Cybersecurity Update

• Colonial Pipeline Company, headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, was hit by
  ransomware and forced to shut down its fuel pipeline operation that spans 5,500 miles from Houston, TX to Linden, NJ. This may cause a further spike in gasoline cost.
• Judge Eldon E. Fallon sentenced Edward Tolliver of New Orleans, LA to 124 months in federal prison for making and selling fake credit cards using stolen identities he acquired from Dark Web sites.
• SmileDirectClub, headquartered in Nashville, TN, notified an unknown number of patients their PHI may have been exposed after “systems outage”
• Owners of Tesla beware! Two researchers are warning that a hacker can use a specially equipped drone to remotely hack into and take control of the Tesla car, using the TBONE exploitation.
• The federal Department of Health & Human Services’ Office For Civil Rights reported:
• • March there were 1,116,997 patients that had their PHI exposed due to breaches
  • April has 2,121,186 patients impacted
• Flashpoint is reporting that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is behind ransomware campaign using a hacking group called Emen Net Pasargard.
• The Rochester Community Technical College of Minnesota notified 5,392 students that their info was exposed after cyber security incident.
• Check Point Research is warning that billions of Android-based mobile devices are exposed due to a security vulnerability in Qualcomm’s Mobile Station Modem chips
• Dell Computer announced it has patched flaws in vulnerable firmware that shipped in millions of laptops, tablets and desktop PCs since 2009.
• Peloton Corp., headquartered in New York City, NY, is notifying millions of customers of its Peloton fitness equipment that their info may have been exposed due to newly discovered vulnerability.
• Aprima suffered outages of its cloud-based EHRs due to ransomware attack on MednetwoRX data center in Dallas, TX.
• Lourdes Hospital of Binghamton, NY notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after its CaptureRX pharmacy claims processing solution was hacked.
• West Penn Hospital of Pennsylvania announced that former employee, Guy Caley, was convicted of 44 felony and 45 misdemeanor counts for illegal actions which exposed the identities of patients.
• Mandiant Threat Intelligence is reporting of new security vulnerabilities found in Intel and AMD computer processor chips, that bypass fixes that companies issued to correct the past Spectre and Meltdown hacking attacks.
• Wolfe Eye Clinics of Iowa notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI may have been exposed due to cyber attack.
• SEIU 775 Benefits Group of Washington notified 140,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after cyber attack.
• Nexelis Group, headquartered in Seattle, WA, notified an unknown number of patients of Pacific Biomarkers that their PHI was exposed after malware attack.
• Medtronic, with US headquarters in Minnesota, notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI may have been exposed after cybersecurity incident.
• Rx Pharmacies, headquartered in Tri-Cities area of Washington, notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack.
• Truesec Security Consulting is reporting that the Russian government is backing Evil Corp., a cybercrime organization.
• The US State Department has fined Honeywell Corp., headquartered in Charlotte, NC, after some of its employees allegedly leaked plans for the F35 and F22 Raptor and other aircraft designs to the Chinese government.
• Health Aid, headquartered in Parma, OH, notified 140,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after cybersecurity incident.
• Scripps Health of San Diego, CA notified an unknown numbers of patients that their PHI may have been exposed after a ransomware attack.
• Midwest Transplant Network, headquartered in Westwood, KS, notified 17,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack.
• Gifford Health Care of Vermont notified an unknown number of patients that their PHImmay have been exposed after a cybersecurity incident.
• Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare of Utica, NY notified 17,655 patients that their PHI may have been exposed after cybersecurity incident.
• Orthopedic Associates of Dutchess County in New York notified 330,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after cybersecurity incident.
• BakerHostetler published ransomware report:
• • Average initial ransomware demand is now $4,583,000
  • In healthcare, average ransomware payout is $910,335
  • Average forensic investigation cost = $58,963
  • HIPAA fines range from $100,000 to $6.85 million

• The Alaska Court System was forced offline after cybersecurity incident.
• Netskope Security is warning that ransomware could be inserted into a network by usingnmalicious Microsoft Office files. The malware could be embedded in MS Excel, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, etc.

MSP, MSSP, and IT Industry Notes

Sponsored by

May 10th, 2021

Arcoa Group

Why partnering with ARCOA makes sense
Electronics Recycling is an important and profitable part of the IT asset lifecycle, but it can be overwhelming with all you already do, varying state regulations, and the limited resources at hand. That’s where ARCOA comes in. When you partner with ARCOA, you get all the benefits of a big company without any of the capital investment. We’ve been doing this since 1989 and have the expertise, certifications, and nationwide resources to get the most for all your clients’ retired IT assets. Plus, positioning your clients as environmental stewards not only elevates their appeal to consumers, it meets government requirements and avoids fines.

What partnering with ARCOA looks like
Our role is to make it easy for you to bring more value to your clients. We work with you to help stretch your clients’ IT budget by reducing the total cost of ownership of their electronics. We’re experts at identifying and implementing the solutions your clients need for the end-of-use remarketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your clients will see better results.

TPx Debuts on Vertical Systems Group's US Carrier Managed SD-WAN LEADERBOARD

• Announced today that they debuted on Vertical Systems Group’sS. Carrier Managed SD-WAN LEADERBOARD benchmark for the first time
• “The managed SD-WAN market in the U.S. endured the pandemic as service providers installed hundreds of new networks in extremely challenging conditions throughout the past year,” said Rick Malone, principal of Vertical Systems Group
• TPx is a nationwide managed services provider focused on the success of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with approximately 25,000 customers in more than 50,000 locations across the U.S.

CGI selected to provide data center and hybrid IT services in response to Finnish public sector tender

• Selected by Hansel Ltd., which operates the central procurement unit of the Finnish Government, to serve as the largest IT operating services provider to the Finnish public sector
• The total value of the eight-year framework agreement is approximately 384 million euros (CA $576M)
• Founded in 1976, CGI is among the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world

Navarone Chooses Marpoint UNI & Proactive IT Managed Services

• Navarone S.A., a world-leading shipping company, has chosen to implement Marpoint’s IT Managed Services

Bishop Fox Appoints IT Operations Veteran as Associate Vice President of Consulting Managed ...

• Announced the appointment of Tony Needler as associate vice president of consulting managed services
• Needler will spearhead Bishop Fox’s expanding consulting managed programs, including the Google Partner Security Assessment Program, Amazon Alexa Authorized Security Lab, Nest Partners Security Assessment Program, Facebook Workplace Security Assessment Program, Nylas Program, and the SFDC AppExchange (Japan)

Sandler Partners to Host Technology Master Series on Managed IT Services

• Sandler Partners will be holding a Technology Master Series on Wednesday, May 12 and Thursday, May 13 from 10-11 AM PT each day
• Hosted by Sandler Sales Engineering experts Eric Beller and Kamran Kowsari
• Sandler Partners is America's fastest-growing master agent and distributor of connectivity and cloud services.

Velocity, A Managed Services Company Strengthens And Expands Channel Sales

• Announced today it has hired Thomas Murphy as the director of channel and strategic relationships
• Murphy will lead the company's indirect channel sales division and the indirect channel strategy and execution to meet Velocity's growing demand for its product offerings
• Founded in 2005 by Greg Kiley, Velocity is a privately held company with approximately 500 employees

iBASEt Launches Managed Services Offering

• Announced the Solumina iSeries platform for digital operations is now available as a managed cloud service
• Solumina iSeries provides customers with a choice of deployment as either on-premises, on the cloud, or as a hybrid environment
• The iSeries, powered by Solumina, is a cloud-native platform that establishes a digital ecosystem to drive innovation and improve operational performance

Square 9 adds security features

• Announced version 6.1 of its GlobalSearch enterprise content management software
• Extends its security model to include 3rd party Identity Management providers like Okta and Microsoft Azure AD
• Enhancements to GlobalSearch Permissions Manager

Cloud print services market

• Report published by Quocirca Research of survey of MPS users
• 43% expect all IT infrastructure to be cloud-based by end of 2021
• 39% have implemented a cloud-based print management platform
• 37% plan to move MPS to cloud in next 12 months
• 72% will increase use of cloud print by 2025
• 45% say cloud print service provision is key supplier selection factor

PaperCut launches Hive solution

• Cloud-based print management solution
• Initial phase of Hive is “not tailored for education vertical”
• Not yet suitable for customers with 200+ printers/MFPs
• Integrates directly with MFP or printer firmware
• Secure print release, usage tracking
• Supports printing from iOS or Android mobile devices
• Supports major card technologies for user authentication
• Pricing not announced

Datto Hosts First MSP Marketing & Sales Day

• Announced it will be hosting its first ever virtual MSP Marketing & Sales Day on May 20th
• Datto’s MSP Marketing & Sales Day is an interactive and educational event focused on the resources, tools, and best practices needed for MSPs to grow (and preserve) revenue in 2021
• During this event, MSPs will learn directly from industry peers as well as Datto’s Go-To-Market subject matter experts on topics that include:
• Prospecting and lead generation strategies and techniques
• Defining the sales and relationship management process
• Positioning yourself as a trusted advisor to clients and prospects
• Providing value after the sale

AdvoLogix Releases New Enterprise Legal Management Offering Highlights include: AI Assisted ...

• Released a new product offering specifically tailored to the Enterprise Legal Management industry
• New offering includes an Artificial Intelligence tool to assist with spend management, as well as custom reporting features. In addition the platform is home to a Legal Services Provider Portal as well as offering easy application integrations
• Founded in 2006, AdvoLogix is a leading law practice and legal matter management solution that helps law firms, general counsel and state and local governments automate unique business processes and simplify legal matter management

Ricoh USA, Inc. Named to ChannelE2E's Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs: 2021 Edition

• Named to After Nines Inc.'s ChannelE2E Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs list and research (http://www.channelE2E.com/top100) for 2021
• Annual list and research identify and honor the top 100 managed services providers (MSPs) in healthcare, legal, government, financial services, manufacturing and additional vertical markets
• Ricoh was ranked among the top vertical market MSPs in legal

HP to resell EveryonePrint solutions

• HP will offer the EveryonePrint Hybrid Cloud Platform as part of its managed print services offering
• Is an all-in-one print infrastructure solution
• Includes app built specifically for HP Workpath cloud platform
• Remote printer configuration
• Remote update installation
• Serverless solution
• Pricing not announced

HP launches cloud-based solutions

• Offering new HP+ Smart App cloud ecosystem for select HP printers and MFPs
• Automatically detect and fix connectivity issues
• Monitoring to help detect and prevent malware attacks
• Enables printing from virtually anywhere on any device
• Private pickup for secure print release
• Smart Dashboard to manage devices
• HP Smart App
• • Print and scan from mobile device
  • Advanced App for multi-item scanning recognition
  • Book scanning
  • Auto-heal to remove marks and hole punches
  • Save as searchable PDF, TXT and DOCX files
    Will be part of soon to launch:
  • LaserJet M200 series
  • OfficeJet Pro 8000e and 9000e series
  • DeskJet 2700e and 4100e series
  • ENVY 6000e and 6400e series

All Covered Ranks Among Top Ten Vertical Market MSPs for Sixth Consecutive Year

• Announces  All Covered (All Covered) has been named to After Nines Inc.’s ChannelE2E Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs list for 2021
• All Covered earned the #8 spot on ChannelE2E’s Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs for its expertise in delivering solutions to the healthcare industry
• All Covered’s sixth consecutive year in the top ten
• The Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs rankings are based on ChannelE2E’s Q4 2020 and January 2021 readership survey, and ChannelE2E’s vertical market industry coverage

This year’s research revealed several key MSP market trends, including:

• Honorees generated a combined $1.40 billion in vertical market annual recurring revenue (ARR) in 2020, up from $1.12 billion million in 2019. The surge involved organic growth combined with continued merger and acquisition (M&A) activity.
• The most successful vertical market MSPs are zeroing in on healthcare and financial services, while MSPs in the legal and not-for-profit sectors also showed particularly strong growth.
• The Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs now manage more than 3.1 million users across their customer sites as of 2020, up from 2.8 million in 2019.
• MSPs consider their top vertical market technology partners to be Microsoft (58%), Dell Technologies (19%), Cisco Systems (17%), ConnectWise (16%) and Amazon Web Services (14%). Datto, Fortinet, Ingram Micro and Paxalso earned strong MSP response

Cybersecurity Update

• The average ransom payment to ransomware operators is now $220,298, up 43% YoY, according to Coveware Security
• Reverb Inc. headquartered in Chicago, IL, notified an unknown number of users for its musical instrument marketplace website that their info may have been exposed during recent data breach
• Sapphire Community Health of Hamilton, MT notified 4,000 patients that their PHI was stolen during recent ransomware attack
• Centennial School District of Portland, Oregon notified 6,100 students that their info may have been exposed after ransomware attack
• HME Specialists, headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, notified 153,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack
• Doctors Medical Center of Modesto, CA notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was accidentally posted online for past year
• The FBI published a warning that Russian hackers, APT 29, Dukes and CozyBear have ramped up activity attempting to target large organizations in the U.S. to steal intelligence
• Indiana University Health CISO Mitch Parker stated that the 3 major security gaps not being addressed by healthcare executives are:
  • Supply Chain
  • Organizational Integration
  • Physical Security
• The Metropolitan Police in Washington D.C. notified an unknown number of citizens that the Babuk hacking group stole 250GB of data.
• Peak Vista Community Health Centers of Colorado notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was stolen during recent burglary
• The hacking group, Qlockers, claims that they were able to collect $260,000 in ransom in 5 days by attacking vulnerable organizations
• Radixx, a division of Sabre Corp. in Southlake, Texas, was hit by malware, which impacted 20 airlines that uses its software to ticket reservations
• PCS Revenue Control Systems Inc., headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, notified 867,209 students in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Texas that their info was exposed after its student nutrition database was hacked
• VEP Healthcare of Concord, CA notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack
• Gyrodata Corp. of Houston, TX notified an unknown number of customers of its oilfield services that their info was exposed after cyberattack
• Maine Department of Health & Human Services notified an unknown number of mental health patients that their info was exposed after it was accidentally posted on public website
• Wyoming Department of Health notified 164,021 patients that their PHI was exposed after it was accidentally posted on public website
• Experian announced it fixed a problem that accidentally allowed anyone to look up the credit score of “tens of millions” of Americans
• Osborn Cancer Center of Chehalis, WA notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI may have been exposed after ransomware attack from Avaddon hacking group.
• Proofpoint, a security solution firm headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, announced it was acquired Thoma Bravo for $12.3 billion
• Thoma Bravo also owns Kofax and Hyland
• The FBI handed over 4.3 million email addresses that were harvested by the Emotet botnet.
• Cisco announced it released patches to fix security vulnerabilities for its Firepower Threat Defense software used in its firewall solutions
• Data Breach Today News reports on ransomware:
• 80% of all ransoms paid went to 199 addresses
• 21 days = average downtime after ransomware attack
• 287 days = average amount of time to fully recover from ransomware attack
• $350 million = total ransoms paid in 2020
• $312,413 = average ransom paid
• Google is being sued by people who had their PHI exposed after using the GAEN corona virus tracing tool, which apparently exposed PHI of millions of users
• Thrifty White Pharmacy, headquartered in Plymouth, MN, notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after a cybersecurity incident:
  • operations in six states, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa
• The State of Pennsylvania is notifying 72,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after a third party vendor, Insight Global of Atlanta, Georgia, which manages the corona virus contact tracing database suffered a breach
• AmeriFirst Financial, Inc., headquartered in Kalamazoo, MI, notified an unknown number of customers that their info was exposed after cyber attack
• Einstein Healthcare Network, headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, is facing a class action lawsuit over an August 2020 phishing attack that resulted in multiple employee email accounts being accessed by an unauthorized individual that exposed PHI of 353,616 patients
• River Springs Health of Bronx, NY notified 31,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack
• Health Center Partners of Southern California in San Diego, CA, notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack.
• The Transportation Research Board, headquartered in Washington D.C., notified an unknown number of members that their info was exposed after a database, managed by J. Spargo & Associates of Fairfax, VA was hacked.

MSP, MSSP, and IT Industry Notes

Sponsored by

Arcoa Group

Why partnering with ARCOA makes sense
Electronics Recycling is an important and profitable part of the IT asset lifecycle, but it can be overwhelming with all you already do, varying state regulations, and the limited resources at hand. That’s where ARCOA comes in. When you partner with ARCOA, you get all the benefits of a big company without any of the capital investment. We’ve been doing this since 1989 and have the expertise, certifications, and nationwide resources to get the most for all your clients’ retired IT assets. Plus, positioning your clients as environmental stewards not only elevates their appeal to consumers, it meets government requirements and avoids fines.

What partnering with ARCOA looks like
Our role is to make it easy for you to bring more value to your clients. We work with you to help stretch your clients’ IT budget by reducing the total cost of ownership of their electronics. We’re experts at identifying and implementing the solutions your clients need for the end-of-use remarketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your clients will see better results.

Altec To Educate Users About How They Can Boost the Value of Their Key2Act Solution During ...

• exhibiting and presenting two sessions during Key2Act's Synergy virtual conference next week, April 26-30
• designed to help KEY2ACT users learn how to get the most out of their solutions
• Altec will present two sessions designed to educate Key2Act
  • users about how to go paperless and automate processes in AP and other departments

BCM One Expands UCaaSone™ With Cisco Webex® Integration

• UCaaSone™, company's managed unified communications as a service (UCaaS) offering that runs on the BroadWorks® platform
• Founded in 1992, BCM One is a leading provider of NextGen Communications and Managed Services to IT leaders and channel resellers nationwide

For Fifth Consecutive Quarter, Persistent Named a Top 15 Sourcing Standout for Managed.

• named a Top 15 Sourcing Standout for Managed Services for fifth consecutive quarter by Information Services Group (ISG)
• ISG Index™ provides an independent quarterly review of the latest sourcing industry data and trends
• The ISG Index™ is recognized as the authoritative source for marketplace intelligence on the global technology and business services industry

Leading Managed Services Provider Offers Ransomware Protection-as-a-Service Based on ..

• Cloudian® today announced that Calligo introduced a new Ransomware Protection-as-a-Service offering based on a Cloudian-Veeam data protection solution
  • Supports S3 Object Lock
• Group-IB claims ransomware attacks increased 150% in 2020
• Will continue to be one of the top global security threats this year

IDC predicts print fleet downsizing

• Estimates that in 2021, 35% of large global enterprises will reduce their printer fleet by at least 50%
• Direct consequence of remote working and learning brought on by government ordered lockdowns
• Forecasting a compound annual reduction rate of -4.8% until 2024

Veeva Unveils Quality Content Reference Model to Empower Companies with Proven Best Practices

• announced the availability of the Veeva Quality Content Reference Model
• design to advance quality transformation efforts and drive further standardization in quality management
• Veeva is the global leader in cloud software for the life sciences industry

Kyocera launches new apture solution

• Now offering Kyocera Capture Manager of KCM
• Intelligent process automation solution
• User management and access control
• Digital signature feature
• Content Manager offers auto classify documents based on predefined templates
• Data extraction to auto index documents using machine learning technology
• Convert scanned documents to MS Office formats of searchable PDFs
• Uses OCR (optical character recognition) engine from ABBYY Software of Russia
• Route captured data to proper personnel and send email notification
  • Customized scripting
  • Pricing not announced

CSP Global Announces Breakthrough in CyberSecurity, Launches LifeCycle, Asia's First Master ...

• Asia's first Master Managed Service Provider (MMSP)
• fully integrated, hassle-free standardized service-based cybersecurity solution for government institutions and enterprises
• a Microsoft report, cyber-security threats cost Malaysian organisations MYR49.15B in economic losses leading to 61% of job losses in 2017.

Kofax offers new version of AP Agility

• Intelligent automation solution for digital workflow transformation for accounts payable processes
• Pre-built connectors for procure-to-pay, financial accounting and ERP systems, such as SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Oracle, Infor, etc
• New invoice formats, extended document intelligence capabilities, workflows
• Capture, digitize and extract key data from documents in any format
• Validation, matching, resolving inconsistencies, coding and approval of invoices

Logicalis US Adds COO to Executive Team

• Announced Michael McClain as Chief Operating Officer (COO)
• McClain to oversee Logicalis' Managed Services, IT, Professional Services organizations and M&A strategy
• Logicalis US is part of the Logicalis Group, which has more than 6,500 employees and annualized revenues of $1.7 billion

TPx Launches Security Advisory Services for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

• Announced expansion of services to include Security Advisory Services for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB’s)
• Claims 60% of SMBs going out of business within 6 months of cyberattack
• Pandemic has exponentially increased the cybersecurity threat, with 43% of attacks targeting SMBs
• TPx is a nationwide managed service provider focused on the success of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with approximately 25,000 customers in more than 50,000 locations across the U.S

ECS / My IT Acquires The Purple Guys

• ECS / My IT, completed acquisition of The Purple Guys ("TPG"), a Kansas City, Kansas-based managed service provider
• The combined organization, of nearly 120 full-time employees
• "With the acquisition of TPG by ECS / My IT, we'll be able to provide our client base enhanced solutions and offerings, broaden our geographic reach

CyberSheath Enhances Its CMMC Managed Services with CMMCEnclave, the Most ...

• introduced the next evolution of its CMMC Managed Services, including its CMMCEnclave
• CMMCEnclave is the first enclave with optional management of multiple levels of CMMC
• Covers all three dimensions of compliance — IT, governance, and security
• Established in 2008, CyberSheath is one of the most experienced and trusted IT security services partners for the U.S. defense industrial base

Xantrion Inc. Named to CRN's 2021 Managed Service Provider 500 List

• Named for the sixth consecutive year to CRN's Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list for MSP Pioneer 250
• The list is divided into three categories:
  • MSP Pioneer 250
  • MSP Elite 150
  • MSP Managed Security 100

PC sales hit highest growth

• Gartner is reporting that worldwide PC shipments are up 32% for Q1 of 2021 compared to same quarter last year
• Total of 69.9 million units shipped during quarter
• Top three vendors were Lenovo, HP and Dell

New hack for MFPs and printers?

• Forescout Security is warning of new set of vulnerabilities for IoT devices that get their TCP/IP stack code from third parties, including Nucleus NET, FreeBSD and NetX
• Could allow hackers to launch Denial of Service (DoS) or Remote Code Execution (RCE)
• Have named it the “Name:Wreck” vulnerability
• Over 100 million devices are potentially affected, including printers and MFPs
  • “This can be an entry point, a foothold into a network and from there you can decide, basically, what the attack is”; stated Daniel dos Santos, Research Manager
  • “One of the things that you can do is just basically take devices offline by sending malicious packets that crash the device
  • “Another thing is when you are able to actually execute code on the device, that opens up the possibility of persistence on the network or moving laterally in the network to other kinds of targets”
  • “gain access to enterprise networks and steal sensitive information”
  • Healthcare could be among the most affected

Cybersecurity Update

• Mandiant Security Software published results of 2020 breaches
  • 25% increase in ransomware attacks
  • 78% of ransomware attacks had dwell time of 30 days or less
  • 1% had dwell time of 700 days or more
  • 59% were detected internally

• Tenable Research published report
  • More than 18,000 common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) were reported in 2020, up 6%
  • (this includes Ripple20 and others than impact some brands of printers and MFPs)
  • 46% of breaches in healthcare were from ransomware attacks
• Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome on CBS 60 Minutes, stated that cyberattacks are now the foremost risk to the finance vertical.
• CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield’s Community Health Plan District of Columbia in D.C. notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack.
• Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority of Cleveland, OH notified 189,008 people that their info was exposed after ransomware attack.
• Guess Clothing notified an unknown number of customers that their info was exposed after ransomware attack.
• Brokerage firm National Securities Corp. of New York City, NY has agreed to pay $3 million in a settlement with New York’s financial services regulator over shortfalls that resulted in four cybersecurity breaches involving unauthorized access to email accounts.
• The Hillsborough and Bernards Public School Districts in New Jersey notified an unknown number of students that their info may have been exposed after ransomware attack.
• The Houston Rockets NBA basketball team notified an unknown number of customers that their info may have been exposed after being hit by by “Babuk” ransomware with 500 GB allegedly stolen.
• University Health of San Antonio, TX began notifying 2,704 patients that its billing services vendor, Med-Data, fell victim to a data breach.
• Coca Cola’s former employee Xiaorong You is on trial in Greenville, TN, for allegedly stealing confidential info and selling it for $39 thousands dollars
• Montefiore Medical Center of New York notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was illegally access by an employee.
• Red Deer Regional Hospital of Alberta, Canada notified 3,224 patients that their PHI was exposed after a breach.
• Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., on Friday revealed it had a breach of patient information last fall.
• Algoma Health of Ontario, Canada notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack.

There are two IT FREE leads including in this weeks notes!

Arcoa Group

Why partnering with ARCOA makes sense
Electronics Recycling is an important and profitable part of the IT asset lifecycle, but it can be overwhelming with all you already do, varying state regulations, and the limited resources at hand. That’s where ARCOA comes in. When you partner with ARCOA, you get all the benefits of a big company without any of the capital investment. We’ve been doing this since 1989 and have the expertise, certifications, and nationwide resources to get the most for all your clients’ retired IT assets. Plus, positioning your clients as environmental stewards not only elevates their appeal to consumers, it meets government requirements and avoids fines.

What partnering with ARCOA looks like
Our role is to make it easy for you to bring more value to your clients. We work with you to help stretch your clients’ IT budget by reducing the total cost of ownership of their electronics. We’re experts at identifying and implementing the solutions your clients need for the end-of-use remarketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your clients will see better results.

CrushBank Announces Strategic Alliance with ECI Software Solutions

• CrushBank, developers of an artificial intelligence (AI) solution, uses power of IBM Watson and Natural Language Processing to provide answers used in IT support
• Announcement coincides with the initiation of development of an integration between CrushBank and e-automate
• With this partnership and the subsequent integration, CrushBank will make the promise of better, more efficient customer support available to the Managed Print Services and other office equipment providers who depend on e-automate as their ERP solution

Accelalpha Inc. acquires Key Performance Ideas Inc. to create an organization with unmatched…

• Accelalpha announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Key Performance Ideas (KPI)
• Using KPI to enhance it’s Oracle Cloud Solutions
• Also strengthens Accelalpha's multi-pillar Oracle Cloud managed services business

C Spire Business named one of 2021 top solution providers by CRN

• Named one of the top 250 information technology solution (IT) providers in North America in 2021 by CRN
• C Spire Business was included in the prestigious annual Tech Elite 250 list
• C Spire Business is a division of C Spire, a privately-held diversified telecommunications and technology services provider

Dynamic Quest Acquires Integrated Solutions

• Completes acquisition of IT 4 the Planet dba Integrated Solutions
• Dynamic quest backed by Spire Capital
• Dynamic Quest an MSP offers IT & cloud services (headquarters in Greensboro, NC)
• Integrated Solutions offers managed IT, BDR and cybersecurity services (headquarters in Birmingham AL

Xeretec Ireland announces expansion into Donegal and Sligo

• Reported on Leitrim Observer
• Xeretec Ireland will expand into the North West through a €500,000 investment in Donegal and Sligo
• Established 1991, with 200 employees and offices in Dublin and Galway, Xeretec specialize in managed print services, digital transformation and remote working capabilities

Apogee to buy Direct-Tec

• Reported on insidermedia.com
• Apogee agrees to acquire Direct-Tec Group (Kent, UK)
• Direct-Tec provides print, document and IT services for businesses & public sector
• Terms not disclosed

DynTek Achieves Microsoft Gold Competency in Security

• Achieved a Microsoft Gold Competency in Security
• DynTek had to demonstrate deep expertise in designing, implementing and managing customers’ security programs
• Helps organizations identify and protect against internal and external threats to the IT infrastructure, systems, & data

Options Recognised as Managed Services Provider Partner of the Year in Trend Micro Awards

• Awards, hosted by Trend Micro, recognize outstanding partner companies
• Options Technology is the No. 1 provider of IT infrastructure to global Capital Markets firms, supporting their operations and ecosystems

Logically Announces SOC 2 Attestation

• Announced they have successfully completed a SOC 2 Type 2 Attestation
• SOC 2 Type 2 Attestation, is an auditing procedure that ensures Managed Services securely manages data to protect the interests and confidentiality of its customers
• Logically is a Managed IT Service Provider (MSP) to small and midsize organizations

5 Reasons Capture Technology is Driving Digital Transformation

• Reported on idm.net.au
  • More Ways to Get Documents In
  • Extracts and Organises Data – Automatically
  • Easily Integrates with Other Systems
  • Enhances Security and Compliance
  • Enables Work from Anywhere

Fujitsu acquires data analytics management consultancy, Versor

• Reported on Channel Life
• Fujitsu Australia announced acquisition of data analytics specialist management consultancy, Versor
• First acquisition for Fujitsu Australia since 2009
• Versor provides data engineering, advanced analytics and data sciences services powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning

Konica Minolta Receives Platinum Elite, Diamond and Two Partner-of-the-year Honors from Hyland

• Recently honored by Hyland with four different awards
  • Platinum Elite
  • Diamond Support
  • Hyland Cloud Partner of the Year
  • Workview Partner of the Year

Aryaka Recognized in 2020 U.S. Carrier Managed SD-WAN LEADERBOARD by Vertical Systems Group

• Announced the company achieved a top eight position on Vertical Systems Group’s 2020 U.S. Carrier Managed SD-WAN Services LEADERBOARD
• Aryaka is one of two SD-WAN-as-a-service benchmark companies that has the ability to provide its own technology

VOX Network Solutions Named To The 2021 Elite 150 In CRN® MSP 500 List

• The Channel Company, has named VOX Network Solutions, a leading IT solutions and managed service provider, to the Elite 150 category
• CRN's 2021 MSP 500 list identifies the market's key managed services players
• The MSP 500 list is divided into three sections

• MSP Pioneer 250
• MSP Elite 150
• Managed Security 100

Lead for IT Services in California

• The City of Alhambra Police Department (“APD”) is seeking proposals from qualified and experienced consultants to provide Professional Information Technology (“IT”) and Support Services to the APD. The project scope of work requires professional support of IT services for the APD using current technological expertise, including maintenance of the APD’s computer network, planning for short-term and long-term IT goals, and the provision of excellent customer service.

Lead for IT Services in Georgia

• KIPP Metro Atlanta Collaborative, Inc. (hereinafter “KIPP Metro Atlanta Schools” or “KMAS”) intends to enter into a two (2) year contract with a qualified vendor to deliver managed information services. This initiative is known as the KMAS Managed Information Technology (IT) Services. All interested parties, potential Offerors, and those seeking to do business are hereby notified that this website will be updated periodically to include additional documentation. Interested parties, potential Offerors, and those seeking to do business should continuously check this website to make sure to receive any additional information posted regarding this solicitation. The Director of Technology, Ernie Torres, is the point of contact and he may be reached via email at etorres@kippmetroatlanta.org. Please send an email to etorres@kippmetroatlanta.org to request proposal documents.

GreenPages Technology Solutions Partners With FirstLight

• GreenPages Technology Solutions has joined FirstLight's Channel Partners program
• GreenPages is a systems integrator that helps companies migrate to and operate in hybrid cloud environments
• FirstLight, headquartered in Albany, New York, provides fiber-optic data, Internet, data center, cloud and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers

Unify Square Expands Managed Services Portfolio to Encompass the Complete Microsoft 365 ...

• Announced the extension of its existing managed services to encompass the complete Microsoft 365 application set
• Viva platform

CSI Partners with CivITas Bank Solutions to Provide Managed Services to Hundreds of Community ...

• Computer Services, Inc. a provider of end-to-end fintech and regtech solutions, has partnered with CivITas Bank Solutions, an affiliate of Bankers’ Bank of the West
• Provide CivITas community bank customers with comprehensive and managed services solutions
• Computer Services, Inc. (CSI) delivers innovative financial technology and regulatory compliance solutions to financial institutions and corporate customers across the nation

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There are two IT FREE leads including in this weeks notes!

Arcoa Group

Why partnering with ARCOA makes sense
Electronics Recycling is an important and profitable part of the IT asset lifecycle, but it can be overwhelming with all you already do, varying state regulations, and the limited resources at hand. That’s where ARCOA comes in. When you partner with ARCOA, you get all the benefits of a big company without any of the capital investment. We’ve been doing this since 1989 and have the expertise, certifications, and nationwide resources to get the most for all your clients’ retired IT assets. Plus, positioning your clients as environmental stewards not only elevates their appeal to consumers, it meets government requirements and avoids fines.

What partnering with ARCOA looks like
Our role is to make it easy for you to bring more value to your clients. We work with you to help stretch your clients’ IT budget by reducing the total cost of ownership of their electronics. We’re experts at identifying and implementing the solutions your clients need for the end-of-use remarketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your clients will see better results.

Corsica Technologies Earns Coveted SOC 2 Certification for Cybersecurity and Managed Services

• Announced that the company has successfully achieved the Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 Type 1 certification for both its cybersecurity and managed IT services
• Audit conducted by Cherry Bekaert, LLP, a CPA and advisory firm
• SOC 2 is one of the most stringent auditing standards for service companies, set forth by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)

BCM One Named to 2021 Redmond Channel Partner Magazine RCP 350 List

• Named by Redmond Channel Partner magazine to RCP 350
• RCP 350 is a list of the top 350 Microsoft partners in the US
• Companies in RCP 350 range from huge partners and thousands of consultants to boutique companies with specialized experience
• Complete list is available on RCPmag.com

Splashtop Announces the Members of its MSP Advisory Council

• Group of advisors helps keep Splashtop up-to-date with the latest IT challenges faced by MSPs
• Members of the Splashtop MSP Advisory Council include
• • Ralph Joedicke, co-founder and CEO, goCloudOffice—Joedicke founded goCloudOffice in 2003
  • Evan Jones, CEO, Jones IT—A leading IT support specialist in San Francisco
  • Ramin Keyvan, president and CEO, Rhino Network Solutions
  • Sarah Tenisi, CEO, TenisiTech
  • Steven Walker, president and founder, Fast Break Tech

Adsero Security and Ballast Services Announce Partnership to Provide Comprehensive IT Cyber ...

• Announce their integrated partnership to provide comprehensive IT security compliance and managed services
• "This proven partnership allows us to leverage and advance our comprehensive security solutions for customers of all sizes and security needs," said Jason Martino, Managing Partner with Adsero Security
• Based in Tampa FL, Ballast Services is a leading security focused IT solutions provider
• Adsero Security has over 46 years of experience in the IT industry working hands on with the software, hardware and regulations

VENZA® Acquires CyberTek to Deliver Holistic Cybersecurity and Managed IT Services

• Acquired privately-owned CyberTek Engineering, an award-winning MSP (Managed Service Provider)
• CyberTek offers technical consulting support, network architecture, systems procurement, and complete implementation services along with managed IT services
• CyberTek MSSP will become a solely owned subsidiary of VENZA
• VENZA is a data protection company that can help organizations mitigate their vulnerabilities and ensure compliance
• Terms not disclosed

Parascript Earns KMWorld Recognition for Knowledge Management

• Parascript rovides document analysis software processing
• automation includes document classification, data location, extraction and verification—and adds additional unique capabilities including full-page handwriting transcription, signature detection and verification, and presence detection of stamps and initials
• Recognized from KMWorld for the sixth consecutive year in the 100 Companies That Matter in Knowledge Management

Managed Print Service providers must reposition to support transition to hybrid working as businesses plan to reduce office footprint

• Quocirca published the tenth edition of its comprehensive insight into the Managed Print Service competitive market landscape
• Primary research conducted among IT decision makers (ITDMs) in organisations with over 500 employees, in the UK, France, Germany and the US
• findings include
• • 79% say they will reduce their office footprint in some form
  • 44% plan to reduce capacity in existing offices
  • 23% plan to consolidate offices
  • 11% will close some locations permanently
  • 1% will switch fully to remote working
  • 47% of employees are now working remotely
  • 50% of respondents say their office print volumes reduced during the pandemic
  • 33% expecting print volumes to be lower when offices reopen
  • 40% expect home print volumes to increase over the next year
  • 46% have provided approved home printers for selected remote workers
  • 53% of ITDMs expect MPS spending to increase over the next year
  • Top three additional services that most influence MPS supplier selection are workplace services; cloud print services and sustainability services
  • 9% of respondents said they have already implemented a cloud print management platform; 37% plan to do so

• Quocirca Director Louella Fernandes said: “There will be no rapid return to pre-covid-19 print volumes
• • Hybrid working is here to stay

CRN Names Atmosera To Its 2021 MSP 500 List for the 5th Year in a Row

• Named Atmosera to its 2021 Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the security category
• CRN's 2021 MSP 500 list identifies the market's key managed services players
• The MSP 500 list is divided into three sections
• • MSP Pioneer 250
  • MSP Elite 150
  • Managed Security 100

Bluff Point Associates Acquires RIA Technology Solutions Provider True North Networks

• Private equity firm Bluff Point Associates has acquired True North Networks
• True North Networks provides SEC-compliant information technology solutions, network security and support to independent registered investment advisors (RIAs)
• True North Networks founded in 2002 and headquartered in Swanzey, New Hampshire, True North Networks is a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) offering managed IT services

Net Friends Receives SOC 2 Type II Attestation for Second Year in A Row

• Announced that it has maintained for another year its SOC 2 Type II audit, performed by KirkpatrickPrice
• A SOC 2 audit provides an independent, third-party validation that a service organization's information security practices meet industry standards stipulated by the AICPA

Fully Managed Releases GrandCentral 4.0

• Announced the release of GrandCentral Managed 4.0 on the NOW Platform®, the latest version of its pre-configured, managed ServiceNow® workflow automation solution
• GrandCentral Managed is designed for organizations looking to adopt the operational efficiencies of the Now Platform
• Version 4.0 introduces ServiceNow Professional licensing to both the Managed and Dedicated GrandCentral platform options

MRE Consulting, Ltd., Ranked Among the Most Elite Managed Services Providers in North America

• Announced it has been recognized by CRN as one of the top 500 Managed Services Providers (MSP) in North America
• CRN's 2021 MSP 500 list identifies the market's key managed services players
• The MSP 500 list is divided into three sections
  • MSP Pioneer 250
  • MSP Elite 150
  • Managed Security 100

Lead for IT Services in Pennsylvania

• The Commission is seeking a network cabling firm who has the comprehensive skills, resources and certifications to maintain and install the voice, data, radio and auxiliary communication systems and cabling infrastructure throughout the Pennsylvania Turnpike facilities. The RFP can be viewed/responded to on the Commissions Vendor Portal. https://www.ptcvendorportal.com

Lead for IT Services in Arkansas

• Rogers Water Utilities ("RWU") of Rogers, Arkansas is seeking qualified firms to provide networking and systems security services and related Information Technology (IT) services for RWU's IT section. More information about the requested professional services is contained in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ).

Udacity Launches School of Cybersecurity to Ready the Next Generation of Digital Defenders ...

• Launched its School of Cybersecurity to help address the growing need for skilled cybersecurity professionals
• An (ISC)² study of diversity in the cybersecurity workforce revealed that while minority representation in the field sits at 26%, most hold non-managerial positions
• Has seen a 94% increase in job postings
• Udacity is a global, online learning platform powering digital transformation and accelerated time-to-market initiatives for Fortune 500 and Global 2000 enterprises

Lexmark Recognized for IT and Manufacturing Leadership Enabled by Its Innovative IoT Platform

• Lexmark receives consecutive wins for both the CIO 100 Awards and Manufacturing Leadership Awards
• Honored with a 2021 CIO 100 Award by IDG Communications for the second consecutive year, and a Manufacturing Leadership Award by the Manufacturing Leadership Council for the 10th year in a row.

Konica Minolta Announces Status as a Microsoft Global Managed Partner

• announces its new status as a Global Managed Partner
• “We are delighted to partner with Konica Minolta on a global level to accompany their growth in IT and to unlock the opportunities of digital transformation for their customers," said Casey McGee, Vice President, ISV Sales at Microsoft

Cybersecurity Notes

• FBI published results of research:
• Total losses from internet crime exceeded $4.2 billion in 2020
• In 2019, losses were only $3.5 billion
• FBI published warning to school systems in the U.S., that they are being targeted by PYSA ransomware, aka Mespinoza.
• Jean Francois Eap, CEO of Sky Global, was indicted for allegedly participating in a hacking and illegal narcotic distribution ring
• • Sky Global is a provider of custom handsets and a subscription-based end-to- end encrypted messaging app
• Check Point Research is reporting that Microsoft Exchange Server hacks are doubling every 2 hours.
• A hacker in Switzerland was able to hack into live security camera feeds of customers using Verkada solutions. Hospitals how notified patients of possible HIPAA breach include:
• • Halifax Health of Daytona Beach, FL
  • Wadley Regional Medical Center of Texarkana, TX
  • Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital of Arizona

• Centene Corp., an insurance firm headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, filed a lawsuit against Accellion Inc. of Delaware, in regards to a breach of PHI.
• Leon County School District of Tallahassee, FL notified an unknown number of students that their info may have been exposed after cybersecurity incident.
• Atascadero State Hospital of California notified 1,415 patients that their PHI was illegally accessed by an employee.
• Arizona Complete Health notified 27,390 patients that their PHI was exposed after cybersecurity incident.
• Spectrum Health of Grand Rapids, MI notified an unknown number of patients that their identities may have been exposed after a group of doctors posted operating room photos on Instagram.
• Tate High School of Pensacola, FL notified an unknown number of students that their info may have been exposed after an employee illegally hacked into network.
• Colorado Retina Associates notified 26,600 patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack.
• The FBI published a warning about how hackers are using email phishing attacks to insert Trickbot malware into networks.
• • When unsuspecting employees open email and click on a photo, they download a Javascript file that downloads Trickbot onto their system
  • Hackers can then steal valuable information and insert ransomware

• UP Health System – Marquette in Michigan notified an unknown number of patients that a third party is calling its patients attempting to trick them into providing personal information.
• Douglas County government of Washington notified an unknown number of citizens that their info may have been exposed after cyberattack originating in China

• Wali Muhammad of Branford, CT pleaded guilty to one count of healthcare fraud as a result defrauding Medicaid using stolen PHI while working for Happy Family Clinical Services LLC of East Haven, CT.
• • Faces a maximum of 10 years in prison
• Timothy Young of Moorefield, Nebraska was sentenced to 21 months in prison after illegally accessing confidential information while working for a data analytics and risk assessment firm in New Jersey.
• Graham Ivan Clark of Tampa, Florida was sentenced to 3 years in prison for role in hacking well known Twitter accounts.
• Newberry County Memorial Hospital of South Carolina notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI may have been exposed after ransomware attack.
• Protenus Research published results of survey of healthcare organizations
• • Hacking incidents up 42% YoY
  • 20% of breaches causing by insiders exposing PHI of 8 million patients
  • 87% involved PHI inside EHRs
  • 13% involved PHI on paper documents
  • 187 days is average amount of time before breach is discovered
• Palo Alto Networks published results of research:
• • Average ransom paid to hackers by ransomware victims is $312,493
  • 171% increase YoY
  • Highest demand made was $30 million
  • Highest ransom paid was $10 million
• Tri County Public Safety Network of New York notified an unknown number of citizens that their info may have been exposed after ransomware attack.