The industry news items that appear in this section cover a broad spectrum of events within the cybersecurity industry. Everything from the motivation behind cyberattacks to the latest data breach figures are discussed – along with the developments in the industry to help protect organizations against the threats of web-borne attacks and those launched through email campaigns.
The latest cybersecurity industry news should be essential reading for IT professionals – especially those within the healthcare and financial industries which have long been popular targets for hackers and other cybercriminals. By addressing some of the security flaws highlighted in our news items, it may be possible to prevent your own organization from suffering a similar attack.
India is experiencing a surge in cyberattacks. Data from CheckPoint Research show there has been an 18% increase in weekly cyberattacks in Q1, 2023, compared to a 7% rise globally, and the Asia-Pacific region has seen the highest year-over-year increase in cyberattacks globally, with attacks up 16% this year. Cybercriminals commonly exploit software vulnerabilities to gain initial access to business networks, but the majority of attacks target employees with phishing one of the leading initial access vectors.
Indian businesses need to implement advanced defenses to combat increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks targeting their employees and there is considerable demand for AI-driven email security and web security solutions that are capable of detecting and blocking known and zero-day threats. Many Indian businesses turn to their managed service providers to protect them against phishing, malware, and other cyber threats, and MSPs need to ensure they have solutions that can protect them.
Tata Tele Business Services (TTBS) is the leading provider of business connectivity and communications solutions in India and has the largest portfolio of ICT services in the country. TTBS provides a range of cybersecurity solutions to Indian SMBs, with phishing protection offered through its Tata Tele Email Security Plus Program and web security provided through the Tata Tele Smart Internet Program. Through these two programs, TTBS is able to deliver advanced threat protection against the main initial access vectors.
Those cybersecurity programs have now been bolstered through a new partnership with TitanHQ that has seen SpamTitan Email Security and WebTitan DNS Filtering added to its cybersecurity packages. These two 100% cloud-based cybersecurity solutions have been developed to meet the needs of MSPs of all sizes and allow them to easily incorporate AI-driven phishing and malware protection into their service stacks. SpamTitan Email Security is a multi-award-winning email security solution that delivers cutting-edge protection against spam, phishing, business email compromise, and email-based malware attacks. The solution is easy to implement and use and requires minimal IT support, making it an ideal choice for MSPs who want to improve email security for their clients without having to commit substantial resources to management.
Web Titan is a DNS-based web filtering solution that can be used to carefully control the websites that employees can access. The solution is fed threat intelligence from a network of 650 million endpoints and ensures that malicious web content is blocked and malware downloads are prevented. “We are delighted to partner TitanHQ to offer Tata Tele Email Security- an advanced email security solution that is in line with Zero Trust security agenda of enterprises,” said Vishal Rally, Sr. VP & Head – Product, Marketing and Commercial, Tata Teleservices Ltd. “As a leading technology enabler TTBS is committed to simplifying and democratizing email security for businesses of any size. This partnership will ensure the protection of enterprise sensitive data efficiently and cost effectively”.
If you are an MSP looking to add cybersecurity solutions to your service stack, or if you want to improve the protection you provide to your clients with affordable cybersecurity solutions, give the TitanHQ team a call to find out more about the TitanHQ Partner Program. Through the TitanHQ Partner Program, you can add email security, web security, email encryption, email archiving, and security awareness training and phishing simulations to your service stack and deliver protection to your clients with ease.
For the past 23 years, Deloitte has been recognizing growth and innovation at public and private companies in the technology sector in Ireland. Deloitte assesses companies based on the previous four years of growth, with the top 50 technology companies recognized in the Deloitte 2022 Technology Fast Awards. According to Deloitte, the awards program was created “to recognize the passion and dedication it takes to be an industry disrupter across the technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech sectors.”
The awards celebrate innovation, entrepreneurship, and the commitment and drive of companies in Ireland’s indigenous technology sector. Inclusion in the list is a great honor. This year, TitanHQ is proud to announce that the company has been recognized at the Deloitte 2022 Technology Fast Awards for the second year in a row, ranking in 45th place in 2022.
Announcing the awards, David Shanahan, Partner, Deloitte said, “Congratulations to all of the companies that ranked this year. As the business environment becomes more complex, the Irish technology sector has shown great resilience and tenacity. He went on to say, “This year’s ranking shows growth across a broad range of sectors with companies coming up with innovative solutions to address changing consumer and business demands while faced with adversity.”
This year, the top 50 fastest-growing companies have generated around €500 million in total annual revenues, with an average of €10 million per company. The average growth rate for each company was 594%. These companies employ over 5,500 people and have made a huge contribution to the economy and have given local people a tremendous opportunity to pursue successful careers in the technology sector. Encouragingly, this year has seen an increase in the number of female CEOs, with 7 of the companies in the top 50 now being led by women. This year has also seen 17 companies break into the top 50 for the first time, and 7 of those companies have gone straight into the top 10.
It has certainly been a great year for TitanHQ, which has continued to enjoy strong organic year-over-year growth, at home and internationally. The company’s cybersecurity products have been in high demand as companies around the world have been looking to improve their cybersecurity defenses against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. TitanHQ has risen to the challenge and has broadened its product portfolio to help SMBs, enterprises, and managed service providers (MSPs) improve their defenses through product innovation and strategic acquisitions. The company has brought two new cybersecurity products to market – SpamTitan Plus and SafeTitan. The former delivers industry-leading protection against phishing, and the latter is a security awareness training and phishing simulation platform that helps businesses improve their human defenses.
For TitanHQ, the impressive growth has been helped by investment from a private equity firm which has allowed the company to make strategic acquisitions, launch new products, improve the existing portfolio of cybersecurity solutions, make strategic hires and improve investment in people. ‘Organic year-on-year growth and recent significant investment have turbocharged TitanHQ’s growth. This has allowed TitanHQ to accelerate ambitious growth plans through increased investment in product development – and in people,” said TitanHQ CEO, Ronan Kavanagh.
TitanHQ is proud to announce that the company has been recognized in the Fall 2022 Expert Insights ‘Best-Of’ awards, and collected five awards for email security, email archiving, web security, phishing simulation, and security awareness training.
The Expert Insights ‘Best-Of’ awards recognize the leading cybersecurity solutions that businesses are using to keep their networks and sensitive data secure. Selecting the best software solutions to use can be a challenge for businesses. Expert Insights makes that process easier by providing objective and honest reviews and advice, producing buyers’ guides, and other valuable information to help businesses choose the best software solutions to meet their needs. Each month, more than 85,000 businesses use the Expert Insights website, with the site having more than 1 million visitors a year.
The Fall 2022 Best-Of awards were split into 41 categories. The Expert Insights editorial team researched to identify the best cybersecurity solutions on the market for inclusion in each category, which contain up to 11 software solutions. Those solutions are selected based on several criteria, such as the feature set of the products, their ease of use, market presence of the company, and how genuine business users of the solutions rate the products. There naturally needs to be a winner in each category, but simply being included in the list confirms the quality of a product.
TitanHQ collected 5 Best-Of awards in the following categories:
Best-Of Email Security – SpamTitan
Best-Of Security Awareness Training – SafeTitan
Best-Of Phishing Simulation – SafeTitan
Best-Of Web Security – WebTitan
Best-Of Email Archiving – ArcTitan
In addition, SpamTitan was rated as the top email security solution in the category and ArcTitan was rated top in the email archiving category. Vendors ESET and CrowdStrike also performed exceptionally well and picked up multiple awards.
“We are honored that TitanHQ was named as a Fall 2022 winner of Expert Insights Best-Of award for phishing simulation, email security, security awareness training, web security and email archiving” said TitanHQ CEO, Ronan Kavanagh. “Our cloud-based platform allows partners and MSPs to take advantage of TitanHQ’s proven technology so they can sell, implement and deliver our advanced network security solutions directly to their client base”.
TitanHQ has announced the release of a new version of the WebTitan DNS filtering solution that incorporates several new features to improve usability, functionality, and security, including advanced off-network DNS protection for remote workers.
WebTitan is an award-winning DNS-based web filtering solution used by thousands of SMBs, enterprises, and managed service providers for exercising control over the web content users can access via wired and wireless networks and for blocking web-borne cyber threats. The latest release adds new features that have been requested by customers.
The new additions in the latest WebTitan release are: Interactive threat intelligence with DNS data offload, remote workforce protection: OTG device exceptions, and DNSSEC security enhancements. A new user interface has also been implemented to improve usability, with several new advanced reporting capabilities that have been requested by managed service providers.
Interactive Threat Intel with DNS Data Offload
For many users, WebTitan is a set-and-forget solution. The solution is easy to set up and configure to restrict access to inappropriate web content and block access to known malicious websites. For restaurants, coffee shops, and retail outlets that offer free Wi-Fi to their customers, these controls can be set and forgotten about. However, many users require access to extensive reports and intelligence to allow them to conduct investigations into the threats that are targeting the organization. WebTitan provides those insights.
The latest version gives users the ability to list the DNS request history and download logs for analysis, access all DNS data, and extract DNS query data for sophisticated integrations and advanced data analysis, which will help with network troubleshooting, security planning, and IT decision-making.
New User Interface with Advanced Reporting
The WebTitan User Interface was designed to be intuitive and easy to use, to allow individuals with all skill levels to navigate through the features of the solution, set their content control policies, add blacklists, and view reports of web activity, including viewing real-time reports of Internet access down to the individual user level.
The latest version includes a new UI that provides access to advanced, relevant, and easy-to-digest data, and features a suite of new, interactive reports and data visualization tools. The latest reports show new behavior, blocked URLs, security reports, and trend reports, which have been embedded into the new UI to greatly improve the user experience. Many of the new reports were added to the solution at the request of users.
Remote Workforce Protection
WebTitan can be used to protect employees accessing the Internet on wired networks, but many businesses need to protect remote workers. During the pandemic, it became even more important to be able to protect remote workers who were accessing the Internet through their home routers, and many businesses now support hybrid working, where employees may access the internet at home, in the office, or through public Wi-Fi hotspots. WebTitan On-The-Go (OTG) allows organizations to extend the protection of WebTitan to remote workers through the WebTitan OTG agent, which protects devices no matter where they access the Internet.
The latest release sees major enhancements to the WebTitan OTG agent which is used to protect, manage, and monitor users when off the network. The latest release includes a replacement for the JSON config filters for OTG devices and makes it much easier to add and update exceptions to OTG devices through a simple and easy-to-use user interface.
DNSSEC Security Enhancements
The DNS was designed to be a scalable distributed system but did not incorporate any security features. The Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) is a security system that was developed to add security and combat some of the threats that target the DNS. DNSSEC is used to verify the origin and integrity of data during the DNS resolution process and involves using cryptographic signatures for authentication. DNSSC is the primary way to prevent DNS poisoning attacks, where attackers target the DNS to redirect users to fake web servers and malicious websites. Security enhancements have been made to better protect users and allow DNSSEC to be easily implemented by users.
“This WebTitan release is hitting so many key pillars of success for TitanHQ. The data offload feature has been requested by many customers and creates real differentiation for our solution in the market. This coupled with our new advanced reporting were major requests from our MSP customers,” said Ronan Kavanagh, CEO, TitanHQ. “Finally, security is at the heart of what we do and are, the addition of DNSSEC just continues to add to our credentials.”
SpamTitan Plus is a leading-edge artificial intelligence-driven anti-phishing solution from TitanHQ that provides better coverage than any other anti-phishing product on the market. The solution has 100% coverage of all current market-leading anti-phishing feeds, which gives users a significant uplift in phishing link detections and faster detection of phishing threats than any other product.
The solution is fed massive clickstream traffic from more than 600 million endpoints worldwide, and more than 10 million new, and never-before-seen phishing and malicious URLs are added to the solution and blocked for all users every single day. When a new, malicious URL is detected, it takes less than 5 minutes for all users of SpamTitan Plus to be protected. Independent tests have shown SpamTitan Plus is 1.6 times faster at detecting phishing URLs than any of the current market leaders and achieves a 1.5x increase in unique phishing URL detections.
When a user clicks a link in an email, the URL is checked in real-time, not just when the email is delivered. This is important as campaigns are often conducted where the destination URL has malicious content added after delivery to bypass email security defenses. When SpamTitan Plus checks the link, the destination URL is scanned to identify spoofing and login pages, redirects are followed, and many dynamic checks are performed. If the destination URL is determined to be malicious, the user will be directed to a block page.
SpamTitan Plus was launched by TitanHQ in December 2021, and it has already proven popular with businesses that need the very best protection against phishing attacks. TitanHQ has now made a major update to the solution to improve its predictive phishing detection capabilities.
One of the ways that phishing campaigns are conducted to evade security solutions is to use personalized URLs for each targeted company and victim. In a standard phishing campaign, the same URL would be used for the entire campaign. When that URL is detected as malicious, it will be blocked by email security solutions. If a unique URL is used in these campaigns, if it is identified as malicious and blocked, it does not affect any other emails in the campaign as they each has a different URL. URLs are personalized at the path or parameter level, and most anti-phishing solutions provide no protection against these malicious personalized URLs. The personalized URLs are used in phishing, social engineering, reputation attacks, and malware distribution.
The latest predictive functionality detects and blocks automated bot phishing campaigns and personalized URL attacks, ensuring users get the very best phishing protection. The new capabilities have already been added to SpamTitan Plus and made available to all users.
“With predictive phishing detection, SpamTitan Plus can now combat automated bot phishing. At TitanHQ we always strive to innovate and develop solutions that solve real-security problems and provide tangible value to our customers. The end goal is to have our partners and customers two or three steps ahead of the phishers and cybercriminals’ said Ronan Kavanagh, CEO, TitanHQ.
TitanHQ has been included in the Expert Insights’ list of the Top 100 Most Innovative Cybersecurity Companies of 2022. Expert Insights is a leading online publication for businesses that conducts research into cloud-based business technologies and cybersecurity solutions to help businesses with their purchasing decisions. The site includes editorial buyers’ guides, industry analyses, interviews, and technical product reviews written by industry experts, and is visited by more than 80,000 business owners and IT admins each month.
In addition to an awards program that recognizes the best cloud-based and cybersecurity solutions – TitanHQ received 5 ‘Best of’ Awards in Spring 2022 – Expert Insights produces a list of the Top 100 Most Innovative Cybersecurity Companies. The list is divided into 12 categories and recognizes the most innovative companies that are developing cutting-edge solutions for businesses and consumers to help them deal with current and emerging cyber threats. TitanHQ was included in the list in the Email and Messaging Security category.
It has been a busy year for TitanHQ. The company has been taking great strides into the U.S. market and has significantly boosted its presence throughout North America and globally, and has brought in a host of new talent. The latest addition to the North American management team is channel veteran, Tom Watson, who was recently appointed as TitanHQ’s new Channel Chief. Watson is now working alongside another channel champion and recent appointee, Jeff Benedetti, who is TitanHQ’s new VP of Sales.
TitanHQ has recently bolstered its product portfolio with another product for boosting defenses against phishing and other cyber threats – The SafeTitan Security Awareness and Phishing Simulation planform, which follows on from the launch of a cutting-edge addition to the SpamTitan suite of products, SpamTitan Plus. SpamTitan Plus includes all of the market-leading anti-phishing feeds and provides unrivaled detection speeds of malicious URLs – 1.6x faster than the current market-leading anti-phishing solutions.
“The overwhelming feedback from our users and customer base has been that phishing attacks are becoming more advanced, proficient, and dangerous. Phishing is the number one problem to solve in the email security community,” said TitanHQ CEO, Ronan Kavanagh. “With that in mind, we’re delighted to have been recognized in the Email and Messaging Security Category. We will continue to innovate and provide email and messaging security solutions that MSPs can use to deliver a consistent, secure, and reliable experience to their customers,” added Kavanagh.
On June 1, 2022, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) have the opportunity of attending the ChannelNEXT in Toronto, ON. The event is an incredible opportunity for MSPs to gain practical insights on how to achieve greater success, with the one-day event focused on offering guidance and knowledge across all areas of MSP business, including business management, sales, marketing, leadership, and technology.
During the event, MSPs will discover how to overcome the common pain points such as hiring new talent and retaining employees, expanding the managed services they provide, scaling up their business, finding and retaining customers, and, importantly given the rapidly changing cyber threat landscape, how to protect themselves against cyberattacks and help their customers improve their security postures.
At this year’s event, ChannelNEXT will focus on four critical considerations for MSPs:
Solutions for cybersecurity, compliance, insurance, and best practices.
The methods that can be adopted for increasing sales in a digital-first economy.
The recent market developments in corporate digital transformation, as well as their implications.
How to increase recurring revenue through a stronger technology and service stack.
During the event, MSPs will be able to attend a wide range of learning sessions where they will hear from successful MSPs who will share the secrets that helped them achieve success and grow their businesses, keynote speeches from industry experts, and peer groups where they will be able to discuss the challenges they are facing and get tips and tricks on how to overcome those challenges. There will also be ample opportunities for networking.
TitanHQ is excited to be attending ChannelNEXT and having the opportunity to meet MSPs from Canada and beyond. Kyle Leyerzapf, Account Executive at TitanHQ, will be at the TitanHQ booth, and will be available to share the latest news from TitanHQ and will be happy to provide insights from his many years of experience within the channel and his wealth of knowledge about the growing concern about security threats targeting MSPs and their customers.
MSPs will also discover how TitanHQ solutions can be used to increase revenue, and how easy those solutions are to fit into an existing service stack through the TitanHQ MSP platform.
Tom Watson has taken on the role of Channel Chief at TitanHQ and will manage the company’s MSP tradeshows, roadshows, and webinars, and will oversee the new TitanHQ MSP program. Tom is a seasoned veteran of the IT channel, having worked as a network engineer, owned and operated an MSP business, provided MSP consultancy services and, for the past 24 years, has been a vendor evangelist for a swathe of tech companies. Tom has also previously served as Channel Chief for grade one vendors such as NinjaOne and Axcient. Tom is committed to keeping TitanHQ’s already exceptional level of service delivery in perfect alignment with changing MSP demands.
TitanHQ is undergoing a major expansion in the U.S. market to meet the massive demand for TitanHQ services from U.S. MSPs. Many international vendors have embarked upon an expansion in the United States but have overlooked the importance of bringing in locally sourced, experienced advisors to assist with serving the close-knit U.S. market. TitanHQ recognizes the importance of bringing in top local talent, hence the recruitment of Tome Watson. Tom will be based in TitanHQ’s new U.S. base in Shelton, Connecticut, where he will work alongside another recently appointed U.S. IT channel veteran, Jeff Benedetti, TitanHQ’s VP of Sales.
TitanHQ has been providing innovative solutions to managed service providers for more than 20 years and offers multiple award-winning SaaS solutions for email security, web filtering, email archiving, email encryption, and security awareness training. The products are used by more than 8,500 businesses worldwide and over 2,500 MSPs to protect against malware, ransomware, phishing, viruses, botnets, and other cyber threats, and to help businesses meet compliance requirements.
TitanHQ products have been built from the ground up for MSPs and save them considerable support and engineering time by stopping problems at the source. The solutions are a huge hit with MSPs due to their ease of implementation, ease of use, and seamless integration into the existing technology stacks of MSPs. The TitanHQ MSP-centric platform enables MSP partners to generate recurring revenues through the sales of TitanHQ solutions to SMBs, and easily scale and effectively manage their own businesses.
“I see my role as being more of a liaison than anything,” said Tom, regarding the recent appointment. “TitanHQ already has a fantastic offering. You’ll be hearing me talk about that in the future. For now, I think it’s more important to highlight the commitments TitanHQ has made to the channel. This is a company that is 100% dedicated to making sure they serve the MSP community.” Tom went on to say, “I’ve wanted to work for a rising cybersecurity company for quite a while now. Here I know I can use my skills and understanding of MSP operations, sales, and marketing to help MSPs succeed. Working together with TitanHQ we can give MSPs everything they need to provide quality cyber services to their clients.”
It is vital for any company looking to expand in the US and better serve the needs of MSPs to bring in MSP industry experts. “For over 20 years TitanHQ has worked with MSPs to develop best in class, advanced, and highly innovative cybersecurity solutions. We pride ourselves on the sophisticated yet easy-to-manage offerings we bring to the market. Bringing Tom on board is yet another leap to allow us to offer the best service to the MSP market,” said TitanHQ Marketing Director, Dryden Geary.
Expert Insights has announced its Spring 2022 Best-Of awards and TitanHQ has been given awards in 5 categories, including best-in-class awards for SpamTitan Email Security, WebTitan DNS Filter, ArcTitan Email Archiving, and SafeTitan Security Awareness training.
Expert Insights is an online publication that receives more than 80,000 visitors a month. Business owners and Information Technology professionals rely on the website which provides insights into the best business software solutions, along with blog posts, buyers’ guides, technical product reviews and analyses, interviews with industry experts, and reviews of software solutions by users of those solutions, who give accurate advice on their experiences and how the products perform in practice.
The Best-Of Awards recognize vendors and products that excel in their respective categories and help businesses achieve their goals. “Each of the services recognized in our awards are providing in many cases an essential service to their users, driving business growth, securing users in a challenging cybersecurity marketplace, and massively improving business efficiency,” Joel Witts, Expert Insights’ Content Director.
Each category includes a maximum of 11 products that have been analyzed by Expert Insights’ editorial and technical teams in the UK and US and have achieved excellent ratings from genuine users of the solutions. “These awards recognize the continued excellence of the providers in these categories,” said Witts.
At the Expert Insights Spring 2022 awards, TitanHQ was ranked the number 1 solution in the Best Email Security Gateway category for SpamTitan Email Security, ArcTitan Email Archiving was ranked number 1 in the Email Archiving for Business category, WebTitan DNS Filter ranked second in the Web Security category, and SafeTitan Security Awareness Training was ranked in the top 10 in two categories, Security Awareness Training and Phishing Simulation.
“The recent pandemic and the growth of remote working initiatives have further highlighted the need for multiple layers of cybersecurity and our award-winning solutions form key pillars in this security strategy,” said TitanHQ CEO Ronan Kavanagh. “We will continue to innovate and provide solutions that MSPs can use to deliver a consistent, secure and reliable experience to their customers.”
It has been a busy 3 months for TitanHQ with two new product launches, a new Channel Chief, and 12 strategic new hires to support the company’s incredible North American growth.
In February 2022, TitanHQ announced Channel veteran, Jeff Benedetti, had been recruited to lead North American sales and the company’s go-to-market efforts in the U.S. and Canada and continue to expand the company’s North American footprint.
Benedetti has almost two decades of successful sales and go-to-market leadership experience in the security and technology markets, with his most recent position being the sales and marketing chief at SKOUT Cybersecurity – which was recently acquired by Barracuda Networks. Benedetti also served as Director of U.S. Sales at Datto, where he significantly increased partner growth and played a key role in Datto’s expansion. While he was at the company, Datto achieved unicorn status and was acquired by Vista Private Equity. In addition to leading the U.S. channel team, Benedetti will oversee the relaunch of the North American TitanHQ partner program in April 2022.
January and February 2022 have seen TitanHQ enjoy incredible growth globally and especially in North America. To support that growth, Benedetti now has a new North American TitanHQ team that includes 12 strategic new hires to service the US and Canadian Managed Service Provider (MSP) market, which will be based at TitanHQ’s new North American base in Shelton, CT.
Like Benedetti, the new hires have extensive channel experience, with that experience gained at companies such as Datto, Skout Cybersecurity, Agile Blue, and Barracuda.
The new hires include:
Director of Channel Development
Eric Morano has 15 years of sales leadership and GTM experience at Datto, Skout Cybersecurity (BarracudaMSP), AgileBlue XDR, CDW, and Verizon. Moreno has been tasked with optimizing TitanHQ’s partner engagement and growth.
Channel Account Managers
Craig Somma has 25 years of technology sales GTM leadership at Tech Dept, Micro Warehouse, and Gov Connection
Joseph Rende has 10+ years of Channel Sales Experience at Gartner and Datto
Pat DeAngelis has 10+ years of MSP technology experience at Datto, Threatlocker, and Armor Cybersecurity
Jeff Brown has 10+ years of sales experience at Datto, SKOUT Cybersecurity, Agile Blue.
Account Executives
Alex De Los Santos has 8 years of sales experience at Datto and ADP,
Alex Nankervis has 8 years of sales experience at Datto and Indeed
Kyle Leyerzapf has 5 years of sales experience at Datto
Patrick Barry has 6 years of sales and accounts experience at Accu-Tech Corporation and Maxim Healthcare
Jamal Ibrahim has 4 years of account management experience at Altium and RCG.
Sales Development
Marc Bonnaci has 7 years of sales and professional experience including Agile Blue.
The New TitanHQ North American Channel Team
In addition to bringing in top talent, TitanHQ has expanded its product portfolio in recent months with the addition of a new anti-phishing solution and security awareness training platform.
In December 2021, TitanHQ launched SpamTitan Plus – A leading-edge AI-driven anti-phishing solution. SpamTitan Plus provides comprehensive “zero-day” threat protection thanks to extensive threat intelligence feeds – More than any of the current market-leading anti-phishing solutions. That translates into a 1.5x increase in unique phishing URL detections and much faster phishing detection speeds – 5 minutes from detection to protecting all users. This new addition to the SpamTitan family has been very well received by IT departments and MSPs.
In February 2022, TitanHQ announced the acquisition of Cyber Risk Aware. The company was formed in 2016 and has grown into a global leader in security awareness training, which targets the human element of cybersecurity. The company’s platform is used to train employees on how to recognize and avoid cyber threats. The platform is an intuitive, real-time security awareness training platform that improves protection against ransomware, malware, BEC, and phishing attacks. The Cyber Risk Aware platform has now been rebranded as SafeTitan and has attracted seismic interest globally from MSPs and IT managers since its launch.
The new product releases, record company growth, highly skilled new channel team, and soon to be relaunched partner program further cement TitanHQ’s position as the leading provider of cloud-based cybersecurity solutions to managed service providers serving the SMB market.
TitanHQ, the leading cybersecurity SaaS business, today announced its acquisition of Cyber Risk Aware. Established in 2016, Cyber Risk Aware is a global leader in security awareness and mitigation of human cyber risk, assisting companies to help their staff protect the company network.
Cyber Risk Aware delivers real-time cyber security awareness training to staff in response to actual staff network behavior. This intuitive and real-time security awareness training reduces the likelihood users will be impacted by the latest threats such as ransomware, BEC attacks, and data breaches, whilst also enabling organizations to meet compliance obligations. Leading global businesses that trust Cyber Risk Aware include Standard Charter, Glen Dimplex, and Invesco.
TitanHQ has been providing email and web security solutions to businesses, enterprises, and managed service providers for more than two decades and now provides a range of security solutions to more than 8,500 businesses globally, including more than 2,500 managed service providers.
The acquisition will further bolster TitanHQ’s already extensive security offering. The combination of intelligent security awareness training with phishing simulation and TitanHQ’s advanced email protection, DNS security, email archiving, and email encryption solutions to create a powerful, multi-layered cybersecurity platform that secures end users from compromise. This is the go-to cybersecurity platform for IT Managed Service Providers and internal IT teams.
“This is a fantastic addition to the TitanHQ team and solution portfolio. It allows us to add a human protection layer to our MSP Security platform, with a fantastic feature-rich solution as demonstrated by the high caliber customers using it. Stephen and his team have built a great company over the years, and we are delighted to have them join the exciting TitanHQ journey.” said TitanHQ CEO Ronan Kavanagh.
The solution is available to both new and existing customers and MSP partners at TitanHQ.com and is now branded as SafeTitan, Security Awareness Training. Cyber Risk Aware existing clients are unaffected and will benefit from improvements in the platform in terms of phishing sims content and an exciting, innovative product roadmap.
Stephen Burke, CEO of Cyber Risk Aware, commented: “I am incredibly proud that Cyber Risk Aware has been acquired by TitanHQ, cybersecurity business that I have greatly admired for a long time. Today’s announcement is fantastic news for both our clients and partners. We will jointly bring together a platform of innovative security solutions that address the #1 threat vector used by bad actors that cause 99% of security breaches, “End User Compromise”. When I first started Cyber Risk Aware, my aim was to be the global security awareness leader in delivering the right message, to the right user at the right time. Now as part of TitanHQ, I am more excited than ever about the unique value proposition we bring to market”.
TitanHQ is excited to be heading to Threatlocker’s Zero Trust World 2022 in Orlando, Florida this February. The event draws cybersecurity professionals from across the United States and beyond who will gain valuable insights from some of the world’s leading cybersecurity experts that they can take away and apply to better protect their networks and data from the ever-increasing number of cyber threats.
The event runs from February 21-23, 2022 at The Rozen Plaza and attendees will benefit from keynotes explaining the current threat landscape and the importance of Zero Trust in protecting against those threats. There will be discussions about the latest hacking techniques – and how to stop them – and the theme for the final day is to get serious about tackling cyber threats, and attendees will learn about the latest cybersecurity solutions to allow them to level up their cybersecurity stack to better protect against the full range of cyber threats.
There will be live hacking demonstrations, attendees will discover the tools that hackers are successfully using to evade security and attack businesses, and there will be hands-on exercises in workshops, training sessions, and certification labs.
While cybersecurity solutions can certainly help, becoming secure takes planning, analysis, and strategy. Tips and techniques will be provided by some of the leading cybersecurity professionals from around the world, who will talk about the lessons learned from cyberattacks, and the solutions and techniques that have been successfully employed at businesses of all sizes to improve security.
This year, TitanHQ will be exhibiting at the event and will be on hand to explain how TitanHQ’s cybersecurity solutions can be used to improve cybersecurity defenses. TitanHQ has been providing cloud-based cybersecurity solutions to MSPs and SMBs for more than 20 years and today more than 12,000 businesses – including more than 2,500 MSPs – rely on TitanHQ’s cybersecurity solutions to protect against cyber threats: Spamitan Email Security, WebTitan Web Security, EncryptTitan Email Encryption, and ArcTitan Email Archiving.
If you have not yet booked your place at the event, you can register here. Be sure to come and visit the team to discover how TitanHQ solutions can help you grow your business and improve cybersecurity for you and your clients.
Over the past 4 years, TitanHQ has enjoyed an impressive period of growth, including during the pandemic when many businesses struggled. In addition to building its customer base, TitanHQ has continued to bring in new talent to help drive the business forward. Between September 2020 and April 2021, TitanHQ doubled the size of its workforce and this year released new products to further cement its place as the leading provider of cloud-based cybersecurity solutions to managed service providers serving the SMB market.
TitanHQ’s email security, web security, email archiving, and data encryption solutions are now used by more than 12,000 businesses worldwide to improve their security posture and meet compliance requirements, including Pepsi, O2, Virgin, T-Mobile, and Datto. Among those businesses are over 2,500 managed services providers in 150 countries who use TitanHQ solutions to protect themselves and their customers from cyber threats.
This year, TitanHQ’s growth has been recognized in the 2021 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Awards, with the company positioned number 33 in the list of Ireland’s fastest-growing technology companies. For the past 22 years, Deloitte has been running the annual awards program to celebrate innovation and entrepreneurship in Ireland’s indigenous technology sector. The list is compiled based on percentage revenue growth over the past 4 years.
In addition to enjoying significant organic year-on-year growth, TitanHQ has also received a significant investment from Livingbridge Investor Group, which has helped to accelerate the company’s ambitious growth plans through investment in people and product development. This month, TitanHQ launched a new spam filtering solution, SpamTitan Plus, which has faster and more comprehensive detection rates of malicious links in emails than any of the current market-leading email security solutions.
“As a result of increased demand globally for our solutions, we have invested heavily in product development and embarked on a recruitment campaign to double our workforce in a program that will allow that growth to continue,” said TitanHQ CEO, Ronan Kavanagh. “The quick move to remote working last year has made us all aware of how important it is to be adaptable and have the right security solutions in place to protect users, customers, company data, and systems.”
In addition to achieving a strong position in the 2021 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 list, TitanHQ was the runner-up in the Scale Up Award, which recognizes the companies that have enjoyed a significant expansion in overseas business over the past four years.
“Congratulations to all of the companies that ranked this year. This is the first year we have seen the impact the pandemic has had on revenues of Irish tech companies,” said David Shanahan, Partner, Deloitte “It will come as no surprise that many of this year’s winners have achieved accelerated growth and scale as a result of the pandemic and being able to capitalize on the global move to a digital way of life.”
TitanHQ are proud to announce the launch of a new solution to protect businesses from increasingly sophisticated phishing threats. SpamTitan Plus builds on the huge success of SpamTitan Gateway and SpamTitan Cloud, which have been adopted by more than 12,000 business customers and over 3,000 Managed Service Providers worldwide.
SpamTitan solutions already provide advanced protection against phishing, malware, viruses, botnets, and ransomware that are delivered via email, with independent tests confirming a high detection and low false-positive rate. SpamTitan Plus takes those protections a step further, with significantly improved coverage, an uplift in phishing link detection, faster detection speeds, and an even lower false-positive rate.
Independent tests have confirmed SpamTitan Plus:
Provides 100% coverage of ALL current market-leading anti-phishing feeds.
Achieves a 1.5x increase in unique phishing URL detections
Has 1.6x faster phishing detections than current market-leading solutions
Is fed 10 million net new, previously undiscovered phishing URLs every single day
Just 5 minutes from initial detection of the malicious URL to protect end users’ mailboxes
Benefits of SpamTitan Plus
According to Deloitte, 91% of all cyberattacks start with a phishing email and despite many businesses providing phishing awareness training to the workforce, many employees still fail to identify phishing emails. Security Affairs says there is a 97% failure rate by employees. Add to that the increasingly sophisticated tactics used by phishers to evade email security solutions and trick end users and it is no surprise that phishing is the number 1 cybersecurity threat faced by businesses.
SpamTitan Plus improves defenses against phishing by blocking more threats before they reach inboxes and ensures that if a phishing email with a malicious link does make it to an inbox, protection is provided at the time an employee clicks the link.
SpamTitan plus provides leading-edge protection through the use of an AI-based system and is fed the latest zero-day threat intelligence. Significant improvements have been made to protect against business email compromise attacks and effectively neutralize malicious links in emails. All links in emails are rewritten and inspected to determine if they are safe and users benefit from time-of-click protection. That means when an individual clicks a link in an email, the content of the landing page is inspected for phishing forms and other malicious content such as spoofed webpages. Redirects are often used by phishers to fool email security solutions that only check the URL stated in the email. SpamTitan Plus protects against this by also following redirects.
Multiple dynamic checks are performed on URLs in real-time, with time-of-click protection ensuring that links included in emails that were benign at the time of delivery – and passed inspection – are detected as malicious if the URLs are weaponized at a later date. For instance, phishing emails may be sent on a Friday with benign links to pass inspection, and the URLs are then updated over the weekend with malicious content added ready for employees returning to work on Monday.
SpamTitan Plus benefits from massive clickstream traffic from 600+ million users and endpoints, which generates 10 million never-before-seen phishing and malicious URLs a day. These unique daily URL additions are powered out of several hundred billion local queries and 100 million cloud queries a day within SpamTitan Plus. The result is faster detection and better protection, with the lowest false positive rate of the market-leading phishing solution providers.
If you run a business or are a managed service provider (MSP) looking to improve phishing protection for your clients, give the TitanHQ team a call to find out more about SpamTitan Plus and how it can significantly improve your defenses against phishing and other email threats.
2021 has been a particularly bad year for cyberattacks. There are still 6 weeks of 2021 left, but there have already been more publicly reported data breaches than in all of 2020, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). 2020 was a record-breaking year for cyberattacks, and that record looks set to be beaten once again.
ITRC said supply chain attacks increased by 42% in the first quarter of 2021, ransomware attacks have been occurring at record levels, and phishing attacks remain a constant threat. It is not just the number of data breaches being reported that I a cause for concern, but also the severity of those breaches.
This year has seen several high-profile attacks, including the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline in the United States that disrupted fuel supplies to the East Coast for a week, and a ransomware attack on the Irish Department of Health and the Health Service Executive in May 2021, which resulted in data theft and major disruption to healthcare services.
Attacks on critical infrastructure have a devastating impact on people businesses can suffer catastrophic losses. Given the current threat level and frequency at which data breaches are being reported, it has never been more important to invest in cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity is now a priority for Irish businesses following a series of devastating cyberattacks in the country. Those attacks have hammered home the message that all Irish companies need to take steps to improve their defenses and keep hackers at bay.
Think Business, Ireland has recently raised awareness of the risk of cyberattacks and is helping businesses in the country find the solutions they need, by highlighting the excellent work being conducted by Irish cybersecurity firms. Many cybersecurity firms have a base in Ireland, with the country producing some incredible homegrown cybersecurity talent in the form of consultants, security experts, and companies that offer cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions that are protecting companies and data all around the world.
To help Irish businesses find companies that can meet their cybersecurity needs, Think Business, Ireland recently compiled a list of the top Irish 26 cybersecurity companies to watch out for in 2021 and beyond, with the report highlighting the wide range of cybersecurity solutions that have been developed by innovative Irish companies that are making their mark on the global stage.
The list includes TitanHQ, a Galway-based cybersecurity firm that has been developing innovative security solutions for 25 years. TitanHQ’s award-winning email security, web security, and email archiving solutions are now used by more than 12,000 businesses in over 150 countries, with more than 2,500 managed service providers using the solutions to protect their own and their clients’ networks from cyber threats such as malware, ransomware, viruses, botnets, and phishing.
While many businesses have been struggling through the pandemic, TitanHQ has gone from strength to strength and has continued to enjoy impressive growth. Investment from Livingbridge investor group has helped the company invest even more in product development and people and over the past 18 months, the company has doubled its workforce to more than 90 employees.
TitanHQ solutions have been developed to be easy to implement and use by all businesses and, importantly, the solutions were built from the ground up by managed service providers to help MSPs better protect their clients. The solutions save MSP’s support and engineering time by stopping problems at the source and are easy to fit into existing service stacks. That’s part of the reason why TitanHQ is now the leading provider of cloud-based cybersecurity solutions to MSPs serving the SMB market.
“We are delighted to be listed next to some of the biggest names in the Irish cybersecurity space,” said Ronan Kavanagh, CEO, TitanHQ. “As the threat landscape continues to be a significant risk to organizations across the globe, we are dedicated to continuous innovation to provide consistent, secure, and reliable protection to our customers.”
Left to Right: Ronan Kavanagh, CEO, Diane Wright, people operations manager, Sean Morris, chief technical officer, Gina Mc Grath, digital marketing executive, and Dryden Geary, marketing director.
Hospitals often invest heavily in solutions to secure the network perimeter, although the importance of Internet and WiFi filtering in hospitals is often misunderstood. Network and software firewalls are essential, but alone they will not provide protection against all attacks. As healthcare IT security staff know all too well, the actions of employees can see cybersecurity defenses bypassed.
A look at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Rights breach portal shows just how many cyberattacks on hospitals are now occurring. Cybercriminals are targeting healthcare organizations due to the value of protected health information (PHI) on the black market. PHI is worth ten times as much as credit card information, so it is no surprise that hospitals are in cybercriminals’ crosshairs. Even a small hospital can hold the PHI of more than 100,000 individuals. If access is gained to a hospital network, the potential rewards for a hacker are considerable.
There has also been a massive increase in ransomware attacks. Since hospitals need access to patients’ PHI, they are more likely to pay a ransom to regain access to their data than in other industry sectors. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center paid $17,000 for the keys to unlock its files following a ransomware attack in February 2016. It was one of several hospitals to give in to attackers’ demands following ransomware attacks.
A Web Filter is an Important Extra Security Layer to Protect Against Phishing Attacks
Phishing is one of the main threats for healthcare organizations, so it is vital for the email system to be secured with an advanced spam filtering solution and for security awareness training to be provided to employees. However, layered defenses are required to reduce the threat of phishing to a reasonable and acceptable level.
A web filtering solution is an important additional control in the fight against phishing. If an employee clicks on a hyperlink in a phishing email that has made it past email security defenses, the phishing website can be blocked. Instead, the user will be directed to a block screen and a potential account compromise can be avoided. A web filter will also help to protect users from malicious redirects when browsing the internet.
Protect your customers from web-based threats such as drive-by downloads, exploit kits, and phishing. Book a FREE WebTitan demo. Book Free Demo
The Hospital WiFi Environment is a Potential Gold Mine for Cybercriminals
Another common weak point is the WiFi network. IT security teams may have endpoint protection systems installed, but often not on mobile devices that connect to WiFi networks. The increasing number of wireless devices that are now in use in hospitals increases the incentive for cybercriminals to attempt to gain access to WiFi networks. Not only do physicians use mobile phones to connect to the networks and communicate PHI, but there are also laptops, tablets, and an increasing number of medical devices connected to WiFi networks. As the use of mobile and IoT devices in healthcare continues to grow, the risk of attacks on the WiFi environment will increase.
Patients also connect to hospital WiFi networks, as do visitors to hospitals. They too need to be protected from malware and ransomware when connected to hospital guest WiFi networks. One of the easiest ways to protect the devices that connect to WiFi networks is a web filtering solution. A web filter allows IT teams to carefully control the types of content that can be accessed on hospital WiFi networks, block malware downloads, and prevent all users from visiting malicious websites. Internet and WiFi filtering in hospitals should be included in cybersecurity defenses to reduce the risk of malware downloads from the internet and is an important additional control against insider breaches.
Internet and WiFi filtering in Hospitals is Not Just About Blocking Cyberthreats
Malware, ransomware, hacking, and phishing prevention aside, there are other important reasons for implementing Internet and WiFi filtering in hospitals.
Guest WiFi access in hospitals is provided to allow patients and visitors to access the Internet; however, there is only a certain amount of bandwidth available. If Internet access is to be provided, all patients and visitors should be able to gain access. Internet and WiFi filtering in hospitals can be used to restrict access to Internet services that consume large amounts of bandwidth, especially at times when network usage is heavy. Time-based controls can be applied at busy times to block access to video streaming sites, for example, to ensure all users can enjoy reasonable Internet speeds.
It is also important to prevent patients, visitors, and healthcare professionals from accessing inappropriate website content. Internet and WiFi filtering in hospitals should include a block on adult content and other inappropriate or illegal material. Blocks can easily be placed on illegal file-sharing websites, gambling or gaming sites, or any other undesirable category of web content.
Internet and WiFi filtering in hospitals ensures WiFi networks can be used safely and securely by all users, including minors. Blocking illegal, undesirable, and age-inappropriate content is not just about protecting patients and visitors. It also reduces legal liability.
Protection from web-based threats and precision Internet content control for your workforce. Book a FREE WebTitan demo. Book Free Demo
Internet and WiFi Filtering in Hospitals Made Simple
WebTitan Cloud for WiFi is an ideal solution for Internet and WiFi filtering in hospitals. WebTitan Cloud for WiFi is cost-effective to implement, the solution requires no additional hardware or software installations, and there is no latency. Being DNS-based, setup is quick and simple. A change to the DNS settings is all that is required to start filtering the Internet.
WebTitan Cloud for WiFi is ideal for hospital systems. The solution is highly scalable and can be used to protect any number of users in any number of locations. Multiple sites can be protected from one easy-to-use web-based user interface. Separate filtering controls can be applied for different locations, user groups, or even individuals. Since the solution links in with Active Directory setting up controls for different users and departments is quick and simple. Separate content controls can easily be set for guests, visitors, and staff, including filtering controls by role.
WebTitan Cloud for WiFi supports blacklists, whitelists, and allows precision content control via category or keyword, and blocks phishing websites and sites known to host exploit kits and malware. In short, WebTitan Cloud for WiFi gives you control over what users can do when connected to your WiFI network.
To find out more about WebTitan Cloud for WiFi, details of pricing, contact the TitanHQ team today.
A new version of WebTitan Cloud has been released – WebTitan Cloud 4.16 – that includes support for Azure Active Directory and introduces a new school web filtering solution – WebTitan OTG (on-the-go) for Chromebooks.
The new version of WebTitan Cloud includes DNS Proxy 2.06 which supports filtering of users in Azure Active Directory, in addition to on-premise AD and directory integration for Active Directory. Further directory services will be added to meet customer needs and ensure they can enjoy the benefits of per-user filtering with exceptional ease of management. – Further information on the Azure AD app is available here.
Existing WebTitan customers need do nothing to get the latest WebTitan Cloud release as the solution will be updated automatically.
WebTitan OTG for Chromebooks
Using WebTitan OTG for Chromebooks provides an effective way to apply filtering policies to your Chromebooks from the cloud.
WebTitan OTG for Chromebooks is a new web filtering solution for the education sector that allows schools to carefully control the websites that can be access by students both in the classroom and offsite, including in student’s homes.
Schools can easily devise filtering policies for all pupils or specific age groups and apply those filtering polices in the cloud. The solution allows schools to enforce the use of Safe Search and prevent access to age-inappropriate web content to keep students safe.
WebTitan OTG for Chromebooks delivers fast and effective user- and device-level web filtering and empowers students to discover the Internet in a safe and secure fashion, while also ensuring compliance with federal and state laws such as the U.S. Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA).
The solution is cost effective for schools to implement, setup and management is quick and easy, and administrators can schedule or run usage reports on demand and have full visibility into Chromebook users’ online activities and locations. It is also possible to lockdown Chromebooks to prevent students from circumventing the web filtering controls.
As with all WebTitan Cloud solutions, there is no need for any on-premises hardware, no proxies or VPNs required, and there is no impact on Internet speed as filtering takes place at the DNS-level before any content is downloaded.
“This new release comes after an expansive first quarter. The launch of WebTitan Cloud 4.16 brings phenomenal new security features to our customers,” Said TitanHQ CEO, Ronan Kavanagh. “After experiencing significant growth in 2020, TitanHQ expects these product enhancements and new features to make 2021 another record-breaking year.”
TitanHQ is proud to announce three of its innovative products have been named winners at the Experts Insights’ 2021 Best-Of Awards in the Web Security, Email Security Gateway, and Email Archiving categories.
Expert Insights helps businesses identify the most powerful, innovative, and ease to use cybersecurity solutions through its website, and helps clear up the confusion about cybersecurity solutions through objective reviews, industry analysis, and interviews with industry leaders. The top cybersecurity products are listed on the website along with reviews and ratings from genuine users of the solutions. Expert Insights now helps more than 40,000 businesses each month select the most appropriate cybersecurity solutions to meet their needs.
The leading cybersecurity companies and their products are recognized each year in the Expert insights’ “Best-Of” Awards. Products are assessed by technology experts and the Expert Insights’ Editorial Team based on many factors, including market presence, technical features of the products, ease-of-use, and ratings by verified users of the products. Winners are selected in a range of different categories such as email security, web security, endpoint security, multi-factor authentication, backup, and many more.
“2020 was an unprecedented year of cybersecurity challenges, with a rapid rise in remote working causing a massive acceleration in cybercrime,” said Craig MacAlpine, CEO and Founder, Expert Insights. “Expert Insights’ Best-Of awards are designed to recognize innovative cybersecurity providers like TitanHQ that have developed powerful solutions to keep businesses safe against increasingly sophisticated cybercrime.”
TitanHQ was recognized for the WebTitan DNS filtering solution, which was named a winner in the Web Security category, SpamTitan was named a winner in the Email Security category, and ArcTitan was named a winner in the Email Archiving category. In addition to the level of protection provided, each solution is consistently rated highly on price and ease of use by enterprises, SMBs, and Managed Service Providers. The solutions are used by more than 8,500 businesses and over 2,500 MSPs in more than 150 countries. In addition to the high ratings on Experts’ Insights, the solutions have received top marks on G2 Crowd, Capterra, GetApp, Software Advice, and Google Reviews.
“The recent pandemic and the growth of remote working initiatives have further highlighted the need for multiple layers of cybersecurity and our award-winning solutions form key pillars in this security strategy,” said Ronan Kavanagh, CEO, TitanHQ. “We will continue to innovate and provide solutions that MSPs can use to deliver a consistent, secure and reliable experience to their customers.”
In 2020, the healthcare industry was heavily targeted by ransomware gangs who took advantage of the pandemic to hit the very hospitals that were trying to save patients’ lives. Battling under extremely challenging conditions, the healthcare industry had to cope with these highly damaging and disruptive ransomware attacks that placed patient safety at risk.
A major ransomware attack hit one of the largest healthcare providers in the United States. Universal Health Services, an American Fortune 500 company which employees 90,000 individuals and runs 400 acute care hospitals, suffered a major ransomware attack in September which impacted all of its hospitals. Staff were forced to work on pen and paper for three weeks while it recovered from the attack.
A cyberattack on University of Vermont Medical Center in October affected more than 5,000 hospital computers and laptops and 1,300 servers. All devices had to be wiped and have software and data reinstalled, with the healthcare provider experiencing downtime for more than 2 months. During the recovery process around $1.5 million was being lost per day to attack-related expenses and lost business, with the total costs expected to exceed $64 million.
Ransomware attacks on the healthcare industry were stepped up in September and October and continued to plague the industry for the remainder of the year. A study by Tenable found that ransomware attacks accounted for 46% of all healthcare data breaches in 2020, showing the extent to which the industry was targeted.
Many of these attacks involved the exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities, most commonly vulnerabilities in the Citrix ADC controller and Pulse Connect Secure VPN. Patches had been released at the start of the year to fix the vulneabilities, but the patches had not been applied promptly. Phishing emails also gave ransomware gangs the access to healthcare networks they needed to conduct ransomware attacks. Check Point’s research indicates there was a 45% increase in cyberattacks on the industry from the start of November to the end of the year.
Another industry heavily targeted by hackers in 2020 was retail. Retailers were also incredibly busy as a result of the pandemic. With governments ordering people to stay home to curb the spread of the virus, online retailers saw a sales surge as shoppers made their purchases online rather than in bricks and mortar stores. Researchers at Salesforce found digital sales increased by 36% in 2020 compared to the previous year, and cybercriminals took advantage of the increase in online sales.
Several methods were used to gain access to retailers’ systems and websites, with the most popular tactic being web application attacks, which increased by 800% in 2020 according to the CDNetworks State of Web Security H1 2020 Report. Attackers also used credentials stolen in past data breaches to attack online retail outlets in credential stuffing attacks, which Akamai’s tracking revealing the retail industry was the most attacked industry using this attack technique, account for around 90% of attacks.
As is normal every year, the large numbers of shoppers that head online to make purchases in the run up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday were exploited, with phishing attacks related to these shopping events increasing thirteenfold in the six-week run up to Black Friday. In November, 1 in every 826 emails was an online shopping related phishing scam, compared to 1 in 11,000 in October, according to Check Point. Content management systems used by retailers were also targeted, and attacks on retail APIs also increased in 2020.
As we head into 2021, both sectors are likely to continue to be heavily targeted. Ransomware and phishing attacks on healthcare providers could well increase now that vaccines are being rolled out, and with many consumers still opting to buy online rather than in person, the retail sector looks set to have another bad year.
Fortunately, by following cybersecurity best practices it is possible to block the majority of these attacks. Patches need to be applied promptly, especially any vulnerabilities in remote access software, VPNs, or popular networking equipment, as those vulnerabilities are rapidly exploited.
An advanced anti-phishing solution needs to be implemented to block phishing attacks at source and ensure that malicious messages do not get delivered to inboxes. Multi-factor authentication should also be implemented on email accounts and remote access solutions to block credential stuffing attacks.
A web filter is important for blocking the web-based component of phishing and cyberattacks. Web filters stop employees from visiting malicious websites and block malware/ ransomware downloads and C2 callbacks. And for retail especially, the use of web application firewalls, secure transaction processing, and the correct use of Transport Layer Security across a website (HTTPS) are important.
By following cybersecurity best practices, healthcare providers, retailers, and other targeted industries will make it much harder for hackers to succeed. TitanHQ can help by providing SpamTitan Email Security and WebTitan Web Security to protect against email and web-based attacks in 2021. For more information on these two solutions and how you can use them to protect your busines, call TitanHQ today.
COVID-19 has created a great many challenges for businesses and has forced them to adapt to a new way of working very quickly. Businesses that had mostly office-based workers have had to change to having virtually everyone working remotely.
Employees working from home are maintaining contact via IM solutions, email, and videoconferencing platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, but in contrast to office-based work, businesses are now relying on their employees to stay connected and remain productive.
While most businesses have adapted to the new way of working, many business leaders are concerned about how to protect their data and maintain compliance with most of their employees working from home. Employers have had to accept that remote working, to some degree, is now the new normal, so steps must be taken to ensure business and email continuity.
On Tuesday, September 22, 2020, TitanHQ is hosting a webinar to discuss these and other concerns and offer a solution that can help to keep businesses moving forward when employees are working remotely.
During the webinar TitanHQ experts will discuss the following topics:
The Current 2020 Technology Landscape
Security & Compliance in a time of Global Remote Working
Increase in Companies Relying Solely on Office 365
Protecting Business Critical Data
The Importance of Continuity in the Era of Remote Working
Attendees will also be given a live demo of TitanHQ’s cloud email archiving solution, ArcTitan.
Webinar Details
Title: How to Ensure Business Continuity with Email Archiving for your Remote Workforce
TitanHQ is pleased to announce the UK-based mid-market private equity firm Livingbridge has invested in TitanHQ through its Enterprise 3 fund.
Livingbridge invests in fast growing companies valued up to 200 million. The Enterprise 3 fund is used to invest in companies with an enterprise value of up to £50 million. Livingbridge identified TitanHQ as an ideal company for investment, being uniquely positioned with a well-differentiated product portfolio, operating in an attractive market with strong macro tailwinds, and being a leader in the sector with a proven track record for delivering robust, easy to use, effective, and much loved security solutions.
TitanHQ has been operating for 20 years during which time the company has collected many awards for its email security, web filtering, and email archiving SaaS solutions – SpamTitan, WebTitan, and ArcTitan.
More than 8,500 businesses have chosen TitanHQ as a security partner and the company is hugely popular with managed service providers, with SpamTitan, WebTitan, and ArcTitan offered by more than 2,500 channel partners. SMBs, MSPs, and ISPs in more than 150 countries use TitanHQ solutions, including big name brands such as Pepsi, Virgin, O2, ViaSat, and Datto. The company has registered year on year growth and now has an ARR of more than $15 million.
“We are delighted to be partnering with TitanHQ,” said Livingbridge director, Nick Holder. “There is a tremendous opportunity for Titan HQ to accelerate its growth trajectory over the coming years and we look forward to working closely with the management team to fulfill the company’s potential. Their focus and dedication to the MSP community is completely aligned with our strategy.”
The partnership will help TitanHQ reach its full potential and further cement its position as the leading provider of cloud-based security solutions to MSPs serving the SMB market.
“We are excited to be taking this next step in our growth journey with Livingbridge, a partner that understands the unique strengths of our business, shares our vision for success and has the experience and resources to help us to achieve it,” said TitanHQ CEO, Ronan Kavanagh.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to make massive changes in a short period of time. Many managed service providers have demonstrated resilience and have weathered the storm and have shown that while we are now living in very uncertain times, there are opportunities for growth. Successful MSPs have not only adapted their business to ensure their survival, they have seized the opportunities and are gaining considerable growth momentum and have shown it is possible to thrive in spite of an extremely challenging economy.
At MVP GrowthFest on June 23, 2020 you will be able to find out how successful MSPs are turning adversity into growth and profit and will learn from an all-star line up of Channel experts about the state of the Channel and what you must do to adapt to these challenging times. You will also be provided with guidance on the steps you can take now to ensure success and grow your business and thrive.
MVP GrowthFest is a 3-hour virtual event that will provide valuable insights and advice that can be used immediately to help you grow your business. The event is being headlined by an interview with Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr., the 3-time NBA MVP Award winner.
Matt Solomon, VP of Business Development at ID Agent, will be conducting the interview and Magic Johnson, who will explain how he succeeded by overcoming obstacles throughout his life, and how tenacity and commitment to the community were key to his success.
MVP GrowthFest will be celebrating the energy that powers growth and the drive to thrive during challenging times and, in addition to the interview, MSPs will hear from 15 Channel all-stars in four powerhouse panels.
TitanHQ is pleased to announce that Sales Director Conor Madden will be leading the panel in the security session titled “Leading with Security through Education.” The key to selling products in your security stack is to educate your clients about the need for cybersecurity. Given the fact that cyber actors have been attacking businesses with increased vigor during the pandemic, positioning your security stack front and central is the logical step.
TitanHQ can offer web and email security solutions that will not only protect you and your clients, they can be efficiently implemented into your security stack and can be easily packaged. Plus, an extremely competitive price point means they are affordable solutions for your clients and generous margins will help you boost your bottom line.
Conor will be joined on the security powerhouse by:
Jon Murchison – CEO, BlackPoint Cyber
Kevin Lancaster – CEO, ID Agent & GM Security, Kaseya
Jessvin Thomas – President & CTO, SKOUT
Attendees will also get to hear from Channel leaders in three further Powerhouse sessions that will provide invaluable advice on how to grow your business and boost profits during these challenging times.
Managing Through Change
Featuring:
Dan Wensley – CEO, Warranty Master
Joe Alapat – CEO & Founder, Liongard
Ryan Walsh – Chief Channel Officer, Pax8
Establishing Trust in the New Normal
Featuring:
Dave Goldie – Vice President of Channel, Cytracom
Ted Roller – Channel Chief, ConnectBooster
Andra Hedden – CMO, Marketopia
Frank DeBenedetto – Founder, AudIT
Leading & Accelerating through the Recovery
Featuring:
Tim Conkle – Founder, The 20
Dennis O’Connell – Vice President, Taylor Business Group
TitanHQ is hosting a webinar on Thursday May 21, 2020 and will be explaining how you can double protection for your remote workers and better protect them against phishing, malware, ransomware, and zero-day attacks. The webinar is ideal for current SpamTitan customers, prospective customers, Managed Service Providers and small- to medium-sized enterprises.
During the webinar you’ll find out why it is so important to protect against both the email- and web-based components of cyberattacks and you will discover more about an important layer that you can ad to your security defenses that will allow you to significantly reduce susceptibility to a cyber attack and data breach.
TitanHQ will explain how cybercriminals are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic and are targeting remote workers. You will also discover more about the features and security layers of WebTitan Security and how this DNS-based web filtering solution allows you to manage user security at multiple locations.
Most cyberattacks have an email and web-based component – Find out how WebTitan serves as a vital layer of security to block phishing attacks, malware and ransomware downloads.
Learn why WebTitan is the leading web security option for the Managed Service Provider who service the SMB and SME market.
Join TitanHQ for the webinar, which will be attended by:
Derek Higgins, Engineering Manger TitanHQ
Eddie Monaghan, Channel Manager TitanHQ
Marc Ludden, Strategic Alliance Manager TitanHQ
Kevin Hall, Senior Systems Engineer at Datapac
Webinar Details
Title: Keeping your Remote Workers TWICE as secure with SpamTitan & WebTitan
Blackpoint Cyber announced its Remote Reality LIVE conference, which will occur online April 8th and April 9th 2020.
The conference will focus on managed service providers (MSPs) and how they can stay secure, profitable, and resilient as the world increases remote operations during the COVID-19 pandemic – registration and attendance are free. The two-day conference will include sessions by former leaders of the United States’ government cyber security and intelligence communities as well as cyber security experts and business veterans from the MSP services and technology industry.
Blackpoint Cyber announces its virtual cyber security conference for MSPs – Remote Reality LIVE. Featuring a keynote from the former Acting Director of the CIA and sessions from tech giants Datto, Webroot, Marketopia, and more.
Jon Murchison, Blackpoint’s CEO and founder, and former US government cyber operations expert, explains the conference’s objective: “IT services and infrastructure have become mission critical for organizations to survive in this new economic landscape brought on by COVID-19. MSPs are the key to our success and, especially during these times, a collective national asset to their respective countries. That’s why we are bringing together experienced government and industry leaders to help MSPs navigate the current economic and security environments. We’re excited to provide one of the first online and socially-distanced conferences dedicated to MSPs and cyber security.”
Blackpoint has partnered with leading technology, service, and marketing firms for the conference, including:
Datto: leading global provider of cloud-based software and technology solutions purpose-built for MSPs
Webroot: Cybersecurity Solutions Purpose-Built for MSPs and SMBs
Convergint: Global, Service-based Systems Integrator
Marketopia: Lead Generation and Marketing for Technology Companies
ID Agent: Dark Web and Identity Theft Protection
TitanHQ: Email and DNS Security
Compliancy Group: HIPAA Compliance-as-a-Service
Atlantic Data Forensics: Premier Incident Response and Forensics
ProSource Technology Solutions: Leading Managed Service Provider
Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT): Premier Real Estate Investment Trust
Michael Morell, former Deputy Director and Acting Director CIA, will present the keynote session on national security implications of the Coronavirus outbreak. While at the CIA, Mr. Morell was President George W. Bush’s daily intelligence briefer during the 9/11 attacks and was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the CIA’s second highest honor.
Additional former US government cyber security and intelligence expert speakers include: Bill Priestap, former FBI Assistant Director of Counterintelligence, Chris Inglis, Former Deputy Director of NSA, Dave Sears, retired Commander and Navy SEAL, and Kevin Donegan, former United States Navy Vice Admiral and previous commander of the US Navy’s 5th fleet out of Bahrain. Security and MSP industry leaders will also present informational sessions, such as lead generation in a virtual world, security in the MSP space, cyber security for commercial real estate, the threat landscape of remote workers, and more.
Matt Solomon, VP of Business Development & IT at ID Agent, shares his sentiments on the conference: “ID Agent is very excited to participate in one of the first virtual MSP events since in-person events have been taken off the schedule. MSPs still need education during this period and we are honored to be part of such an esteemed group of vendors.”
In addition to learning how to stay secure and prosper, conference attendees will also be eligible for giveaways and prizes.
During this unprecedented time of uncertainty, the health and safety of our employees, customers, partners and their families is one of our main focuses and concerns. Team TitanHQ are fully committed to supporting our partners and customers. The benefits from our email and web security products are even more relevant and important now.
Our fantastic team has jumped at the challenge with vigor and we have mobilized our workforce so that it’s business as usual over this unusual phase. We are taking advice from the government on best practice and have a task force in place to manage our progress.
Customers and partners can rest assured that support teams will continue to be available and product teams are working as normal. If you have any questions or concerns about products, or technical support, please contact us in the usual way. The support team has been trained to be aware of special customer concerns during this period and will escalate any question to the appropriate responsible person or department.
We are aware that this is a sensitive time and we will make sure to go the extra mile to make it easier for our customers. All of us at TitanHQ wish you good health and thank you for your continued support.
TitanHQ and Pax8 have announced a new strategic partnership that will see TitanHQ’s cloud-based email security and DNS filtering solutions incorporated into the Pax8 ecosystem.
Pax8 simplifies the journey into the cloud through billing, provisioning, automation and industry-leading PSA integrations and is proven leader in cloud distribution. Pax8 has achieved position 60 in the 2019 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies and has been named CRN’s Coolest Cloud Vendor and Best in Show at the NextGen and Xchange conferences for two years in a row.
In order to have products added to the Pax8 marketplace, vendors must have developed exceptional channel friendly solutions. As the leading provider of cloud-based email and web security solutions for managed service providers (MSPs) serving the SMB marketplace, TitanHQ was an ideal fit.
Under the new partnership, Pax8 partners will have easy access to TitanHQ’s leading email security solution, SpamTitan Cloud, and can protect clients from web-based threats with WebTitan Cloud, TitanHQ’s DNS filtering solution.
These cloud-based AI-driven solutions help MSPs secure their own environments and protect their clients from malware, ransomware, botnets, viruses, and phishing and email impersonation attacks and avoid costly data breaches.
Both solutions have been developed with MSPs firmly in mind. The solutions are easy to integrate into an MSP’s security stack through TitanHQ’s APIs, there are multiple hosting options, the solutions can be supplied in white label form, and there are generous margins. Pax8 partners also benefit from a fully transparent pricing policy and industry leading technical support.
TitanHQ’s solutions have much loved by users and are consistently rated highly on business software review platforms, including G2 Crowd, Gartner Peer Insights, and Capterra.
“Our partners are excited about the addition of TitanHQ and the ability to protect their clients’ businesses by blocking malware, phishing, ransomware, and links to malicious websites from emails.” said Ryan Walsh, chief channel officer at Pax8.
At face value, SpamTitan and VadeSecure may appear to be equivalent products. In this post we offer a comparison of SpamTitan and VadeSecure to help managed service providers (MSPs) differentiate between the two solutions.
SpamTitan and VadeSecure
SpamTitan and VadeSecure are two email security solutions that block productivity-draining spam emails, phishing emails, and malspam – spam emails that deliver malware or malware downloaders. These cloud-based solutions assess all incoming emails and determine whether they are genuine communications, unwanted spam, or malicious messages and deal with them accordingly to prevent employees from opening the messages.
TitanHQ is the leading provider of cloud-based email and web security solutions for MSPs that serve the SMB market and has been providing email security for MSPs for more than 2 decades. SpamTitan is TitanHQ’s email security offering, which has been developed for SMBs and MSPs that serve the SMB market.
VadeSecure is a French company that has developed an email security solution for the SMB market. As is the case with SpamTitan, VadeSecure offers protection from email-based threats and provides an important extra layer of security, especially for Office 365 environments. The company is now venturing into the MSP market and has recently raised an additional $79 million in venture capital to help it make inroads into the MSP market. However, at present, the solution is primarily geared toward SMBs rather than MSPs that serve them.
Enhanced Phishing Protection for Office 365 Accounts
Office 365 is the most widely used cloud service by user count and 2019 figures show that Office 365 cloud services are used by 1 in 5 corporate employees, with Office 365 email being the most common. With so many businesses using Office 365 for email, it should come as no surprise that Office 365 email accounts are being heavily targeted by hackers and scammers.
Microsoft does have measures in place to block spam and phishing emails, but the level of protection provided by Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is not sufficient for many businesses. A large percentage of phishing emails manage to sneak past Microsoft’s defenses. According to research from Avanan, 25% of phishing emails are delivered to Office 365 inboxes.
Consequently, additional protection is required, and many businesses choose to implement an anti-phishing solution provided by third parties such as SpamTitan and VadeSecure. MSPs also offer third party solutions to block phishing attacks on Office 365 accounts, not only to better protect their customers, but also to reduce the amount of time they spend mitigating phishing attacks that have not been blocked by EOP.
SpamTitan and VadeSecure have been developed to work on top of Office 365 and add an important extra layer of protection for Office 365 email.
Here we will concentrate on a comparison of SpamTitan and VadeSecure with a specific focus on the features and benefits for MSPs rather than SMBs.
Comparison of SpamTitan and VadeSecure for MSPs Serving the SMB Market
Since VadeSecure has historically focused on the Telco market, the email security solution lacks many features to make MSP’s lives easier and does not provide the level of control, flexibility, or the management tools and reports that MSPs seek. SpamTitan has been developed by MSPs for MSPs, so important features for MSPs have always been offered. We will cover these features below, but initially it is useful to include an infographic that summarizes some of the basic features of SpamTitan and VadeSecure for comparison purposes.
Basic Features of SpamTitan and VadeSecure
SpamTitan Features for MSPs Not Offered by VadeSecure
This comparison of SpamTitan and VadeSecure may seem a little one-sided, and that is because VadeSecure is very much focused on end users rather than MSPs. No doubt the solution will be updated to incorporate more MSP-friendly features over time as the company tries to move into the MSP market, but at present, the features below are provided by SpamTitan but are not offered by VadeSecure.
Configuration Flexibility and Customization Potential
One of the biggest bug bears with VadeSecure is the inability to configure the solution to suit the needs of MSPs. It is not possible to create custom rules for instance, and MSPs must therefore use the Exchange Admin functionality of Office 365.
With SpamTitan, MSPs can create rules based on their own requirements and the needs of each individual client, and those rules can be highly granular and can easily be applied to specific groups, users, and for specific domains. That level of granularity and the ease of customization allows MSPs to fine-tune filtering policies to maximize the detection of threats while minimizing false negatives. MSPs can easily select more permissible or more aggressive policies for each client, but with VadeSecure there is no option for customization for each customer.
True Multi-Tenancy
SpamTitan includes a full multi-tenancy view of all customers, with multiple management roles. This allows MSPs to easily monitor their entire customer base and trial base, assess the health of the deployments, view activity volumes across all customers, and quickly identify issues that require attention. With VadeSecure, there is no possibility of integrating with PSAs and RMMs, and there is no customer-wide view of the entire system.
Highly Granular Reporting
MSPs can tell their clients how important it is to improve their security defenses, but they must also be able to demonstrate that the solutions are proving effective at blocking threats to ensure they can continue to provide those services and receive regular, repeating revenue.
With SpamTitan, MSPs have highly granular reports that give them full visibility into what is happening and a detailed view of system performance. Client reports can easily be generated to show them how effective the solution is and why it is important to keep it in place. Furthermore, this level of reporting – per domain, per group, and at the group domain level – gives MSPs the information they need to identify potential issues and obtain detailed information on spam emails. The solution also has the management capabilities to allow any issues to be quickly identified and corrected to ensure the solution remains effective over time. With VadeSecure, visibility and control options are lacking and there are no options for demonstrating how effective the solution is and to demonstrate that to clients.
High Margins and Significant Revenue Potential
As previously mentioned, the flexibility and scope for customization is a real benefit for MSPs as it allows them to add more value through superior management capabilities. That means MSPs can build solutions that really benefit their clients and it helps them become more of a strategic partner rather than an IT service provider. It is much harder for clients to change a strategic partner than switch IT service providers. VadeSecure lacks this customization which means it is not possible for MSPs to add value to generate reliable, recurring revenue.
Further, with VadeSecure you get one product, but TitanHQ offers a trio of solutions for MSPs to better protect their clients and add more recurring revenue streams. Through the TitanShield for Service Providers program, MSPs also have access to WebTitan DNS filtering and ArcTitan email archiving. This allows MSPs to maximize revenue from each client by cross-selling new services, while also offering a layered security package to protect clients from the full range of email- and web-based threats.
Fully Transparent Pricing
When it comes to pricing, VadeSecure (and many other email security solutions) lack transparency and the pricing model is complex and expensive. Several features are not included as standard with VadeSecure and come at an additional cost. This makes it hard to perform a SpamTitan and VadeSecure pricing comparison.
For instance, with VadeSecure the solution is priced per module, so the Greymail, Spam, and Virus Protection options are not provided as standard and have to be added onto the cost. Based on feedback we have received from MSPs the solution is expensive, which reduces MSP profits and makes the email security solution more difficult to sell to SMBs.
With VadeSecure, the total number of users is not aggregated, which shows a lack of experience of working with MSPs. An MSP with 100 x 10-seat licenses will have that pay at 10 seats each rather than 1,000 seats overall. As such, discounts will be far lower.
With SpamTitan there is just one price which includes all features, including sandboxing, full support, dual anti-virus protection, all security modules, and updates. Furthermore, the price is exceptionally competitive (less than $1 per user). The pricing model was created to incorporate the flexibility for dealing with fluctuating numbers of customers, which often happens when providing managed email services.
Effectiveness at Blocking Threats
Price, usability, and flexibility are all important for MSPs, but features and benefits are the icing on the cake. Email security solutions are used to protect against threats, so the effectiveness of a solution is critical. SpamTitan and VadeSecure are effective at blocking threats and will provide an important additional layer of security for Office 365 users, but feedback we have received from MSPs show there is a clear winner.
VadeSecure includes ‘time-of-click’ protection against embedded hyperlinks, which rewrites URLs and sends them to a scanner. However, MSPs have reported that it can take a long time for phishing emails to be detected, even after threats would be blocked by Chrome. That means that phishing emails are being delivered and there is a window during which a successful attack could occur. This URL click feature only appears to work in OWA or the Outlook client as it is an API integration with Office 365.
SpamTitan includes more advanced detection methods to ensure that malicious URLs are detected and phishing emails are filtered out. SpamTitan includes SURBL filtering and other malicious URL detection mechanisms that complement the default mechanisms in Office 365 such as Recipient Verification Protocols, Sender Policy Frameworks, and Content Filter Agents. This means end users are better protected and there is a much lower probability of a phishing email evading detection.
Dual anti-virus protection is also provided and SpamTitan features a sandbox where suspicious attachments can be safely analyzed for malicious actions. This provides superior protection against malware, ransomware, and zero-day threats that are not detected by the two AV engines.
Any business that processes card payments is a target for cybercriminals, but restaurants in particular are favored by hackers. Over the past few weeks, cybercriminals have stepped up their efforts to attack these businesses and several restaurant chains have had their systems compromised. In all cases, malware has been installed on point-of-sale systems that steals payment card information when diners pay for their meals.
Many of the attacks have hit restaurant chains in the Midwest and East, with credit card data from diners recently having been listed for sale on the underground marketplace, Joker’s Stash. A batch of approximately 4 million credit and debit cards is being offered for sale, which comes from malware attacks at Moe’s, McAlister’s Deli, Krystal, and Schlotzsky’s.
The cyberattack on Krystal was detected in November, with the other three chains, all owned by Focus Brands, attacked in August. In total, the above chains have more than 1,750 restaurants and almost half of those locations, mostly in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina, were affected.
Catch Hospitality Group also announced in November that it had suffered a cyberattack which had seen malware installed on its point-of-sale system that scraped and exfiltrated payment card data as diners paid for their meals. The data breach affected customers of Catch NYC, Catch Roof, and Catch Steak restaurants. Fortunately, the devices used to process the majority of payments were unaffected. Malware was on the Catch NYC and Catch Roof devices between March 2019 and October 2019, with Catch Steak affected between September 2019 and October 2019.
Church’s Chicken restaurants were also attacked in a separate incident in October. The majority of its 1,000+ restaurants were not affected, but at least 160 restaurants in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas had malware installed on their POS system.
Other restaurant chains that have been attacked in 2019 include Checker’s Drive-In, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Huddle House, Applebee’s, Chilli’s, and Earl Enterprises (Buca di Beppo, Chicken Guy, Tequila Taqueria, Mixology, Planet Hollywood). Malware n the systems of Earl Enterprises had been present for almost a year before it was detected.
How to Improve Restaurant Cybersecurity
Restaurants process many thousands of card transactions which makes them an attractive target for hackers. Restaurants often use out-of-date operating systems, have vulnerability-ridden legacy hardware, and their cybersecurity solutions often leave a lot to be desired. Consequently, cyberattacks on restaurants are relatively easy to perform, at least compared to many other types of businesses.
In order to infect the POS system, the attackers will need network access. That is most commonly gained via phishing emails, drive-by malware downloads, or by abusing remote access tools. Direct attacks are also possible using techniques such as SQL injection and weak passwords can be easily guessed using brute force tactics.
The malware that sits on systems and exfiltrates data tends to have a very small footprint and is often stealthy as it needs to be present for long periods of time to collect payment card data. That can make it hard to detect when it has been installed. The key to security is therefore improving defenses to make sure the malware is not installed in the first place, which means preventing the attackers from gaining access to the network.
Listed below are some easy-to-implement steps that will help restaurants improve their security posture and block attacks. The key is defense in depth through layered security.
Use an enterprise-grade firewall –Ensure an enterprise-grade firewall is purchased. A firewall will prevent unauthorized individuals from gaining access to your network resources.
Patch promptly and update all software and firmware – Ensure patches are applied promptly and software and firmware updates are implemented when they are released. That includes all systems and networked devices, not just your POS.
Upgrade hardware – When your hardware is approaching end of life it is time to upgrade. Unsupported hardware (and software) will no longer be updated and vulnerabilities will no longer be fixed.
Lockdown your POS: Use whitelisting or otherwise lock down POS systems to make it harder for malware to operate. Only allow trusted apps to run on your POS systems.
Install powerful antivirus software – Ensure all devices are protected by a powerful anti-virus solution and that it is set to update virus definitions automatically. Regularly scan the network for malware, especially your POS.
Implement an intrusion detection system – These systems monitor the network for unusual activity that could indicate a malware infection, attackers searching the network for the POS system, and unusual traffic that could indicate data exfiltration.
Change all default passwords and set strong passwords – To protect against brute force attacks, ensure strong passwords are set on all systems and all default passwords are changed. Also implement rate limiting to block attempts to access a system or device after a set number of failed password attempts.
Implement a powerful spam filtering solution – A powerful email security solution, such as SpamTitan, is required to prevent spam and malicious emails from being delivered to end users. Even if you have Office 365, you will need a third-party email security solution to block email-based threats.
Restrict Internet access with a DNS filter – A DNS filter such as WebTitan provides protection against drive-by malware downloads and web-based phishing attacks. WebTitan will block all known malicious websites and those with a low trust score. The solution can also be configured to prevent employees from accessing categories of websites where malware downloads are more likely.
Disable Remote Access if Possible – Disable Remote Desktop Protocol and all remote access tools. If remote access tools are required to allow essential maintenance work to be completed, ensure they can only used via a VPN and restrict the people who can use those tools.
According to research from Channel Futures, security is the fastest growing service for 73% of managed service providers (MSPs). If you have yet to start offering security services to your clients, you are missing out on a steady income stream that could really boost your profits. But where should you start? What services should you be offering? In this post we will be exploring the ideal security stack for MSPs and the essential services that should form the core of your security offering.
Why is Managed Security is so Important?
As an MSP, you should be aware of the importance of security. Companies are being targeted by cybercriminals and data breaches are occurring at an alarming rate. It is no longer a case of whether a business will be attacked, it is a case of when and how often.
Many SMBs do not have sufficiently skilled staff to handle IT and it is far easier, and often more cost effective, to outsource their IT to MSPs. The same is true for security, but even more so due to the difficulty finding sufficiently skilled cybersecurity staff. With so many positions available and a national shortage of cybersecurity staff, cybersecurity professionals can afford to pick and choose there they work. SMBs must ensure they are well protected against cyberattacks, so they look to MSPs to provide security-as-a-service either as a stop gap measure while they try to fill internal positions or so they can forget about security and let an MSP look after that side of the business.
If you are not providing security services to your clients, they will most likely search for another MSP that can protect their business from threats such as malware, ransomware, phishing, botnets, and prevent costly data breaches.
What do SMBs Want?
SMBs may be aware of the need for security, but they may not be so clued up about the solutions they need to protect them from cyber threats. You may need to explain to them exactly what they need and why. What is vital when explaining cybersecurity to SMBs is to emphasize the need for layered security. No single solution will provide protection against all threats and you will need to educate your clients about this.
Layered security is essential for protecting against ever increasing cybersecurity threats. No single solution will provide total protection. You need overlapping layers so that if one layer is bypassed, others are there to block the attack.
You should certainly be initiating conversations with your clients about security. Many SMBs only look for security services after they experience a costly data breach. By being proactive and approaching your clients and offering security services, you will not only have a much greater opportunity for increasing sales quickly, you will help them avoid a costly data breach and will not have to clear up the mess that such a breach causes.
What is the Ideal Security Stack for MSPs?
The best place to start is with a cybersecurity package that includes the core security services that all businesses need to protect them from a broad range of threats. Different packages can be offered based on the level of protection your clients need and their level of risk tolerance. Extra services can always be provided as add-ons.
There are four key security services you should be offering to your clients to give them enterprise-grade protection to secure their networks and protect against the main attack vectors. The ideal security stack for MSPs will differ from company to company, depending on the kind of clients that each MSP has. It may take some time to find the ideal security stack, but a good place to start is with core security services that every business will need.
Core Security Services for MSPs
Firewalls
Email security
DNS filtering
Endpoint security
Firewalls are essential for securing the network perimeter and separating trusted from untrusted networks. They will protect network resources and infrastructure against unauthorized access. It may even be necessary to implement multiple firewalls.
Email security is essential as this is the most common attack vector. Without email security, malware and phishing emails will hit inboxes and employees’ security awareness will be regularly put to the test. The threat of email attacks cannot be understated.
Email security must be explained to clients to ensure they understand its importance and why standard email security such as that provided by Microsoft through Office 365 simply doesn’t cut in anymore. Too many threats bypass Office 365 defenses. A study by Avanan showed that 25% of phishing emails bypass Office 365 security and are delivered to inboxes.
DNS filtering is also a requirement to protect against web-based attacks such as malvertising, drive-by downloads, and exploit kits. Even the best email security solutions will not block all phishing threats. DNS filtering provides an additional layer of security to protect against phishing attacks. While email was once the primary method of delivering malware, now malware is most commonly delivered via web-based attacks. The average business user now encounters three malicious links per day and 80% of malware is downloaded via the internet. Further, with more and more employees spending at least some of the week working remotely, protection is needed for public Wi-Fi hotspots. DNS filtering provides that protection when they are off the network.
Endpoint security solutions add another layer to the security stack. If any of the above solutions fail and malware is downloaded, endpoint security solutions will provide extra protection. This can include basic protection such as antivirus software or more advanced solutions such as intrusion detection systems.
When choosing solutions for your security stack, it is important to make sure they work seamlessly together. This can be difficult if you purchase security solutions from a lot of different vendors.
Additional Services to Add to your Security Stack.
The above security services should form the core of your security offering, but there are many additional services you can easily provide to ensure your clients are better protected. These can be offered as addons or as part of more comprehensive security packages.
Data loss protection
Security helpdesk
Email archiving and backup services
Vulnerability scanning and patch management
Security policy management
Security information and event management (SIEM)
Incident response and remediation
Security awareness training and phishing email simulations
How TitanHQ Can Help
TitanHQ is the global leader in cloud-based email and web security solutions for the MSP that services the SMB market. TitanHQ products are consistently rated highly by MSPs for the level of protection, ease of use, ease of admin, and the level of support provided.
The TitanHQ portfolio of cybersecurity products consists of three core solutions:
SpamTitan Email Security
WebTitan DNS Filtering
ArcTitan Email Archiving
Each of these solutions has a 100% cloud-based architecture and has been developed for MSPs to easily incorporate into their security stacks. TitanHQ offers seamless deployments and easy incorporation into MSP’s management portals via RESTful API.
The above solutions can be supplied with multiple hosting options. You can host with TitanHQ, on your existing infrastructure or in the cloud with AWS, Azure or any other system.
SMBs want to know they are protected, but many don’t care about what solutions are used. This gives you an opportunity to reinforce your brand. This is easily achieved with TitanHQ as the above solutions can be provided in white label form, ready for you to add your own branding. You can even customize the user interface and only include the features that you need to reduce complexity.
Need reports for your clients? No problem. TitanHQ has an extensive range of pre-configured reports that can be scheduled to ease your admin burden, including board-level reports with scope to create your own reports to meet you and your clients’ needs.
Other key features for MSPs include:
Multi-tenant dashboard
Automated policy management
Continuous monitoring
Full visibility of usage
Flexible, affordable, and transparent pricing with monthly billing
Set and forget solutions to ease the admin burden
World-class customer support included with all solutions
AD integration
Generous margins for MSPs
Competitive pricing with monthly billing
Excellent MSP program – TitanShield – with dedicated account managers, assigned sales engineers, scalable pre-sales and technical support, and sales and technical training
TitanHQ has made it as easy as possible for MSPs to start offering security services to their clients. These solutions will also help established security-as-a-service providers ease their management burden and improve their margins.
To find out more about the TitanShield program and for further information on any or all of TitanHQ’s security solutions for MSPs, get in touch with the channel team today. Product demonstrations can be arranged and free 14-day trials are available to allow you to see for yourself why TitanHQ is the leading provider of email and web security solutions for MSPs.
Feedback from TitanShield Program Members
TitanHQ solutions are consistently rated highly by users with the solutions praised for the protection they provide, value for money, and ease of set up and use. The solutions have achieved top marks on independent review sites such as G2 Crowd, Expert Insights, with overwhelmingly positive reviews on Capterra, Spiceworks, Gartner Peer Insights, Software Advice, and Google Reviews.
Here’s what some of our MSP customers are saying about TitanHQ solutions they have implemented to protect their clients and increase their bottom lines.
“By reducing malware-related security incidents, you’re reducing your number one uncontrollable expense: the people on your IT operations team, like your help desk techs.” – MSP, Washington, US
“It’s baked into our fees as well, and our Crypto calls dropped to 0” – MSP, London, UK
“Web filtering is one of the, if not the greatest bang for your buck services. It’s built in anti malware has protected our clients, saving us thousands of hours of repair time I am absolutely certain.” – MSP, New York, US
“I don’t remember the last time one of our customers got Cryptolocker. I bundle it with our offering so that they get it no matter what just to make my life easier on virus removal or data problems.” – MSP, Seattle, US
“a key part of our security stack as we’ve scaled to over 6,000 managed endpoints, while decreasing virus and malware related tickets by 70%.” – MSP, Boston, US
“It has paid for itself many times over by reducing malware calls.” – MSP, Toronto, Canada
The event will be attended by thousands of IT professionals, business owners, and industry leaders who will be discussing the IT industry, recent advances in information technology, and the latest trends affecting MSPs. The conference provides an excellent opportunity for learning, networking, and collaboration and boasts an extensive program of interactive sessions, keynotes, and in-depth training sessions. The event also showcases the latest IT solutions and provides tips and tricks to ensure every ounce of value is squeezed from those tools.
This year’s event promises to be bigger and better than ever before, thanks to an all-star cast of thought leaders and industry professionals who will provide practical advice to help you improve every aspect of your business.
Connect IT Europe covers the entire Kaseya universe and the diverse ecosystem of solutions that serve IT professionals. The conference will help attendees find new revenue streams, increase their profit margins, and simplify IT management through educational presentations, workshops, roundtables, and interactive challenges.
As the leading provider of cloud-based email and web security solutions for MSPs serving the SMB market, TitanHQ is proud to be a Silver sponsor of the event. Attendees will have the opportunity to discover why TitanHQ is the leading provider of cloud-based email and web security solutions for MSPs servicing the SMB marketplace and the features and benefits of SpamTitan email security, WebTitan DNS filtering, and ArcTitan email archiving that make the solutions such a hit with MSPs and IT professionals.
The event will be attended by TitanHQ Strategic Alliance Manager Marc Ludden and Alliances/MSP Partner Manager Eddie Monaghan. Marc and Eddie will be explaining the recently launched TitanShield program for MSPs and how TitanHQ solutions can help MSPs improve efficiency, profitability, and security of their operations and enhance their customers’ security postures.
If you would like further information on TitanHQ products, feel free to reach out to Marc and Eddie ahead of the event:
Eddie Monaghan, MSP Alliance Manager, LinkedIn
Marc Ludden, MSP Alliance Manager, LinkedIn
TitanHQ is proud to be a platinum sponsor of DattCon19, Paris – The leading event for MSPs looking to keep up to date on the latest industry trends, learn best practices, form new and profitable partnerships, and obtain invaluable advice that will help them grow their business and become more successful.
The event gives the TitanHQ team an opportunity to meet with leading MSPs, MSSPs, and ISPs and explain why TitanHQ is the global leader in cloud-based email and web security solutions for the MSP that services the SMB market.
The team will be available to explain the benefits of the TitanShield MSP program and show just how easy it is to integrate TitanHQ products into your service stacks and start rolling out spam filtering, web filtering, and email archiving to your customers… and the best way to sell those services, reduce the time you spend on providing support, and improve the profitability of your business.
The event will be attended by Rocco Donnino, TitanHQ VP of Strategic Partnerships, Marc Ludden, TitanHQ Strategic Alliance Manager, and Eddie Monaghan. Alliances/MSP Partner Manager.
On Tuesday October 22 between 11:15am and 11:35am, Rocco Donnino will be explaining Email & Web Security for the SMB Market. Rocco will talk about the trends TitanHQ are seeing in the email and web security for SMB markets globally, drawing on the experience from working with over 2,200 MSP customers worldwide.
Marc Ludden and Eddie Monaghan will be on hand to meet with MSPs and ISPs to explain the benefits of joining the TitanShield MSP Program and how best to take advantage of TitanHQ’s proven technology and deliver our advanced network security solutions directly to their client base. The pair will be helping MSP partners push TitanHQ products downstream to their customers and grow their businesses.
The event will be attended by more than 1000 MSPs, ITSPs, and industry leaders. Over the three days of the conference, attendees will get to hear from the most successful MSPs and MSSPs and discover what they are doing differently and how they are driving growth.
The sessions, keynotes, and networking opportunities will help you get better at running your business with Datto Solutions and discover how the addition of key products such as SpamTitan email security, WebTitan DNS filtering, and ArcTitan email archiving can improve profitability and add greater value.
The keynotes will be bigger and better than ever before and will be taken by 80 of the best and brightest business tycoons, MSPs, and Datto executives, who will share valuable real-world insights and best practices.
The Peer Forums are more intimate small-group roundtable sessions that provide high-value networking on key topics. These sessions are driven by attendees who will share pain points, success stories, and best practices that have been proven to help MSPs grow their business. This year’s Peer Forums are on the following topics:
Business Strategy
Service Delivery: Driving Efficiency & Automation
Selling Networking as a Managed Service
Women in Tech
French Language Peer Forum: Business Strategy
Service Delivery: Service Desk & Professional Services
M&A: How Do I Acquire or Be Acquired?
Security: Securing Your MSP First
German Language Peer Forum: Business Strategy
Service Delivery: Client Engagement & vCIO
Add to that the networking opportunities and the stunning location and you have an invaluable event that is not to be missed.
DattoCon19 Paris will be taking place on October 21st, 22nd and 23rd at the Palais des congrès de Paris, 2 Place de la Porte Maillot, 75017 Paris, France.
In Idaho, library content filtering is now mandatory. H.B.194, which was signed into law in April, requires llibraries in Idaho to implement a content filtering system by July 2020 that is capable of preventing minors from accessing objectionable content. Not only does that content filtering system need to prevent library computers from being used to access undesirable content, the content filter must also cover library WiFi networks.
The law change was introduced in to prevent children from accessing pornography on library computers, which various studies have shown can cause considerable harm. Without filters in place, children could access adult content or inadvertently see adult content on other users’ screens. There have been many reports in the media and on internet forums of library patrons catching glimpses of pornography being accessed in plain sight of others.
Some library directors and library boards are unhappy with the law change for two main reasons. The first concerns a potential violation of First Amendments rights. The American Civil Liberties Union has voiced its concerns, stating “Ultimately, blocking software prevents users from accessing a wide range of valuable information, including such topics as art, literature, women’s health, politics, religion and free speech, which is in direct violation of our First Amendment rights.”
The view that filtering means other content will also be blocked is outdated. While the overblocking of internet content was once a concern, modern internet content filters for libraries are much more advanced and allow highly granular control of internet content. Modern filters are also much better at categorizing content than they once were. Further, easy-to-use interfaces reduce the potential for user error setting the content controls.
The filters also prevent malware downloads and block access to phishing forms, which further enhances protection for users and protects library networks from malware and ransomware attacks.
The other main issue is one of cost. While libraries can obtain discounts under the e-rate program if they implement content filters to comply with the the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), Idaho libraries otherwise have to cover the cost of the filtering controls themselves. No additional money has been made available.
Implementing Library Content Filtering for WiFi Networks is Easy
Little guidance has been provided on how libraries should implement the filters and there is confusion over how the filters can be applied to wired and WiFi networks.
Traditional filters require an appliance to be purchased which is costly. The appliance sits between the user and the internet and all traffic passes through that device and content controls are applied. This is problematic, especially when library devices are supplied for use off-site as all traffic must be hauled back to the appliance and then back to the device, which can result in significant latency (slow internet speeds).
A more cost-effective and trouble-free solution is a DNS-based filter. DNS-based filters apply filtering controls at the DNS level. No appliance needs to be purchased – which means a significant cost saving – and there is no latency. All the filtering takes place on the service provider’s server, not locally on an appliance device.
This system also allows filtering to take place on WiFi networks. Any device that connects to the WiFi network will only be able to access the filtered Internet service. Blocks can also be placed on anonymizer services to prevent filtering controls from being bypassed and DNS filtering can also be used to protect mobile devices, even those used off site.
TitanHQ’s content filtering solution for libraries – WebTitan Cloud and WebTitan Cloud for WiFi – not only incorporate highly granular controls to prevent overblocking of internet content, the solution requires no technical skill to operate, no hardware purchases are required, and no software downloads are necessary. WebTitan Cloud and WebTitan Cloud for WiFi are also low-cost content filtering solutions for libraries. Typical licensing costs are less than $1 per user per month.
If you are struggling to find a content filtering solution for your library, give the TitanHQ team a call. You will be able to have your questions answered about how to implement the solution, you can schedule a product demonstration to see how easy the solution is to operate, and can also take advantage of a free trial to see for yourself how precise the filtering controls are.
Benefits of WebTitan Cloud for Libraries
Create a family-friendly, safe and secure web browsing environment.
Block access to illegal content and pornography without blocking educational material
Block malicious websites and malware downloads
Accurately filter web content through 53 pre-set categories and up to 10 custom categories.
Filter by keyword and keyword score.
Inspect encrypted websites.
Filter content in 200 languages.
Apply time-based filtering controls.
Control bandwidth use.
Filter the Internet across multiple WiFi hotspots.
Manage access points through a single web-based administration panel.
Delegate management of access points.
Schedule and run reports on demand with real time-views of Internet activity and extensive drill down reporting.
Over the next three months, TitanHQ will be travelling throughout Europe and the United States to meet with managed services providers (MSPs) at some of the biggest trade shows serving the MSP community.
The trade shows and conferences bring together the best MSPs from around the world and gives them the opportunity to learn about new industry trends, best practices, and proven tactics for increasing growth. The shows provide a tremendous opportunity for networking and bring together MSPs and companies offering MSP-focused cybersecurity solutions.
For the past 20 years, TitanHQ has been developing cybersecurity solutions for MSPs and the SMBs marketplace. From humble beginnings, the company has grown into a leading provider of cloud-based email security, web security, and email archiving solutions for MSPs. TitanHQ products have now been adopted by more than 7,500 businesses and 2,000 MSPs around the globe.
TitanHQ products are much loved by MSPs as they have been developed specifically to meet their needs. The solutions are quick and easy to implement and maintain and they save MSPs a considerable amount of support and engineering time by blocking email and web-based cyberattacks at source.
At these MSP events you will be able to find out more about the benefits of cloud-based spam filtering and the importance of adding web filtering to your service stack. The TitanHQ team will be on hand to answer questions about the products and will explain how the solutions can be seamlessly integrated into your client management platforms and how they can make your life easier and improve your bottom line.
Come and Meet the TitanHQ Team at these fall MSP Trade Shows and Conferences
Date
Event
Location
September 17, 2019
Datto Dublin
The Alex Hotel, Dublin, Ireland
September 18, 2019
MSH Summit
155 Bishopsgate, London, UK
October 6-10, 2019
Gitex
Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE
October 7-8, 2019
CompTIA EMEA Show
Park Plaza Westminster Bridge,
London, UK
October 16-17, 2019
Canalys Cybersecurity Forum
SOFIA Barcelona, Spain
October 21-23, 2019
DattoCon Paris
Palais des Congrès de Paris, Paris, France
October 30, 2019
MSH Summit North
Hilton Hotel, Manchester, UK
October 30, 2019
IT Nation Evolve (HTG 4)
Hyatt Regency, Orlando, Florida, USA
October 30, 2019
IT Nation Connect
Hyatt Regency, Orlando, Florida, USA
November 5-7, 2019
Kaseya Connect
NH Collection Amsterdam Gran Hotel Krasnapolsky, Amsterdam, Netherlands
If you are planning on attending any of the above events this fall, be sure to come and visit the TitanHQ team to discuss your options and feel free to reach out in advance of the event to arrange a meeting.
Rocco Donnino, Executive Vice President-Strategic Alliances, LinkedIn
Eddie Monaghan, MSP Alliance Manager, LinkedIn
Marc Ludden, MSP Alliance Manager, LinkedIn
If you are unable to attend any of these exciting events, give the team a call for further product information, to book a product demonstration, or to sign up for a free trial of SpamTitan, WebTitan, and ArcTitan.
OneStopIT, one of the leading Managed Service Providers (MSPs) in the UK, has partnered with TitanHQ and will be incorporating TitanHQ cloud-based email and web security solutions into its service stack to better protect its customer base.
Businesses in the UK are increasingly being targeted by cybercriminals. A variety of tactics are used to obtain company funds, sensitive data, and company secrets. Attacks may be diverse, but they typically start with a phishing email and/or visit to a malicious website.
Cyberattacks are now being reported at record levels and business leaders are understandably worried. To better protect their networks and data, many turn to MSPs such as OneStopIT for help protecting their networks and data.
“The proliferation of phishing threats across Office 365 is a real problem for SME’s in the UK and we’re partnering with a key vendor in this space to protect our customers and also give them the OneStopIT premium service they are used to,” said Ally Hollins-Kirk, CEO of OneStopIT.
TitanHQ has developed powerful email and web security solutions for the SMB marketplace that have been developed to be easily delivered via MSPs. SpamTitan is a cloud-based anti-spam and anti-phishing solution that incorporates DMARC authentication and a sandboxing feature to protect against email impersonation, phishing, and email-based malware attacks. WebTitan is a DNS-based web filtering solution for content control and protection from web-based threats. The solution is backed up by a threat intelligence database of 650 million people. TitanHQ’s email archiving service, ArcTitan, allows MSPs to offer a secure, email archiving service to help businesses meet their compliance obligations.
Under the new partnership agreement, OneStopIT will be offering its customers advanced email security and anti-phishing protection, DNS-based web filtering, and an email archiving service powered by TitanHQ technology.
“TitanHQ is pleased to add our advanced threat protection layer for email and web security to the OneStopIT security stack,” said Rocco Donnino, President of Strategic Alliances, TitanHQ. “OneStopIT has excelled in the areas of customer service and security, our partnership further cements this commitment.”
Join the TitanHQ MSP Partner Program
TitanHQ has gained extensive experience from working with managed service providers for more than two decades. During that time, the company has listened to the needs of MSPs and has incorporated all of the features MSPs could reasonably expect from cybersecurity solutions to meet the needs of even their most demanding clients. All TitanHQ solutions were created from the group up with MSPs in mind, with the solutions easy to implement and requiring little management. The aim has always been to allow MSPs to increase revenue for as little effort as possible, while ensuring their clients are protected from from the full range of cyber threats.
To better meet the needs of MSPs, TitanHQ developed the TitanSHIELD Program for MSPs. MSPs joining the TitanSHIELD MSP program receive one-to-one training with our sales engineers and have a dedicated account manager, assigned sales engineer support, access to the Global Partner Program Hotline, access to the Partner Knowledge Base, 24/7 priority technical support, online technical training and FAQs, access to the Partner Technical Knowledge Base, and full access to an extensive range of marketing materials and sales tools.
TitanHQ now has more than 1,500 MSP and ISP clients worldwide who are protecting their clients from email and web-based attacks, while helping them to meet their compliance obligations through the ArcTitan email archiving solution. If you would like to join the TitanSHIELD program, give the TitanHQ MSP team a call today.
The excitement is building as DattoCon19 draws ever closer. Starting on June 17, 2019 in San Diego and running for three days, DattoCon19 is an unmissable event for managed service providers (MSPs).
At the conference, attendees benefit from practical advice and best practices to grow their businesses, increase sales, and boost monthly recurring revenue (MRR). A huge range of vendors will be on hand to offer information on exciting products and attendees will have the opportunity to learn strategies to increase business impact growth, boost profitability, and broaden their service stacks.
Sessions will be taken by industry experts and leading MSPs who will share tips and tricks to take back home and apply at the office. On average, attendees at DattoCon achieve 41% sales growth year-over-year as a result of attending the conference.
TitanHQ is sponsoring DattoCon19 and is excited about having the opportunity to meet new MSPs and help them grow their businesses. As a Datto Select Vendor, TitanHQ offers MSPs three cloud-based solutions that can be easily integrated into existing MSPs service stacks: Anti-phishing and anti-spam protection, DNS-based web filtering, and email archiving. All three solutions are available through the TitanShield program for MSPs.
MSPs can meet the TitanHQ team at booth 23 at DattoCon19 to find out more about the TitanShield program and the exciting opportunities for MSPs that work with TitanHQ. TitanHQ will be on hand to help MSPs that support Office 365 to improve protection against phishing attacks and malware. MSPs can also find out more about the TitanHQ threat intelligence that protects Datto DNA and D200 boxes, and how TitanHQ’s DNS filter is a direct swap out for Cisco Umbrella and the cost advantages of doing so.
TitanHQ Executive Vice President-Strategic Alliances, Rocco Donnino, is one of the panel members for the Datto Select Avendors event on Monday. The event brings together experts from different fields to help come up with solutions for some of the major problems faced by MSPs in today’s marketplace.
TitanHQ at DattoCon19
TitanHQ will be at booth 23
Special Show Pricing available
Daily TitanHQ vintage Irish whiskey raffle
TitanHQ and BVOIP are sponsoring a GasLamp District Takeover Party on Monday 6/17 and Wed, 6/19.
DattoCon19 will be taking place in San Diego, California on June 17-19, 2019. If you are not yet registered for the event you can do so here
The leading review website, G2, has published its 2019 Best Software Companies in EMEA list. This is the first time that the company has produced the list, which ranks the best software companies doing business in EMEA based on the feedback provided by users of those products.
G2 is one of the most well-respected business software review websites. Software solutions may appear to tick all the right boxes, but in practice the solutions can be time consuming and difficult to use and fail to live up to expectations. Since the G2 reviews are from registered users of the products, businesses can not only rely on the reviews but can also use them to make smarter buying decisions.
To compile the list, G2 compiled the reviews of over 66,000 users in the software category. More than 900 companies were represented, but only those that performed best in the reviews have made the cut in their respective categories.
TitanHQ has been awarded top spot in the list of the best software companies of 2019 in EMEA.
TitanHQ has developed powerful cybersecurity solutions to meet the needs of businesses and MSPs, but the solutions have also been developed to be easy to use. The solutions are versatile, flexible,and scalable, and can be managed via an intuitive web-based management console with a full reporting suite. A full range of APIs are supplied to allow the solutions to be integrated into existing management software and industry-leading customer support ensures that help is always available to resolve any customer issues.
“TitanHQ is delighted to have been included in the 2019 Best Software Companies in EMEA list. The inclusion shows the value our customers place on the uncompromised security and real-time threat detection we provide,” said Ronan Kavanagh, CEO, TitanHQ. “The overwhelmingly positive feedback from on G2 Crowd is indicative of our commitment to ensuring the highest levels of customer success.”
“With 750,000+ user reviews, 80,000+ products and 1,600+ tech and service categories on G2, TitanHQ’s recognition on the prestigious Best Software Companies in EMEA list is an exceptional achievement: One that can only be earned through the endorsement of its users,” said CEO Godard Abel.
TitanHQ has announced a new partnership with the French Value Added Distributor (VAD) Exer that will see the company’s award-winning cloud-based spam filtering, DNS filtering, and email archiving solutions offered to Exer partners throughout France.
Exer is a leading VAD in France. The company currently works with more than 600 value added resellers (VARs) and integrators in France and specializes in network security, enterprise mobile infrastructure, Wi-Fi, and a range of cybersecurity and managed services. The new collaboration will increase the choice of solutions available to French VARs and will help them improve security for their clients and meet their compliance requirements.
For more than two decades, TitanHQ has been developing innovative cybersecurity solutions for SMBs and MSPs to protect against the ever-growing range of cyberthreats. Starting off by offering anti-spam solutions, the company’s product portfolio has been expanded to include DNS filtering and email archiving.
The solutions have now been adopted by more than 7,500 businesses and are offered by over 1,500 MSPs around the globe. SpamTitan now blocks more than 7 billion spam emails each month, WebTitan blocks more than 60 million malicious websites every month, and ArcTitan is used to securely archive and store more than 10 million emails a month.
Over the past few years, TitanHQ has enjoyed excellent growth and has expanded its global footprint considerably. One of the company’s aims in 2019 is to increase its client base in France. The partnership with Exer was therefore a no brainer.
“Our advanced threat protection for email and web security was designed to keep businesses productive and information secure. We are pleased to be offering the Exer partner community choice, enhanced functionality and greater overall value,” explained TitanHQ Executive VP, Rocco Donnino.
Exer was keen to expand its range of cybersecurity solutions to better protect its clients from an ever-increasing range of web-based and email-based threats. The volume of cyberattacks now being conducted means cybersecurity has never been so important.
“Collaboration with TitanHQ is an opportunity to represent a brand internationally recognized on 3 key technologies: Web Content Filtering, Anti-Spam, and Email Archiving. We are eager to propose these security solutions to ours VARs,” explained Exer CEO, Michel Grunspan. “Our regional presence and our expertise will be our strength for asserting the presence of TitanHQ in the French market”
French VARs can find out more about TitanHQ’s email security, web security, and email archiving solutions at Exer’s Tour De France events over the next few months. The events start in Lille on May 23, 2019 at Hameau de la Becque and will be taking place at various cities throughout France over the following months.
TitanHQ, the leading provider of cloud security solutions for SMBs, has announced a new partner program has been launched to support Managed Service Providers (MSPs), Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs), Cloud Distributors, Wi-Fi Providers, OEM Partners and Technology Alliance Partners..
TitanHQ started its journey in 1999. Initially, the company provided anti-spam solutions to local businesses in Ireland. Over the next two decades, the company expanded its range of products to include DNS filtering and email archiving solutions and is now a leading global player of cloud-based cybersecurity solutions.
While TitanHQ initially focused on meeting the needs of the SMB market, its products have been developed to meet the needs of MSPs. For instance, TitanHQ solutions are available with a range of hosting options, including the ability to host the solution within the MSPs own environment, and they can be provided in white-label form ready to take MSP’s branding.
TitanHQ’s cloud-based solutions have been developed to be easy to implement, use, and manage and are already a firm favorite with MSPs.
To make TitanHQ cloud security solutions even more attractive for MSPs, the existing partner program has been significantly enhanced and relaunched as TitanShield.
The TItanShield Partner Program makes it even easier to offer TitanHQ cloud security products to clients. Partners benefit from access to engineers, a highly capable support team that understands the needs of MSPs, and a dedicated account manager.
Partners have access to APIs to allow them to easily sell, onboard, manage and deliver advanced network security solutions directly to their client base from within their own user interfaces. In addition, partners receive free access to sales and technical resources, deal registration and lead generation resources, and benefit from flexible, volume-based monthly pricing models and profitable margins.
Under the new, enhanced partner program, customers are separated into their specific areas of expertise to ensure that each can be provided with focused information for the markets and customers they serve.
“Our program takes a unique and strategic approach for our partners and can be customized to fit all business models,” said Rocco Donnino, Executive VP of Strategic Alliances at TitanHQ.
If you want to become a highly valued member of the TitanHQ TitanShield Partner Program, enrollment is now open. Call TitanHQ today or email partners@titanhq.com for further information.
In our previous post we explained why managed service providers (MSPs) should be offering a web filtering service to their customers and the benefits that can be gained by customers and MSPs alike. In this post we explain what makes WebTitan Cloud the go-to web filtering solution for MSPs and why so many MSPs have chosen TitanHQ as their web filtering partner.
Why WebTitan Cloud is the Best Web Filter for MSPs
One problem MSPs face before they can start offering a web content filtering appliance to their clients is how to incorporate the solution into their service stacks and their existing cloud offerings. While there are many providers of web filtering services, not all solutions have been developed with MSPs in mind. TitanHQ differs in that respect.
TitanHQ’s web filtering solution, WebTitan Cloud, has been developed specifically to meet the needs of MSPs and make it as easy as possible for the solution to be added to their existing cloud offerings. WebTitan Cloud seamlessly integrates within existing workflows regardless of whether MSPs self-host, use AWS, Azure, or other cloud platforms.
Why WebTitan is Perfect for MSP’s
Save on customer support time, hours and cost. No more costly ransomware call outs.
Gives your clients excellent protection against malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks.
Real time LIVE updating of malware and malicious threats with an active database of 650 million users driving the AI driven protection.
Easy filtering at multiple levels with the capability to recognize users in many different ways.
Protection from web threats for office and remote users.
Reporting with full AD integration – Easy to show your customers the volume of malicious attacks you have prevented.
Great for improving revenue – Generate regular monthly revenue for very little effort.
Easy client account administration via a central control panel.
Multiple hosting options: Deployed in our cloud, a private cloud, or in your data center.
Intuitive controls with low management overhead.
API driven for advanced back-end integration in your own systems, including billing and reporting.
Flexible pricing to suit your business, including monthly billing.
Multi-tenant solution with advanced customer management features.
Highly scalable with no latency.
Highly customizable – can be provided as a white label ready for your logos and color scheme.
Leading alternative to OpenDNS Cisco Umbrella at a fraction of the price.
Industry-leading technical support and customer service.
No punitive terms, measures, or sharp practices and a fully transparent pricing policy with no hidden costs.
How Does WebTitan Cloud Integrate into MSPs Management Systems?
To make integration as easy as possible, TitanHQ uses RESTful API, which allows fast and risk-free integration into MSPs management systems. WebTitan Cloud uses the OAuth 1.0 protocol for authentication and has a full set of keys and secrets in the WebTitan Cloud user interface (UI). Once an MSP has signed up, no further registration or authentication is necessary. The API client provides the appropriate oauth_signature to authorize requests to protected resources.
Overly complex user interfaces are a problem with many cloud-based solutions. With WebTitan Cloud, the UI is made as clean and easy to use as possible. MSPs can remove all elements from the UI that are not required to keep the UI clean and simple. WebTitan Cloud can also be integrated into MSP cloud interfaces to create a better user experience and greater consistency for customers.
Having information at your fingertips is important when customers send in requests or when reports are required on web use and blocking. WebTitan Cloud allows MSPs to create and integrate a full suite of high-level system and customer reports into their own management consoles.
Onboarding new customers is also a quick and simple process, which can be integrated into current MSP on-boarding processes. New customer accounts can easily be created (or deleted) from within an MSP’s own UI, in addition to performing updates and listing all current customer accounts.
MSPs can connect to WebTitan Cloud to manage their customers settings, including locations, whitelists, and blacklists. Customers that would prefer to manage their own settings can perform a limited number of operations themselves using APIs. Since WebTitan Cloud is available in a full white label, customers who do access their own settings can be given a UI with MSP branding rather than TitanHQ’s to maintain consistency and help reinforce the MSPs brand.
TitanHQ also operates an extremely competitive pricing strategy with generous margins for MSPs and aligned monthly billing cycles through the TitanShield MSP Program.
If you have yet to start offering web filtering to your clients as part of your service stack or if you are unhappy with your current provider’s product, contact TitanHQ today and as about becoming a member of the TitanShield MSP Program. Product demonstrations can also be scheduled on request.
Feedback from MSP Clients
“WebTitan is an outstanding tool for most reliable content filtering. The monitoring feature of this specific product is quite unique that totally monitors all the process of online working and also secures all the data. Additionally, its set-up is superb easy and it can be done in just few minutes that save my time and energy as well.” – Kristie H. Account Manager
“WebTitan is fairly easy to setup. It is available as a cloud based solution or on prem. You can get as simple or as complicated with your filtering as you like, it will handle most situations with ease. It has provided us with a stable web filtering platform that has worked well for us for many years.” – Derek A. Network Manager
“WebTitan is outstanding software that helps me a lot in minimizing viruses. The thing I like most about WebTitan is that it is extremely easy to use and configure. I like its clear interface. It lets us block malicious content and spam easily. It is no doubt an amazing product helping us a lot in kicking out harmful bad stuff.” – Randy Q. Software Engineer
“By reducing malware-related security incidents, you’re reducing your number one uncontrollable expense: the people on your IT operations team, like your help desk techs.” – MSP, Washington, US
“a key part of our security stack as we’ve scaled to over 6,000 managed endpoints, while decreasing virus and malware related tickets by 70%.” – MSP, Boston, US
“It has paid for itself many times over by reducing malware calls.” – MSP, Toronto, Canada
A web filtering service allows Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to better protect their clients from accidental malware downloads and phishing attacks while improving their bottom lines. Further, by preventing phishing attacks and malware infections, they can reduce the amount of time they spend fighting fires. For busy MSPs, the latter will be especially beneficial.
Why is Web Filtering Important?
There are several reasons why MSP clients will benefit from a web filtering service. First and foremost, a web filter will help to prevent their customers’ employees from visiting phishing websites and malicious URLs. Most phishing attacks start with a phishing email, so a powerful spam filtering solution is essential. While commercial spam filters such as SpamTitan will block more than 99% of spam and phishing emails, additional protections are required to protect against the 1% that bypass spam defenses.
Naturally end user security awareness training will help in this regard, but as the 2018 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report shows, 30% of delivered phishing messages are opened by end users and 12% of those users also click on malicious links in the messages.
A web filter is an additional layer of anti-phishing and anti-malware defenses that kicks in when malicious links are clicked and when end users attempt to visit other malicious sites while browsing the Internet. With a web filter in place, when an employee attempts to access a malicious web page, that attempt will be blocked before any content is downloaded. Instead of displaying the web page, a block page will be displayed.
Web filters also allow companies to carefully control the types of content their employees can access. This allows them to enforce acceptable internet usage policies with ease. Employers can prevent their employees from accessing NSFW content such as pornography, illegal content and, if tighter controls are required to improve productivity, other categories of web content such as dating sites, social media networks, gambling sites, and gaming sites.
With a web filter in place, security and productivity can both be quickly improved and the gains in both of those areas is likely to more than pay for the cost of the web filtering package provided by their MSP.
Cloud Based Web Filtering Solutions for MSPs
Convincing customers to implement a web filtering solution should be straightforward given the number of phishing attacks that are now being conducted and the cost of mitigating phishing attacks and malware infections. The cost of web filtering is tiny by comparison.
For MSPs, cloud-based filtering solutions are the natural choice. They can be implemented in minutes once a customer request has been received, no hardware is required, there is no software to install, and patching is handled by the service provider. All that is required from the MSP is a brief set up and configuration for each customer and ongoing management and reporting.
However, not all cloud-based web filtering solutions make set up, management and reporting simple. WebTitan Cloud differs in this respect. Not only does the solution offer excellent protection, the solution has been developed specifically with MSPs in mind. The ease of integration into MSP’s back-end systems and management has made WebTitan Cloud the go-to web filtering solution for MSPs.
In our next post we will explain how WebTitan Cloud differs from other web filtering solutions, why it is the easiest solution for MSPs to integrate into their existing cloud offerings, and how TitanHQ makes getting started, provisioning new customers, and managing customer accounts a quick and easy process requiring the minimal management overhead.
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