ConnectWise Announces Cybersecurity-Focused Organization to Boost Resilience of Technology Solution Provider Industry

TAMPA, Fla. – August 29, 2019 – ConnectWise today announced the creation of the Technology Solution Provider Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (TSP-ISAO) with the mission of advancing the cybersecurity resilience of the global TSP industry. The TSP-ISAO is intended to serve as the focal point for dealing with all cyber-threats to TSPs, and ConnectWise is extending an open invitation to companies interested in obtaining membership.

Last October, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an alert warning of advanced persistent threat activity exploiting managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), and managed security services providers (MSSPs). According to DHS, threat actors are exploiting the trusted relationship between TSPs and their customers to creep unnoticed into customers’ networks. In order to keep pace with the speed and stealth of America’s cyber adversaries, DHS states that organizations of all types need to be able to share and respond to cyber risk in as close to real-time as possible.

"In the five years since the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a statement clarifying that the aggregation and sharing of cyber threat information would not result in antitrust violations, the industry has been slow to respond to the opening that statement provided -- in particular, to weaponize the vast trove of threat data technology solution providers amass on a daily basis against would be attackers. CompTIA applauds the goals of the TSP-ISAO to address the information shortfall by creating a real-time actionable platform. We look forward to supporting the work of this vital new group," said Todd Thibodeaux, President and Chief Executive Officer for CompTIA.

The organization is being established to provide members with real-time availability of proactive actionable threat intelligence; analysis of potential impacts; coordinated countermeasure solutions and response; cybersecurity best practice adoption; and role-based workforce education. In addition, the TSP-ISAO uses a threat intel platform powered by Perch Security that will allow members to see threat intelligence for no additional fee. Perch automates intel sharing for all TSP-ISAO members – a critical piece to the value of an ISAO membership.

“ConnectWise is launching the TSP-ISAO and leading the campaign to get companies collaboratively involved with us because we think it’s of the utmost importance for the entire industry,” said Jason Magee, CEO of ConnectWise. “I’ve already reached out to several of my counterparts to begin these collaborative discussions and I invite interested vendors to reach out to ConnectWise and get involved as well.”

“Cyber-criminals have set their sights on technology solution providers, and it’s time the industry come together to do something about it. To that end, the TSP-ISAO will provide services that help vendors of all sizes accelerate the maturity of their cybersecurity and compliance programs,” said John Ford, CISO for ConnectWise. “This includes providing information, intelligence and benchmarking information relative to the technology solution provider community, including the effective use of self-¬assessment tools. And, leveraging Perch, we have the threat intelligence platform needed to support an ISAO ready to go today.”

More details on the TSP-ISAO will be shared at IT Nation Connect 2019 in Orlando, Oct. 30-Nov. 1. IT Nation Connect attendees will also have an opportunity to learn more about the Cybersecurity Framework written by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The Cybersecurity Framework provides a way for organizations, including SMBs, to assess security risks and provide guidelines for identifying, protecting, detecting, responding to and recovering from cyberthreats. The widespread adoption of an industry framework such as this will be instrumental in helping grow the reach and effectiveness of TSP-ISAO.

For more information on becoming a member of the TSP-ISAO, please email info@tsp-isao.org.