LAST YEAR, we all learned a lot about the importance of contact tracing to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. CDN Technologies is applying a similar concept to protect our clients against the spread of ransomware and other cyberattacks. It’s all part of our 2021 theme of safety—for our clients, our company, and our employees.
As MSPs, we do everything possible to keep our clients’ data safe. They trust that we’ll proactively protect them against cyberattacks through our services, which include penetration testing, security awareness training, tabletop incident response exercises, webinars, and workshops. But our clients don’t transact business in a bubble. They interact with their customers and vendors and take advantage of APIs to automate processes. These touchpoints leave openings for cybercriminals.
That’s why CDN Technologies is expanding the circle of safety for our clients by offering some of our security services to our clients’ customers and vendors—for free. With pen testing, for instance, we help them discover the how, not who. We show them the holes and how a hacker could get in, and ask them to consider if they have the right tools in place to defend themselves and prevent a future incident. In addition, our incident response tabletop exercises focus on the who, not how. Our team helps with who will be responsible for what actions if an incident occurs, because it’s everybody’s responsibility.
What has resonated: We’re all in this together. Our clients have been very receptive to inviting their customers and vendors to participate in our free offerings. We can see in our CRM that they are sharing and forwarding the free version of our security awareness training on YouTube to help secure and protect their circle of safety.
The byproduct of this effort is twofold. First and most important, we are making our clients safer because we’re making their supply chain safer. Second, it allows CDN Technologies to expand our marketing and become more widely known as a trusted authority and resource.
Keeping Ourselves Safe
At the same time, we work to keep the company safe by staying apprised of industry threats and developments. We pen test internally, continually work on our SOPs, and maintain detailed records. We also require a strong security posture from vendors. For example, our security questionnaire asks them to specify where they store our data, if they have an incident response plan, if they are NIST compliant, and more.
CDN Technologies prioritizes employee safety, both physically and mentally. MSPs are deemed essential workers in Canada so we have kept our office open. Although our employees can choose to work from home, most want to be in the office, so we have completely revamped our space to ensure social distancing and to keep traffic in communal areas light. When technicians need to go on-site, everyone follows all COVID protocols.
On the mental health side, our longstanding practice of having all employees go through professional development training from the Disney Institute has not only enabled us to deliver superior service, but has given our staff the emotional skills to navigate the unique challenges and stresses we are all facing. Disney training teaches how to be “”givers”” when it comes to the emotional needs of clients, how to stay calm, and how to keep things moving forward in a positive direction.
These invaluable skills are another tool for keeping clients amenable to security protocols. While users are waiting to be authenticated, for example, our technicians know how to engage them in a conversation about the weather or cat filters on Zoom. This interaction lessens the pain of taking that extra security step while deepening relationships at the same time.
While we can’t put our clients, our employees, or our business in a bubble, we can expand the circle of safety for all.
Photo: Fotografia Boutique
