Technology Reseller v07

technolog y reseller.co.uk BULLETIN : TRENDS 7 User accounts of ex-employees a gaping hole in security Failure to secure the user accounts of former employees is putting organisations’ security at risk, warns One Identity. In a study of 900 IT security professionals, only 14% said they removed access for users immediately upon a change in HR status and only 9% are confident they have no dormant accounts. More than eight out of 10 (84%) confessed that it takes a month or longer to discover these dangerous open doors into the enterprise. “Today, when employees leave an organisation or change roles within the same organisation, it’s more critical than ever that any access rights to the corporate network, systems and data are revoked or modified to match their new status,” said John Milburn, president and general manager of One Identity. “The overwhelming lack of confidence that organisations are doing this in a timely manner means they are offering up a gaping security hole for former employees or hackers to exploit those identities and wreak havoc for hours, weeks or even months to come.” Seven out of 10 respondents admitted they couldn’t be sure that user accounts of former employees are fully deactivated in a timely manner. www.oneidentity.com   No downside to using LED lights to supplement WiFi Energy-saving LEDs could help meet demand for wireless communications without affecting the quality of light or the environmental benefits they deliver, new research funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has shown. A University of Edinburgh team has found that transmitting digital data via LEDs, known as Light Fidelity or LiFi, at the same time as using them to generate light does not make the light dimmer or change its colour, nor does it make the LED more energy-hungry. Dr Popoola of the University of Edinburgh, who led the research, said: “Our ever more connected world will need more bandwidth than the overcrowded Radio Frequency part of the spectrum can provide. Our results are very encouraging for the future of light-based communications that could help realise the full economic and social potential of a wireless future. It’s vital that LED manufacturers know what impact the incorporation of data transmission capabilities would have on their products. Our research shows that there’s no downside to using LED lights to supplement WiFi.” www.epsrc.ac.uk Four out of every five businesses across the US and UK will change how they deal with security in the coming 12 months, claims SolarWinds MSP. Its new report, The Path to MSSP , reveals that 17% of companies intend to switch their current service provider in the next 12 months, 10% want to cease outsourcing in favour of in-house management and 49% plan to outsource their security for the first time. In total, the report identifies five opportunities for IT solution providers and MSPs that are able to prove their security services credentials. Ranked in order of size, they are: n Businesses currently handling security internally that now want to outsource their security primarily due to cost (25% of the market); n Businesses currently handling security internally that now want to outsource it to improve performance (24% of the market); n Businesses currently outsourcing that are considering taking security back in- house (10% of the market); n Businesses considering switching service provider due to poor performance (9% of the market); and n Businesses considering changing providers to reduce costs (8% of the market). www.solarwindsmsp.com IT security distributors disappoint More than half (59%) of IT security resellers in the UK think distributors are not doing enough to support them, according to a report by security distributor Alpha Generation Distribution. Only one third of resellers questioned think the distributors they work with are trustworthy and value building genuine relationships with their partners; just 22% think they focus on long-term proactive security; and only 10% say distributors truly understand end-user needs. When resellers were asked what the biggest IT security concerns are for end-users, data or intellectual property loss via a hack came first (89%), followed by ransomware (86%), malware (67%), phishing (56%) and Distributed Denial-of- Service attacks (42%). Chris Walsh, Sales Director at Alpha Generation, said: “Our findings confirm the need for security distributors to think like a reseller, and that means better understanding end-user challenges and finding the right products and services to match. This is critical if we as an industry are to keep up with the ongoing battle against cyber attackers.” He added that a strong channel relationship includes helping partners find complementary technologies and providing enhanced marketing support and on-going training in new technologies. www.alpha-gen.co.uk Mobile opportunity More than half (51%) of businesses expect to increase the size of their field workforce within the next five years, creating opportunities for the channel to sell mobile printers and scanners. More than one third (37%) of IT professionals surveyed by Brother UK say they are investing in mobile scanners and 19% are equipping staff with mobile printers. www.brother.co.uk/fast-forward Dr Popoola Half of businesses plan to outsource security within 12 months