Episodes

The Last Control Domain discussed on the fireside chat is Physical and Environmental Security. This domain was taken directly from the CompTIA Cybersecurity Trustmark, and while it wasn't done in sequence like the majority of the domains, it is not a result of it being overlooked. However, many MSPs often fail to give much attention to it. Join Matt Lee and me as we walk through the 16 safeguards.

Whether you are aligning your cybersecurity to CIS Top 18, the Cybersecurity Trustmark, or any of the many other frameworks, you are bound to get stuck in an attempt to achieve perfection. I sit down with Charles Love of Showtech Solutions to tackle the challenges of progress in the face of paralysis. Stay to the end to get the Ten Commandments of Framework Implementation.

Many of us remember the days of trying to recover data off of a physically damaged drive, human error of deleted files, and many other scenarios. I sit down with Sarah Farrell and Andy Maus of Drive Savers to debunk a few myths around drive recovery and many new technologies developed to recover data that seem near impossible to save.

As we wrap up Cybersecurity Month, I had a chance to sit down with Wayne Selk, VP of CompTIA Cybersecurity Programs and Executive Director of CompTIA ISAO, to discuss Risk Management and its role in cybersecurity—flashback to the late 90s and the changes we have seen that bring us to today.

We have discussed what happens when a vendor is just gone. What happens when a vendor has an outage or some business disruption? Do you jump to another vendor? Do you plan to weather the storm, or do you pivot? Eric Hanson of Inland Productivity Solutions and I sit down and discuss the challenges faced with business disruptions and failures that might require a pivot... Then again, they might not.

What is your company's will? This Fireside Chat with Matt Lee tackles the Acceptable Use Policy, Written information security plan, Roles, and responsibilities. Please give us feedback, as we have a pretty healthy disagreement on a few items and are hoping that you, the listener, can help us find a new path forward.

From CompTIA MSP Community to the larger IT Community at large. Dawn Sizer of 3rd Element Consulting and Henry Timm of Phantom Technology Solutions are great CompTIA community members who volunteer their time for not just CompTIA but other great communities that make us all better together. This is a great conversation around what is available to you both from networking and education down to tools and resources that can help you get involved and improve your cybersecurity posture.

Talking about risk shouldn't be difficult, but it is as I sit down with Peter Maynard of SMB1001. There are so many challenges in cybersecurity, but sometimes we need to look through the lens of risk. SMBs worldwide will soon be asking their MSPs about how they can help them align their cybersecurity posture with a set of safeguards that will complement what MSPs pursuing the CompTIA Cybersecurity Trustmark can manage or support for their new or existing clients.

Most technological advancements in IT or OT are made with the best of intentions. What happens when the technology you have acquired causes unintended consequences? I sit down with Ryan Morris of Morris Management Partners to discuss what he sees in the world of OT and the opportunities for existing and prospective clients.

Control 18 has only five safeguards, yet you can spend an entire year preparing for it. Matt Lee of Pax8 and I will help you understand each safeguard and the importance of getting this right and the pitfalls to avoid.

Don't Forget about VoIP as you onboard new clients or even with existing clients. There are significant risks in not including some level of management of the VoIP system or providing some support when there are issues on the network. I sit down with Alec Stanners of bVoIP to talk a bit about the history of VoIP solutions and the challenges we faced in the early days versus the cybersecurity challenges MSPs face today.

Each of the items in the title are titles for show episodes dating all the way back to the beginning of 2020. They have made the top 10 playbacks for all time. I sit down with Chad Holstead of the BKS Team to talk through current trends and challenges related to these five.

We take a moment to remember where we were as an MSP. Joshua Smith of Reliaquest and Charles Love of ShowTech Solutions and I reflect on the technologies and challenges we faced more than eight years ago and then look at what has changed since.

Last week we talked about playbooks and runbooks... This week we are back in the CIS Top 18 controls, #17 and while the timing might be coincidental it is a perfect fit. What we have learned going through the first 16 controls to get to here. Listen to Matt Lee of Pax8 unpack the safeguards and perhaps here a bit of a tussle as we grapple with Yellow Brick Road or Wizard of OZ... you decide!

What happens if your RMM goes down and doesn't come back? We sit down with Mike Stewart of Anchor Networks and Charles Love of ShowTech Solutions to get their take on the importance of Runbooks. By the way, they were at a peer group and brought this up. Let's just say those who sleep alone at night are always looking for friends to share their no-sleep drama.

I always like to catch one or two attendees of an event after they get home to see what did they come away with. I spoke with Jim Harryman of Kinetic Technology Group to get his reaction on an event that he has now attended for the third year in a row. If you weren't at Channelcon24 I hope this gives you some FOMO and that we will see you at CCF and ChannelCon 2025.

The demand for cyber soldiers is always on the rise. We look at the challenges of protecting Critical Infrastructure and that while there is a lot of Doom and Gloom... there is hope. I sit down with Chris Storey of Qriar to discuss the importance of Incident response planning and how the right plan and some education might actually create a tipping point!

Using a framework to find gaps in your organization is a great way to improve your security posture. Have you thought about using the same framework with your clients? I think you find this discussion with Jim Harryman of Kinetic Technology Group a real eye-opener to the opportunities you have to reduce risk within your own company and that of your clients.

We are finally talking about Application Software Security with Matt Lee of Pax8. We went deep on a few safeguards and found some tangents.

Ever wonder what the world outside of IT does with cybersecurity awareness training? If they don’t engage with an MSP, how many do it at all? I sit down with Jennie Johnson of TCE Company to get her perspective on transitioning from the world of education (K12) to working in the IT Managed Services space.

We have all configured Email automation at some point and we often use systems and tools that automate email notifications with actions or instructions. With that being said, how often do we check in on the recipient as to whether or not the action and instructions are being followed. Listen to Charles Love of ShowTech Solutions share his experience and resolution when it comes to email automation as it pertains to Security Awareness Training.

Talking through the CompTIA Cybersecurity Audit outcome with Jim Harryman of Kinetic Technology Group. Obtaining the Trustmark is no small feat and requires dedication and effort by the entire organization. In this episode, we will talk about where they find themselves as they navigate the next twelve months as they prepare for the next audit.

We find ourselves getting closer to the end of CIS Top 18. In this episode, Matt Lee of Pax8 and I discuss Service Provider Management. Matt does an excellent job of laying out a success path for any MSP to implement. You should note that this is a non-technical control.

If you didn't get a chance to attend the sessions on MSP+ Playbooks or tabletop exercises, then join Matt Topper and me as we recap some of our interactions with attendees and feedback from both our sessions. In this episode there are no fire alarms.