SMB Community Podcast

Host Karl chats with Jonathan Seelig.

Jonathan Seelig is the Executive Chairman and Chief Evangelist of Ridge. He co-founded Ridge with the goal of building highly distributed cloud infrastructure, thereby enabling users to deploy cloud native applications on any infrastructure and in any location. He previously co-founded Akamai, the world's first and largest CDN. Jonathan has worked on distributed, low latency, high performance infrastructure for over 25 years. Description:

With the rapidly increasing pace of digital transformation, many managed service providers (MSPs) and cloud service providers are at a crossroads: they need to decide how to best continue to support their customers as they continue to migrate to the cloud.

While the hyperscale public cloud model is an attractive proposition for some customers, there are many existing and planned use cases and business models for which local data centers and MSPs can be a better fit. These businesses' cloud computing environments may be a blend of server types: on-premises, bare-metal, co-located, and distributed across multiple continents. No single cloud architecture with preset locations can offer them a consistently optimized level of application performance and deployment flexibility. Companies need a cloud provider that can customize a cloud for evolving business needs.

Local cloud service providers and MSPs should therefore consider how they convert digital transformation into a home-field advantage. By integrating modern cloud-native services into their offering, in addition to their traditional services, they will offer a robust alternative to the large public cloud and will be in an excellent position to fulfill evolving customer needs.

Today, Joanthan discusses some of the key benefits for managed service providers with existing cloud offerings to add modern cloud-native services to their existing portfolio, including:

• Monetize existing infrastructure
• Add new revenue streams
• Win business that will otherwise default to the public clouds
• Become the go-to service providers for emerging location dependent applications
• Ensure long-term customer retention

Resources and Links: https://www.ridge.co/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/11808567/

https://www.youtube.com/c/RidgeCloud

Sponsor Memo: SBTTC

This podcast is sponsored by the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community. Check us out at https://www.SmallBizThoughts.org

Forms, templates, and checklists are just the start. Our Community includes ALL of the best-selling books on managed services in all available formats, plus free training, members-only programs, and the best business training available to managed service providers anywhere.

Plus, we have weekly live members-only Zoom calls. The average member saves more than 200% of their membership cost each year. We are totally dedicated to YOUR success.

Just because you're in business for yourself doesn't mean you have to go it alone. Join us today at https://www.SmallBizThoughts.org

:-)

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Topic 1: Could it actually be possible that the SolarWinds hack was “good” for their business?

https://www.scmagazine.com/feature/incident-response/why-solarwinds-just-may-be-one-of-the-most-secure-software-companies-in-the-tech-universe

No one would argue that being the victim of “the largest and most damaging security breach in US history” is a good thing. But as a result of the hack, SolarWinds took unprecedented steps to fundamentally reengineer their approach to security and dev-ops … and they are telling a surprisingly compelling story about how this makes them the most secure system in the industry. What’s more, it seems like customers are listening … and buying. Do you buy it?

Topic 2: Headline: Twitter is bad at data security and privacy.

Conclusion: No duh.

https://www.protocol.com/policy/mudge-twitter-whistleblower-hearing

The Twitter whistleblower testified in congress yesterday … and he made the “shocking” accusation that Twitter doesn’t have (and never has had) sufficient control systems for data protection. Thank you, Captain Obvious. This brings up a few questions: 1) does any social media company have sufficient data controls (no); 2) is there any appetite to make social media companies accountable for actual privacy / security (no); and 3) why does our society accept the presence of a tech platform that is “too big to control” and not simply turn it off if it can’t be made secure?

Topic 3: Because Security needs another piece of jargon: Beware Sock Puppet phishing

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hackers-now-use-sock-puppets-for-more-realistic-phishing-attacks/

Or would you rather call the attack 'multi-persona impersonation' (MPI)? That’s the name used by researchers at Proofpoint.

Basically, this is an orchestrated attack where the bad guys control multiple email accounts and email back and forth with the target in the middle of the cc: string. The idea is to provide (fake) social proof. 

Sponsor Memo: SBTTC

This podcast is sponsored by the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community. Check us out at https://www.SmallBizThoughts.org

Forms, templates, and checklists are just the start. Our Community includes ALL of the best-selling books on managed services in all available formats, plus free training, members-only programs, and the best business training available to managed service providers anywhere.

Plus, we have weekly live members-only Zoom calls. The average member saves more than 200% of their membership cost each year. We are totally dedicated to YOUR success. 

Just because you're in business for yourself doesn't mean you have to go it alone. Join us today at https://www.SmallBizThoughts.org

:-)

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In this edition of SMBCP, Host Karl catches up with Jadon and Erin of Bitdefender on the latest of Modern Security Operations.

Learn the differences between EDR, XDR, and MDR as we delve into why detection and response services are necassary for your business.

Erin has been in the technology industry for over a decade, beginning in Public and Analyst Relations before transitioning to her true passion, product marketing. As Senior Manager, Product Marketing at Bitdefender, Erin focuses on all things Managed Detection & Response (MDR) and is responsible for developing messaging, positioning, and go-to-market strategies that reflect the voice of the customer and convey the true value-props of managed cybersecurity services. Before joining Bitdefender, Erin was a product marketer at Expel, focusing on MDR, threat hunting, and partner integrations.

Jadon is a product manager who specializes in bringing new technologies to market, including a SOAR platform at Rapid7 and a Cloud Attack Surface Management Product at Censys. He recently created Rapid7's Active Response capability for their MDR service, ensuring expeditious remediation in the case of an incident. As a Senior Director of Product Management at Bitdefender, Jadon is the product leader of the MDR service. Jadon is a Las Vegas native whose true joys in life are chicken wings, mezcal, and watching reality TV. Bitdefender is a cybersecurity leader delivering best-in-class threat prevention, detection, and response solutions worldwide. Guardian over millions of consumer, business, and government environments, Bitdefender is one of the industry's most trusted experts for eliminating threats, protecting privacy and data, and enabling cyber resilience. With deep investments in research and development, Bitdefender Labs discovers over 400 new threats each minute and validates around 40 billion daily threat queries. The company has pioneered breakthrough innovations in antimalware, IoT security, behavioral analytics, and artificial intelligence, and its technology is licensed by more than 150 of the world's most recognized technology brands. Launched in 2001, Bitdefender has customers in 170+ countries with offices around the world.

For more information, visit https://www.bitdefender.com

Resources and Links:

https://www.bitdefender.com/content/dam/bitdefender/business/products/managed-detection-and-response/Bitdefender-GravityZone-MDR-Datasheet-en.pdf

https://www.bitdefender.com/business/enterprise-products/managed-detection-response-service.html

Sponsor Memo: Cisco Did you know Cisco helps Managed Services Providers directly? Know about the Cisco Partner Program?

Focused on helping partners combine managed services expertise and service creation with innovative Cisco technology and proven go-to-market resources, there's a program option for you. With provider pricing, MDF, and marketing resources coupled with Cisco's leading technologies inculding Meraki, Duo, and Umbrella, learn more with the link right in the show notes. https://lnkd.in/gsydMya

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Topic 1: Any surprises in the research? SMBs need MSPs

“A new survey of over 500 IT decision makers at small and medium businesses, from threat detection and response specialist Vade, shows 69 percent say a serious breach had bypassed their current email security solution.

It's perhaps not surprising then that SMBs are increasingly likely to turn to managed service providers, with 96 percent of organizations either currently outsourcing at least some of their needs to MSPs or planning to do so in the future.” 

See https://betanews.com/2022/09/08/smbs-turn-to-msps-to-improve-cybersecurity/

Topic 2: California passes well-intentioned “Age-Appropriate Design Code Act”

...and then makes it unenforceable  because of absurd fines. With fines at $7,500 per affected student, the only options are 1) Go out of business, or 2) Use every penny you have to fight enforcement of the law.

https://www.wired.com/story/california-aadc-kids-privacy-age-checks/ 

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/california-s-landmark-age-appropriate-3001597/

Topic 3: Police departments subscribe to a geolocation database that lets them bypass warrants to track mobile devices.

The database “Fog Reveal” is available by subscription. For less than $10,000/year, law enforcement agencies can search historical records from 250 million mobile devices. This gives them the power to create "patterns of life" analysis on individuals. The cell phone tracking tool allows them to track GPS movements going back months. Very often, this is done without warrants.

https://apnews.com/article/technology-police-government-surveillance-d395409ef5a8c6c3f6cdab5b1d0e27ef

...and don’t forget www.Data.gov  - over 335,000 government databases open to the public.

Sponsor: Nodeware

Know about Nodeware? 

Nodeware is an in-demand and real-time cybersecurity solution that helps businesses reduce their risk of ransomware or other cyber attacks —all with breakthrough simplicity and affordability.

With truly continuous vulnerability scanning, even during normal business hours, you’ll get real-time alerts of network access & new found risks, with easy and insightful reports to take action on and report to your customers.

Want to learn more? Visit https://nodeware.com/partners to find out more.

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Host James chats with Daniel Wang of MSPbots. Daniel Wang is a seasoned MSP owner, and CEO of MSPbots, a software platform that uses dashboards, and bots to help MSP automate the business process, and help manage, and train employees.

MSPbots has the best dashboard software for MSP, easily creating MicroTraining bots to alert employees, and providing real-time Microtraining based on KPI changes, and incidents based on the data.

Resources and Links:

https://mspbots.ai

Sponsor Memo: SBTTC

This podcast is sponsored by the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community. Check us out at http://www.SmallBizThoughts.org

Forms, templates, and checklists are just the start. Our Community includes ALL of the best-selling books on managed services in all available formats, plus free training, members-only programs, and the best business training available to managed service providers anywhere.

Plus, we have weekly live members-only Zoom calls. The average member saves more than 200% of their membership cost each year. We are totally dedicated to YOUR success.

Just because you're in business for yourself doesn't mean you have to go it alone. Join us today at http://www.SmallBizThoughts.org

:-)

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Welcome to Episode 180 of the Killing Podcast with special guest host Nadia Karatsoreos!

Nadia has assisted channel partners and customers in building their businesses by adopting best practices and resources that are proven to accelerate success and deliver an exceptional experience to the businesses they serve.

A results-oriented professional who puts partners first, Nadia has many years of experience in business development, community and channel relations. Her career in the MSP space started with Level Platforms in 2010 and since then she has held various roles at other vendors like GFI, Datto, NetApp and now Malwarebytes.  She has also served on Executive Councils for CompTIA's Managed Services, Cloud and Future Leaders Communities.

Nadia has been recognized by CRN as one of the Top Women of the Channel for multiple years (including 2022) and one of the Top 100 People You Don't Know but Should in 2016.

Topic 1: Do we need an AI “Accountability” board?

“Governments should protect residents from the harms of artificial intelligence and provide means of redress, according to researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

In a white paper from Berkeley’s Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity, the researchers said that anyone who has been harmed or damaged from the deployment of AI should have the right to complain to an agency or department that has oversight of that AI-driven system or be able to take legal action."

https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2022/08/make-ai-accountable-adding-redress-tools-researchers-say/376119/

https://cltc.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/AIs_Redress_Problem.pdf

Topic 2: Quietly Quitting - The Hot New Fad - without an agreed-upon definition

Some articles describe Quietly Quitting as taking back work/life balance. Other describe it as doing the bare minimum.

We speculate on what it is, and what it might mean.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/quiet-quitting-workplace-trend-just-120000048.html

Is QQ a natural consequence of employers’ push to get employees back in the office at any cost?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jpmorgan-ceo-jamie-dimon-rips-062715020.html?guccounter=1

The real question is: can you sincerely create engagement and community without being in the same office location 5 days a week? (Short answer: yes.) 

Topic 3: Do you have the right to repair . . . your tractor?

Wired magazine discusses “jailbreaking” your John Deere.

Seriously: This will affect the larger right to repair debate.

https://www.wired.com/story/gadget-lab-podcast-562/

Sponsor Memo: Linode

Linode – a top Infrastructure as a Service provider has resources specifically for helping MSPs explore the alternative cloud. Discover this growing market: one of the best-kept secrets in building a scalable, thriving, modern Managed Service Provider business. Learn about the cloud provider landscape, improving KPIs, security, and more in Linode's free ebook, The MSP's Guide to Modern Cloud Infrastructure, available now.

This resource and more at http://linode.com/mspradio

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Host Karl speaks with Robert Scott of Scott & Scott LLP.

Robert Scott represents mid-market and large enterprise companies in software license transactions and disputes with major software publishers such as Adobe, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP. He has defended over 250 software audit matters initiated by software piracy trade groups such as the BSA and SIIA. He is counsel to some of the world's largest corporations, such as Schlumberger, PepsiCo, Iron Mountain and American Express, on information technology matters including intellectual property licensing, risk management, data privacy, and outsourcing.

As an attorney for 26 years, Robert Scott understands that law firms rarely get fans. Yet, that's exactly what his firm, Scott & Scott, LLP, has in owners of managed services provider companies. In what Scott, who has spent 15 years serving MSPs, called an "exciting" time, the firm earned the enthusiasts through its cloud-based customer contracting solution.

Believing that collaboration between legal and technology professionals is the key to solving complex business problems, Scott & Scott, LLP helps with software disputes, intellectual property matters, corporate transactions, copyright litigation, security and privacy issues and information technology. The firm is committed to monitoring developing technologies and emerging law – as technology evolves rapidly, so do laws governing it – in order to provide efficient, highly focused representation. In its 15 years of practice, Scott & Scott has handled more 500 engagements involving software license transactions and audit disputes against Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Adobe, Autodesk, and many other companies. The firm has defended copyright infringement litigation by Microsoft, initiated wrongful termination litigation against Aptean, fought Adobe's damage calculations, and filed declaratory judgment litigation against Autodesk. Scott & Scott's client roster includes Fortune 500 companies and other leading companies of all sizes.

Resources and Links:

website: https://scottandscottllp.com/

blogs: https://scottandscottllp.com/blogs/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scottandscott

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScottandScott

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1loqaWnAyc0__O6EuhVACw?view_as=subscriber

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scott-&-scott-llp/

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Sponsor Memo: Acronis

Are you still relying on a frustrating patchwork of legacy solutions Modernize your cybersecurity and data protection with Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud.

It's a single solution that combines backup, anti-malware, and endpoint protection management. As an MSP, you can easily improve clients' security posture, eliminate complexity, and generate more recurring revenue.

Learn more about Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud at Acronis.com.

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Topic 1: Reverse mentoring in the technology industry increases understanding and opens opportunities for both sides of the mentor relationship

https://blog.hubspot.com/the-hustle/reverse-mentoring

Everyone knows a person of “a certain age” who is not as connected to or fluent with a new technology … even in the IT channel. And ironically, those people are much more likely to be senior executives in the business of IT. How will those highly experienced update their tech knowledge and bring new strategies to leveraging tech for business and for diversity in the industry? Talk to a youth.

See also: https://relaxfocussucceed.com/2022/06/millennials-and-gen-x-are-not-a-problem-to-be-dealt-with/

Topic 2: Apprenticeships are going into industries beyond the trades … are reinforcements on the way? Or are companies still insisting on only hiring “the best of the best” in tech roles?

https://www.axios.com/2022/08/22/apprenticeships

It’s well known that there are massive shortages of cybersecurity workers … at the same time as cyber threats are are escalating. How can the industry catch up? Certainly not by insisting on advanced credentials for candidates who need to do jobs that focus on mass quantity cyber threats. BTW: there’s a big difference between an “internship” and an “apprenticeship.”

https://www.protocol.com/newsletters/protocol-workplace/pwc-pulse-survey?rebelltitem=5#rebelltitem5

Companies are shifting from rapid hiring to layoffs … while still indicating they intend to hire. It’s a natural impulse to continuously improve the mix of talent in your workforce, but will this strategy of “only the best” ever catch up with cybersecurity needs?

Topic 3: Amazon is leaning into the healthcare industry … with some fairly predictable performance so far

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/08/19/amazon-care-patient-safety-concerns/

The notion of a business model is fairly straightforward: what you do + who you do it for x how you do it = how you make money. Not too many variables, and every time someone says they’re going to use technology to revolutionize or disrupt an industry, what they really mean is that they will replace human labor with technology for one of the business model elements. To absolutely no one’s surprise, Amazon’s efforts to disrupt the healthcare industry are leading to less human involvement in healthcare delivery. Is that a good thing?

Sponsor Memo: Gozynta

Do you like getting paid? Then make it easy for your customers with Gozynta Payments.

Do you teach your customers not to click on links from strange domain names like mymsp.monkeypayments.com or slowbooks.com? Gozynta Payments uses your branding and domain name. No redirects. No confusion.

Gozynta Mobius is trusted by over a thousand MSPs to sync financial data. Their new product Gozynta Payments is built with the same care and empathy to make the payment process easy for your customers.

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Topic 1: It’s time for cybersecurity to focus on the fundamentals instead of the “glory” case

https://www.pcmag.com/news/ex-cisa-chiefs-advice-at-black-hat-make-security-valuable-and-attacks-costly

In a world where we are addicted to having every possible device connected to the internet, the attack surface for cybersecurity threats gets bigger every day. But despite the dire prognosis for current cybersecurity capabilities, it can indeed get better, says former CISA head in Black Hat keynote.

Topic 2: Why Can’t Tech Fix Its Gender Problem?

https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/08/11/1056917/tech-fix-gender-problem/

Everyone can admit it: the tech industry has a massive problem with gender equity. But it’s one thing to acknowledge the problem, and another to actually do something about it. The questions that matter are: why does the problem exist…and what can we do to fix it? Hint: it’s always about the money.

Topic 3: Will Amazon Map the Inside of Your House?

https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-irobot-roomba-acquisition-data-privacy/ 

“AFTER DECADES OF creating war machines and home cleaning appliances, iRobot agreed to be acquired by Amazon for $1.7 billion, according to a joint statement by the two companies. If the deal goes through, it would give Amazon access to yet another wellspring of personal data: interior maps of Roomba owners’ homes.” - Wired Magazine

Sponsor Memo: Huntress

In the fight against today’s cybercriminals, we are much stronger as a community. That’s why Huntress is proud to launch the Huntress Neighborhood Watch Program: a collection of resources designed to help elevate the broader security community.

To kick off the Neighborhood Watch Program, Huntress is offering "internal use" licenses. These licenses will be available to the entire MSP community—regardless of if you are a Huntress partner or not—and will give you unrestricted access to the Huntress Managed Security Platform and their team of 24/7 threat hunters.

Harden your defenses, protect your own backyard, and better serve your customers by joining the Neighborhood Watch Program.

Join the neighborhood or learn more at http://huntress.com/neighborhood

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Topic 1: Possible Topic (KP) - Apple hires Lamborghini's chief of chassis development for its Car team

https://www.arenaev.com/lamborghini_chief_of_chassis_development_joins_the_apple_car_team-news-535.php

Actual topic: Have we lost the distinction between industries? Can anyone get into the car business? After all, Amazon and Google want to get into it.

Recall: General Dynamics and General Electric were both into pretty much any industry where they could make money. Are the “giants” of today just the latest generation of mega conglomerates? And what does that mean for our economy going forward? How does the small business make the most of this?

Topic 2: Women are better than men when it comes to self-driving cars Women better in driverless cars than men:

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/europe/women-better-in-driverless-cars-than-men-20220731-p5b5zv.html

When the need arises to take control, women have faster reflexes, better reactions, and are better at keeping the vehicle under control. Future SD cars may need to consider operator sex when handing over control.

Topic 3: The Cloud Native Label 

Vendors keep misusing the “cloud native” label. Customers may not care.

We keep applying “cloud native” to things like Kubernetes that are expressly not native to the cloud. Does it matter?

Sponsor Memo: PC Matic 

PC Matic — Endpoint Security built on a zero trust/default deny foundation.

Finally - a light weight, simple to deploy & easy to manage approach to application allowlisting.

The perfect compliment to your current security stack.  No minimums and no annual contracts.

Find out more about by visiting PCMatic.com/MSP today.

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