Sophos Cyber Threat Report: Become A Security Expert

Businesses today can no longer afford to ignore the elephant or, should we say, the exploit in the room. In part one of this Cyber Threat Report from Sophos, we take a closer look at the new era of exploits and how solution providers like you can become security experts to help stem the tide.

Exploits are what hackers use for spreading ransomware like WannaCry. Exploits are also used to break into company networks to steal credentials and other sensitive data that is then sold on the dark web or used for different types of cybercrime sprees, including the SamSam ransomware attacks.

Yet, according to Sophos’ survey, 54 percent of organizations don’t have anti-exploit technology in place. And, two-thirds of IT managers don’t understand what anti-exploit technology is.

“It’s almost impossible for any one individual IT department or, even in our case, a managed service provider, to fully understand all the exploit attacks out there.”

It Takes An Expert To Stop An Expert

Brian Hanify, vice president of sales and marketing at AKUITY Technologies, knows first-hand that fully understanding the technology it takes to stop an exploit requires an expert. A security expert, that is.

“Our customers completely depend on us to manage the security of their environment and, therefore, block or identify exploits as they happen,” says Hanify. “They, in many cases, don’t understand what’s happening in their environment and so they look to us to try and explain it to them.”

Explaining exploits to customers can sometimes be difficult, but Sophos makes understanding security simple. This means testing the technology in your customers’ environments to ensure that it’s actually protecting them.

“A lot of people will say they protect against these threats, but at Sophos, we provide our partners with not-for-resale technology and the ability for them to take our technology, put it in-house (and) put it to the test. Sophos is committed to security innovation,” says Erin Malone, vice president, North American channel sales at Sophos. “That’s what we do every single day. We’ve integrated our deep learning technology into Intercept X and that has enabled partners to address the security threats that are happening right now.”

Sophos Intercept X leverages deep learning technology to learn exploit behaviors which, in turn, can prevent attacks from entering your customers’ systems, giving solution providers another tool in the fight against cybercriminals.

“That’s why we depend on Sophos. They’re our experts. They’re our counsel from a security standpoint. Sophos is providing us more peace of mind, frankly, than it is to our customers.

Helping Partners Become Security Experts

For many vendors, exploit protection is just another a box to check. But Sophos prides itself on helping partners become security experts,” says Hanify.

“We’re educating our partners about these exploits and about these new methods of attack. So, when they go talk to a customer, they can actually explain why something like Sophos Intercept X is so valuable because of the breadth of coverage,” says Dan Schiappa, senior vice president and general manager, products at Sophos.

And giving your customers the confidence of knowing that their business is protected is invaluable. Discover the other ways Sophos, a global leader in next generation computer security, is helping partners beat hackers at their own game in the next Cyber Threat Report.