WannaCrypt Global Ransomware Attack Highlights a Worsening Data Hijacking Epidemic

E. Parizo

Summary Bullets:

• WannaCry, the largest-ever ransomware attack, is likely a harbinger of what’s to come.
• The emergence of ransomware highlights the importance of tying security to data backup and recovery.

Suddenly, the whole world knows about ransomware.

While ransomware is no secret to those in the cybersecurity industry who have seen a steadily growing number of isolated incidents, to everyone else, ransomware made its presence broadly known late last week. The largest-ever single ransomware incident, a variant of the WannaCrypt strain known (aptly) as WannaCry, caught tens of thousands of organizations in at least 150 countries by surprise, likely causing millions if not billions in damage. Read more of this post

The Top Five DevOps Takeaways from Google Cloud Next

C. Dunlap

Summary Bullets:

• Google made its play for the enterprise based on hefty investment abilities and innovation in app development platforms and data analytics.
• Google says it’s doubling down this year, and already winning over half of its cloud deal bids.

Pitted against Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS, Google understands its messaging needs to address its ability to cater to the mission-critical businesses of global enterprises embarking on new digital initiatives. In a word, it’s about innovation. That’s exactly what execs focused on this week during Google Cloud Next in San Francisco: a shift from consumer to enterprise apps that will carry large organizations into the next wave of cloud computing, which spans from high-level concepts around applications that leverage AI and machine learning to build apps that actually learn outcomes to emerging DevOps app development models and architectures. (Please see this Advisory Report for more coverage.) Read more of this post

RSA Conference 2017 Preview: Three Themes I’m Watching

E. Parizo

Summary Bullets:

• Serverless security and security product integration frameworks are two emerging InfoSec industry market segments worth watching.
• After contracting last year, the intrusion prevention system market should rebound thanks to new use cases and product innovation.

Next week, thousands of cybersecurity pros will converge in San Francisco for RSA Conference 2017. While there will be no shortage of interesting storylines, here are the three top themes I’ll be watching for at the industry’s largest annual confab: Read more of this post

Fortinet and Marketing Management: Third Time’s a Charm?

E. Parizo

Summary Bullets:

• New Fortinet marketing chief Stacey Wu plans to build Fortinet’s brand by leveraging its culture of innovation, imagination, and technical breakthroughs.
• It’s unclear whether Wu can overcome the pitfalls that recently doomed her two predecessors, namely wavering support for marketing by CEO Ken Xie.

When it comes to marketing, Fortinet has a checkered history. Historically, the company has not prioritized marketing, embracing a corporate identity that places technological innovation at the fore.

In recent years, however, the company has endeavored to increase marketing spending in order to bolster sales growth. It has also sought to create a brand and go-to-market message that matches the agility of its technology, which helps justify purchasing from a vendor that was previously unfamiliar to many IT buyers. But, these efforts have been inconsistent and uncoordinated; insiders and those close to Fortinet lay the blame on CEO Xie, noting his inability to commit to a consistent marketing strategy and his eagerness to redirect marketing funding back toward product development. Read more of this post

Symantec’s Strategic Merry-Go-Round: Questionable Short-Term Moves Hinder Long-Term Objectives

E. Parizo

Summary Bullets:

• Symantec’s moves to buy LifeLock and sue Zscaler will offer little effective support for Symantec’s stated strategic objectives.
• Symantec instead should seek small, tuck-in acquisitions and find new niches in which to foster innovation.

Symantec has long been a company searching for a strategy, or at least a good strategy. Over the years, it has suffered through several failed reinventions that sought to address an ongoing dearth of disparate products, a lack of organizational cohesion and focus, and an inability to foster competitive momentum through innovation. Read more of this post

Hello BlackBerry: Why Dropping Hardware Is Part of a Brighter, Security-Centric Future

E. Parizo

Summary Bullets:

• BlackBerry’s smartphone hardware exit is a positive development, not negative, and signals that the company’s turnaround is nearing completion.
• BlackBerry held on to its hardware long enough to grow its software and services business, a move now paying off strategically and financially.

I must respectfully disagree with my esteemed colleague Avi Greengart’s take on BlackBerry’s recent decision to exit smartphone hardware design and manufacturing. Not only is this a positive development for BlackBerry, but it’s also a key sign that the vendor’s dramatic turnaround is nearly complete. Read more of this post

Cisco Systems Should Buy MobileIron: Here’s Why

E. Parizo

Summary Bullets:

• Cisco’s enterprise security portfolio lacks a strong play on mobile devices, especially those running iOS or Android.
• By acquiring MobileIron, Cisco would gain strong enterprise EMM technology and the much-needed ability to enforce policy on disconnected mobile devices.

Tech industry prognosticators enjoy speculating about what companies Cisco will acquire next. In enterprise security, the vendor has a several needs, perhaps none more glaring than the need for improved mobile device security and policy enforcement.

Cisco’s security objective is to offer end-to-end security from the cloud to the endpoint, but it lacks a strong play on mobile devices – iOS and Android in particular – which has become crucial. On-network devices can benefit from the protection afforded by its network security capabilities, but when mobile devices leave the network, they are vulnerable, particularly to inbound malware. Read more of this post

Fortinet’s Special Opportunity Calls for Equally Special Leadership

Summary Bullets:

E. Parizo

• Fortinet has become a $1 billion enterprise security powerhouse, with potential for much more.
• To become the next Cisco, however, Fortinet will need unique, ambitious leadership.

It’s worth taking a moment to consider how far Fortinet has come. From humble beginnings in 2000 as a UTM startup, today Fortinet is a $1 billion enterprise security powerhouse, having shipped nearly twice as many security appliances as Cisco Systems (or anyone else) in the past three years and boasting more than 270,000 customers worldwide.

Fortinet has a unique opportunity. It, along with Palo Alto Networks (PAN), is on pace to surpass rival Cisco in quarterly security appliance revenue as soon as the next 12 months, and unlike PAN, Fortinet has long been profitable. Combine that with its broad product portfolio, its penchant for innovation, and its consistent ability execute in nearly all facets of its business, and it’s clear Fortinet can not only end Cisco’s market dominance, but it is also poised to become the next Cisco. Read more of this post