The IT Nerd

Nuspire, a leading managed security services provider (MSSP), announced findings from its second annual research study, revealing current challenges, priorities and purchasing trends of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs).

The study also charts how CISOs’ and IT security decision-makers’ (ITDMs) challenges and priorities have evolved since the first report was published in August 2022. Changes include a significant reduction in concerns over securing a remote workforce and an increased focus on cybersecurity insurance and incident response.

Additional findings from the study include:

1. Ten percent of CISOs/ITDMs manage all of their cybersecurity needs in-house.
2. CISOs/ITDMs with less than $1 million for outsourcing are more likely not to outsource compared to their peers with larger budgets.
3. CISOs/ITDMs report increased confidence in their cybersecurity systems, especially considering their security strategy relative to end-user compliance and peers.
4. CISOs/ITDMs are now more concerned with software applications and email/collaboration tools versus end users and endpoints, which topped the list last year.
5. The unique challenges and IT pressures of remote work have fizzled out from the benchmark study, making way for greater emphasis on attracting and retaining skilled cybersecurity professionals.

Nuspire’s research methodology involved anonymously surveying more than 200 U.S.-based CISOs and ITDMs from large to mid-size enterprise organizations across various industries, including manufacturing, financial services, information technology, healthcare, retail and more.

The “Second Annual CISO Research Report on Challenges and Buying Trends: A Focus on Optimization” is available on Nuspire’s website.

Nuspire has just released their Q1 2023 Threat Report. 

The quarterly report provides a comprehensive analysis of the threat landscape, examining threat data as well as specific tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) organizations should watch out for.  Notable findings from the report include: 

• Exploit activity grew by more than 150% in Q1 2023, with brute forcing far and away as the most popular tactic, followed by Apache Log4j.  
• Malware jumped nearly 40% in Q1, with JavaScript and Microsoft variants clocking in the most activity.  
• Botnets jumped almost 60% in Q1, and two new offenders emerged as top contenders: NetSupport RAT and FatalRAT. 

The report is available linked here,

Nuspire, a leading managed security services provider (MSSP), today announced that its CEO, Lewie Dunsworth, has been named to the Leading Managed Security Service Providers in the U.S. List 2023. The list is a comprehensive compilation of the top managed security service providers (MSSPs) operating in the United States compiled by Chief Data Officer (CDO) Magazine. 

The list features leading security service providers with a proven track record of providing innovative security solutions. These organizations manage, monitor and protect networks, devices and data from cyber threats. Each MSSP has been evaluated based on technical capabilities, customer service and industry recognition. 

With the increasing threat of cyberattacks, this list is a must-have resource for businesses, government agencies and other organizations seeking help in keeping their data and systems secure.

CDO Magazine grew out of MIT’s annual CDO and Information Quality Symposium (MIT CDOIQ), led since 2007 by the MIT Sloan School of Management, in partnership with the International Society of Chief Data Officers (isCDO) and ComSpark.

Nuspire, a leading managed security services provider (MSSP), has announced the launch of its Managed Microsoft Defender services for Endpoint, ID, O365 and Cloud App Security. The new service will help organizations realize the full value of Microsoft Defender through a seamless, expert-led managed solution.

Microsoft Defender offers robust protection against a wide range of threats, including malware, ransomware and other sophisticated attacks. However, configuring, tuning, maintaining and monitoring Microsoft Defender can be challenging, especially when it comes to technology and operating systems outside of the Windows environment. In addition, there is still a significant talent shortage in the security industry, and companies have fewer resources to manage security solutions like Defender and respond to threats.

To address these challenges, Nuspire’s Managed Microsoft Defender services leverage the expertise of seasoned security professionals to guide integration and implementation. Nuspire’s team will monitor, mitigate, respond to and remediate threats directly in a client’s environment. The service also provides 24×7 monitoring and SOC support to reduce false positives and alert fatigue.

For more information on Nuspire’s Managed Microsoft Defender services, please visit https://www.nuspire.com/services/managed-security/managed-microsoft-defender.  

Nuspire, a leading managed security services provider (MSSP), today announced it has been recognized as a leader in both growth and innovation in Frost & Sullivan’s Frost Radar^TM: Americas Managed and Professional Security Services, 2023. The report identifies companies that show significant growth potential, innovation and customer value within the MSS and PSS market.

When it comes to innovation, Frost & Sullivan heralds Nuspire’s breadth of managed security services, including MDR, EDR, vulnerability management and managed gateway through two 24x7x365 SOCs. The report also highlights Nuspire’s consulting business, which offers incident readiness, virtual CISO, threat modeling, and security posture assessments among other services.

Frost & Sullivan highlights Nuspire’s myNuspire platform. myNuspire integrates Nuspire’s security services into one portal view, with dashboards and actionable insights that provide clear recommendations on what Nuspire clients can do to augment their cyber risk mitigation.

From a growth perspective, the report cites Nuspire’s solid yearly growth, and that its strategy – including myNuspire and expanded partner program – continues to unlock growth opportunities in an increasingly competitive market.

To access a free copy of Frost Radar: Americas Managed and Professional Security Services, 2023, visit their website.

A new report regarding the cybersecurity threat landscape is scheduled to be released on February 15.

The study was conducted by Nuspire, a leading managed security services provider (MSSP).

New high-level findings include: 

• Top threats events in 2022
• A decrease in malware events in Q4 2022, but an increase in exploitation events (surge in network camera attacks and newly announced vulnerabilities)
• 2022 showed activity rising and the need for response across all sectors

Here’s some other high level findings:

Access Nuspire’s Q4 and Year in Review 2022 Threat Report to view the data and learn key mitigation strategies for protecting your organization’s environment. 

Nuspire, a leading managed security services provider (MSSP), today announced the rollout of its 2023 cybersecurity predictions. Compiled from Nuspire’s senior leadership team, these forecasts go beyond standard prediction fare, and while some may be considered controversial, they’re designed to promote forward-thinking discussions throughout the industry.  

Top predictions include: 

• Digital transformation is done. These days, companies can’t function without using digital technology in some way. The security industry has employed digital transformation to drive change, from application and mobile security to cloud security and security products. Digital transformation is old news, and if you haven’t adapted by now, it’s too late. 
• Security leadership roles will increasingly be filled by unqualified individuals, creating a level of chaos never before seen in the security field. With (ISC)² reporting a global cybersecurity talent shortage of 3.4 million workers, companies are scrambling to fill those roles, including openings for CISOs and other security leaders. The struggle to find professionals who not only understand the cybersecurity space, but also have a broader view and appreciation of the business, will cause a ripple effect of damage that will be felt for years to come.  
• National leaders will finally take steps related to a U.S. answer to GDPR. The increased national-level conversation surrounding personal data protection (ostensibly from the perspective of consumer transactions), coupled with the potential for a very public national or international corporate data breach or politically motivated attack will spur dramatic changes to policies, processes and controls for all IT/IS leaders in the U.S. The gravity of this will have an outsized effect on SMBs with constrained operating budgets. 

Nuspire is unveiling its predictions over the next several weeks via a video series featuring the company’s cybersecurity veterans (and resident soothsayers). Additionally, Nuspire will present its full complement of predictions Jan. 17, 2023 during a live webinar with our in-house panel of experts.  

Nuspire is just launched its latest threat report. Here’s the highlights of what the threat landscape looks like at present.

Notable findings from Nuspire’s quarterly report include: 

• A 236.22% jump in Kryptik variants, which are a type of trojan malware distributed to victims through phishing campaigns. Their goal is to steal information, including cryptocurrency wallets, files and SSH keys. 
• An increase of 35.39% in botnet activity, mostly attributed to Torpig Mebroot, a banking trojan designed to scrape and collect credit card and payment information from infected devices.  
• Remote access trojans (RATs) are popular with threat actors, with the report indicating increased activity from RATs like ZeroAccess and Xtreme RAT. 
• Vulnerabilities, particularly those containing a remote code execution, continue to be a go-to target for cyber criminals. In Q3, VMware Workspace ONE Access and Identity Manager as well as the Zimbra Collaboration Suite saw heightened activity. 

You can read the full threat report here and is very much worth your time to read.