Barracuda MSP In the News
Latest Coverage Around the Web About Barracuda MSP
Are Web Applications Your Customers’ Achilles Heel?
November 29, 2021- “Companies are deploying Web-based applications today more than ever. As cloud-based and software-as-a-service models become more common for mission-critical apps, security vulnerabilities that can put data and applications at risk have emerged. For MSPs deploying and supporting these applications, investing in and offering a robust Web application security solution is a critical piece of the modern security profile. The need to strengthen Web app security is pressing. According to a 2020 report from Verizon, 43% of data breaches could be traced back to attacks against these applications, more than double the number from the prior year.”
Building a ransomware response team
November 19, 2021- “In 2020, a significant segment of the global workforce found themselves working remotely due to a once-in-a-century pandemic. As a result, many companies scrambled to connect employees to data and applications securely. In most cases, companies relied on virtual private networks (VPNs), a well-established remote access solution. However, it quickly became clear that when connecting remote workers, VPNs had their limitations and weren’t designed to address modern security challenges. In place of these legacy solutions, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) has emerged as a rapidly growing alternative that provides several key advantages.”
Never Pay the Ransom
November 18, 2021- “We all remember the Colonial Pipeline attack, which netted criminals $4.4 million. The company’s CEO told Congress that the company had no choice–the attack’s impact on fuel supplies was too severe to avoid payment. However, a recent Gartner column cautions against this approach, and official guidance from the FBI recommends not paying. Why? For starters, even if the cybercriminals make good on releasing your systems and data, it can take several weeks to recover, and some encrypted files may be completely unrecoverable. According to Gartner, on average, only 65% of data winds up being recovered.”
Grow Your MSP Business with Security Awareness Training
November 18, 2021- “The cybersecurity landscape continues to shift rapidly. The number of attacks has increased, and the complexity of those attacks (which may involve high levels of social engineering and sophisticated phishing and email compromise techniques) has grown. Cybersecurity technologies have also evolved to meet these challenges because attacks are now harder to spot with traditional email and firewall security. That is why it is easy to see modern cybersecurity as a continuing escalation of technological craftiness on both sides. In that context, MSPs with a security focus simply need to apply the right technology to their clients’ networks to ensure strong cybersecurity. But that approach overlooks one unchanging fact—the most vulnerable part of the infrastructure is still the employee accessing the network.”
Barracuda Delivers Strong Growth And Innovation In MSP Security Solutions
November 17, 2021- “Barracuda Networks, Inc., a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today announced several key product milestones and sales growth achievements for its MSP business, which was accelerated by the increasing number of MSPs adding security to their services portfolio. Driven by the acquisition of SKOUT Cybersecurity for extended detection and response (XDR), new integrations for Barracuda RMM, and the introduction of Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) capabilities for managed service providers (MSPs) through Barracuda CloudGen Access, annual recurring revenue for Barracuda MSP grew 70% year-over-year at the end of Q2 FY2022.”
Growth – Barracuda’s MSP-focused Business
November 17, 2021- “Annual recurring revenue (ARR) for Barracuda MSP’s security solutions grew 37% year-over-year as of September 30, 2021. Also, ARR for Barracuda MSP’s email security solutions grew 73% year-over-year as of September 30, 2021. Barracuda, backed by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, has been building and expanding its MSP-focused technology suite since 2015 or so. Overall revenue and profits from the effort are undisclosed.”
Podcast: How XDR and a SOC-as-a-Service Can Give MSPs a Much-Needed AI Edge
November 4, 2021- “In the latest episode of the XaaScast, James Hatzell, director of marketing for Barracuda MSP XDR and XaaS Journal Cofounder Jay McCall, discuss extended detection and response (XDR) and SOC-as-a-Service. These new security tools and services use AI to add context to security threats, helping MSPs prioritize the most critical CVEs and automate incident response and remediation processes.”
VPN vs. ZTNA: A security perspective for remote user access
October 26, 2021- “In 2020, a significant segment of the global workforce found themselves working remotely due to a once-in-a-century pandemic. As a result, many companies scrambled to connect employees to data and applications securely. In most cases, companies relied on virtual private networks (VPNs), a well-established remote access solution. However, it quickly became clear that when connecting remote workers, VPNs had their limitations and weren’t designed to address modern security challenges. In place of these legacy solutions, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) has emerged as a rapidly growing alternative that provides several key advantages.”
Your Restaurant Clients Need a WAF—Stat
October 25, 2021- “The trend away from on-premises dining to online ordering for takeout or delivery has accelerated over the past few years. Now, with more restaurants engaging customers and accepting orders and payments online, they must also adapt their security strategies to protect their businesses. Restaurant value-added resellers (VARs) and managed services providers may need to educate their clients about what it takes to secure restaurant operations online—and to answer questions including “What does a web application firewall do?” Tushar Richabadas, Senior Product Marketing Manager—Applications and Cloud Security, Barracuda, provides you with insights into which restaurants in your market will benefit from the protection of a web application firewall (WAF), how to communicate its value, and how VARs and MSPs can provide these solutions to their customers.”
Getting Smart About IT Asset Disposal and Security
October 22, 2021- “The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a lot about the current state of corporate IT. One of those lessons was that many employees required new endpoint hardware. This was especially true in cases where older computers were no longer operational or running out-of-date software applications, which in turn was creating security risks. This led many organizations to adopt more robust laptops, capable of running enterprise applications, or desktop units that were set up to accommodate remote access technologies. In some cases, companies even took another look at their data centers and server setups because they found themselves woefully unprepared for the emergency circumstances that forced everyone out of the office. Demand for new computers increased substantially over the past two years as a result. IDC has reported that global PC shipments increased almost 13% in 2020. With new hardware purchases, companies have been faced with difficulty in disposing of their old equipment.”
When Disaster Strikes: Preparing Your Customers with BDR
October 15, 2021- “The Atlantic hurricane season has arrived, providing plenty of reminders of just how vulnerable coastal cities are to these monster storms. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that there will be as many as 21 named storms and 10 hurricanes this season, and we have already seen significant damage in the U.S. from Hurricane Ida. For businesses in the path of these storms, which are arriving with greater frequency every year, the potential for data loss and disruption is significant. Affected regions may be without power for weeks, and physical infrastructure (including data centers and offices) can be irreparably damaged by flooding and high winds. These companies need to have a robust backup and data recovery (BDR) solution in place, preferably one that’s part of an all-encompassing disaster preparedness plan. MSPs can help these firms minimize data loss and IT disruptions during severe weather events and other disasters, allowing them to focus on getting their businesses back up and running and ensuring their employees are safe.”
Skout Cybersecurity boss exploits scale at Barracuda
October 15, 2021- “When an acquisition is struck, the well-worn announcements include a comment from the acquirer and then a positive response from the leader of the business that has been snapped up. Often that person is then subsumed into the larger business or quietly exits after an agreed period. But neither of those paths is the one that Aidan Kehoe, founder and CEO of Skout Cybersecurity, is taking now his business is part of Barracuda Networks. Skout was snapped up in the summer as Barracuda looked to add more depth to its extended detection and response (XDR) offering. The technology has been delivered via MSPs and one of the other ambitions of the deal was that it would bolster the opportunities to put it in front of more channel partners.”
It’s time to prepare your cybersecurity checklist
September 28, 2021- “October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and that means it is as good a time as any for MSPs to prepare a cybersecurity checklist and revisit their incident response plans. Unfortunately, cybercriminals have stepped up their attacks over the past several years, both in frequency and complexity. As a result, companies of all sizes (including MSPs) have fallen victim to expensive and devastating attacks. As security-minded MSPs know, the weakest link in any security framework is the end user. Therefore, education, training, and simulations are critical for reducing the impact of cyber attacks, phishing, and ransomware. This is especially true as criminals have turned to more complex attacks that rely on exploiting human psychology.”
Podcast: Are You Getting the Full Value Out of Your RMM?
September 23, 2021- “The change from in-office work to a complete remote workforce over the past 18 months expanded MSPs’ management exponentially. Some MSPs weren’t prepared for the sudden shift to BYOD and struggled to manage their clients’ personal devices, which were now being used to access corporate resources. Besides the work-from-home (WFH) trend, we’ve seen a massive uptick in cybersecurity attacks. The Internet Crime Complaint Center of the FBI recorded 791,790 complaints of suspected online crimes in 2020, recording a 300,000 increase from 2019 with the reported losses from these internet crimes exceeding $4.2 billion. Mark Whiffen, the senior product manager for Barracuda MSP, discusses these trends and challenges, as well as the increasingly important role RMM tools play in helping MSPs detect anomalies, tracking increased endpoints and remediating and managing customers’ environments remotely.”
The QBR as an MSP Security Sales Tool
September 20, 2021- “One common mistake MSPs make is assuming that their customers don’t want to hear from them. After all, they’re paying you to keep their IT running so they can be more productive, so, if they have a problem or a question, they’ll call, right? Not exactly. What typically happens is that when a client doesn’t see or hear from their MSP, they wonder, “Why am I paying this company a monthly fee when I rarely have problems?” Before long, the client may begin questioning the value of the relationship, and so begin the conversations about discounts or even shopping for a cheaper provider. One of the best remedies to the scenario described above is a quarterly business review (QBR). QBRs allow MSPs to highlight everything they’re doing behind the scenes to keep their customers’ IT running smoothly. In addition to using QBRs to provide an overview of past performance and incidents, they also create an excellent opportunity to help your clients develop strategic plans for the future.”
Barracuda Introduces Data Classification Capabilities To Help Customers Find Sensitive Data And Malware
September 16, 2021- “Barracuda Networks, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today announced Barracuda Data Inspector to help customers automatically scan OneDrive for Business and SharePoint data for sensitive information and malicious files. Powerful data classification capabilities help customers identify types of data such as Personal Identifiable Information (PII), user credentials, credit card information, and more. Customers using Barracuda Data Inspector can identify whether data has been shared internally or externally, and where it’s stored to help them make decisions on how to act on it. A recent study commissioned by Barracuda captured the opinions and perspectives of global IT decision makers about Office 365, data security, backup and recovery, SaaS solutions, and a variety of related topics. The research found that data protection is both a security and a privacy concern”
Barracuda announces major SASE, email and data protection solution enhancements at customer conference
September 15, 2021- “Today, at their Barracuda Secured.21 Customer Conference 2021, cybersecurity vendor Barracuda is making a series of product announcements. They are announcing the enhancement of their cloud-native SASE platform to now combine Secure SD-WAN, Firewall-as-a-Service, Zero Trust Network Access, and Secure Web Gateway technology in a converged SASE solution. Their email capabilities have been expanded by new automated workflows that expands customer ability to create custom workflow solutions. Barracuda Data Inspector, a new SaaS-based service, has been added to automatically scan OneDrive and SharePoint to identify sensitive information and malicious files. Finally, Barracuda also released a new commissioned report on the state of network security in 2021. The report indicated that a high percentage of the 750 respondents acknowledged some sort of breach or compromise over the last year.”
Barracuda Announces New SASE, Incident Response, and Data Security Capabilities
September 15, 2021- “Barracuda Networks has introduced a cloud-native SASE platform, simplified incident response functionality, and a new tool for securing sensitive data in Microsoft SharePoint and OneDrive. The SASE platform incorporates the vendor’s Content Shield, CloudGen Access, CloudGen WAN, and CloudGen Firewall products to provide SD-WAN, firewall-as-a-service, zero-trust network access (ZTNA), and secure web gateway functionality in the cloud, in the office, or on the device. In support of that vision, Barracuda has added the ability to run security services on cloud hubs as well as directly on onsite devices to CloudGen Firewall.”
Barracuda Among The Top 20 Email Security Providers You Should Know
September 14, 2021- “Barracuda Networks is listed as a leader on the Q2 2021 Forrester Wave for Email Security. Its product portfolio includes integrated solutions for email security, cloud backup, email archiving, defense, domain-based message authentication, reporting and conformance (DMARC), static application security testing (SA&T) and web security. Barracuda Total Email Protection brings together this suite of security solutions for comprehensive protection.”
Barracuda Expands Incident Response Capabilities With Automated Workflows And Public APIs
September 14, 2021- “Barracuda Networks, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today announced expanded incident response capabilities to help customers proactively identify threats and take quick and effective action to remediate them. Customers can use public-facing APIs to integrate with their current SOAR/SIEM/XDR investment. With new automated workflows, administrators can build a playbook that meets their specific needs for individual use cases. Named a Leader in “The Forrester Wave: Enterprise Email Security, Q2 2021,” Barracuda received the highest score possible in the deployment options, content processing capabilities, incident response, scalability and reliability, and support and customer success criteria.”
Hackers Up the Ante on Ransomware
September 2, 2021- “Earlier this month, international consulting firm Accenture became the latest target in a string of high-profile ransomware attacks when the LockBit group claimed to have breached the company’s servers and threatened to release its data. According to a CRN report, Accenture confirmed the attack, but downplayed the scope of the damage: “Through our security controls and protocols, we identified irregular activity in one of our environments. We immediately contained the matter and isolated the affected servers. In addition, we fully restored our affected servers from backup. As a result, there was no impact on Accenture’s operations or our clients’ systems,” Accenture wrote. It’s not just big companies being targeted. Every type of organization, from small IT firms, municipalities and school districts to big multinational corporations, is in the crosshairs as ransomware attacks become more aggressive and costly. According to a report from security consultant Unit 42, the average ransomware payment climbed 82 percent to $570,000 in the first half of 2021, up from $312,000 in 2020.”
Barracuda research identifies emerging traffic trends and live examples of bot behavior
September 1, 2021- “Barracuda, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today released key findings about bad bots and the ways these automated attacks are evolving. The report, titled Bot attacks: Top Threats and Trends – Insights into the growing number of automated attacks, explores emerging traffic patterns, live examples of bot behavior and detection, and the steps IT teams should take to protect their businesses. The report looks at current trends, such as the volume of traffic from these bad bots, where bot attacks are originating from, and the time of day attacks are most likely to happen. It also breaks down live examples and covers the steps IT teams can take and the technology they should be using to stop these types of attacks.”
Barracuda Research Reveals Skyrocketing Levels of Bot Traffic
September 1, 2021- “Barracuda, a provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, released key findings about bad bots and the ways these automated attacks are evolving. The report, titled “Bot attacks: Top Threats and Trends – Insights into the growing number of automated attacks,” explores emerging traffic patterns, live examples of bot behavior and detection, and the steps IT teams should take to protect their businesses. Barracuda’s report looks at current trends, such as the volume of traffic from these bad bots, where bot attacks are originating from, and the time-of-day attacks are likely to happen. It also breaks down live examples and covers the steps IT teams can take and technology they should be using to stop these types of attacks. “
Cybersecurity in Education: Threats Are Going Back to School
August 27, 2021- “As schools and universities prepare for a return to classes, they’re facing the challenges resulting from a recent upsurge in COVID-19 cases across the United States. As a result, many educators will have to support remote learning for their most vulnerable students. Also, a return to fully online classes is a distinct possibility in some regions. The rapid shift to hybrid learning in 2020 revealed an array of cybersecurity vulnerabilities that colleges and school districts were not prepared for. From Zoom crashers, to identity theft and email compromise, schools faced myriad challenges–all while trying to ensure access for students with varying levels of internet service availability.”
7 Things MSPs Should Do Right Now to Protect Their Retail Clients
August 18, 2021- “When much of the world shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, one sector saw an explosion of activity—online shopping. Without the ability to visit stores in person, consumers had everything from groceries and take-out meals to inflatable swimming pools and lumber delivered to their homes. Cybercriminals, sensing an opportunity, pounced. A study from cloud computing company Iomart found that large-scale breaches increased 273 percent in the first quarter of 2020. Between May 2020 and May 2021, the FBI reported that the number of cybercrime complaints increased by one million. For comparison purposes, it previously took nearly three years to reach the same number of complaints. In some cases, the number of daily complaints tripled or quadrupled.”
Barracuda beefs up Barracuda RMM with Windows Defender, ServiceNow integrations among other enhancements
August 17, 2021- “Today, Barracuda Networks is announcing major updates to their Barracuda RMM security-centric, cloud-based RMM platform. It includes new integrations with Windows Defender and ServiceNow, as well as an expansion of the integration with Barracuda’s own Intronis backup offering. The new release also enables the application of patches immediately to identified devices, and improves visibility on which devices are online or offline. New third-party software patch management has also been added as part of the onboarding process for all new MSP partners. “This release is about increasing the flexibility and enhancing the security posture of the RMM,” said Chris Crellin, Senior Director, Product Management, Barracuda MSP. “We want it to be a security-centric RMM to help them make their customers more secure. It is critical that our RMM plays a critical role in managing customer security.”
Enhanced Barracuda RMM to offer MSPs New Security Options
August 17, 2021- “Barracuda Networks, Inc., a provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, announced updates to Barracuda RMM, the company’s security-centric, cloud-based remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. “The continued enhancements we are making to Barracuda RMM are part of our ongoing commitment to supporting MSPs in improving their security offerings” said Chris Crellin, senior director, Product Management, Barracuda MSP. “RMM tools must become part of an MSP’s daily client security posture assessment and remediation. Today, we are making those tasks easier for service providers to drive business value within their customer base, by adding new features and capabilities focused on mitigating security risks and protecting customers’ data and applications.”
Barracuda Adds Microsoft Defender Antivirus Integration to RMM Solution
August 17, 2021- “Barracuda Networks has shipped an updated edition of its Barracuda RMM solution with built-in support for Microsoft Defender Antivirus, expanded integration with Intronis Backup, and enhanced patch management capabilities. The new release, officially version 12.4, is available immediately. The Microsoft Defender functionality lets technicians set and adjust security policies for multiple endpoints centrally from within their RMM interface. It augments similar, existing support for antivirus software from Avast. “[We’re] trying to provide additional flexibility for our MSPs and accommodate their antivirus options,” says Chris Crellin, senior director for product management at Barracuda MSP, which oversees Barracuda’s MSP-oriented products. “Defender is sort of our first step along that path.”
How to become a security-centric MSP
August 10, 2021- “Managed-services providers (MSPs) who don’t put security at the center of their services offerings may be missing out on the opportunity to reap their full benefits. With both a rapidly evolving universe of cyberthreats and an accelerated transition to remote and hybrid work environments, all organizations need to take a renewed look at their security profile. MSPs can service their customers better (and increase their market share) by taking a security-centric approach to their business. But what does that mean, and more importantly, how does an MSP successfully make the transition? “
Why Healthcare Organizations Need Email Security to Keep PHI Safe
August 10, 2021- “Healthcare data is an attractive cyberattack target. It’s crucial and monetizable—and people, who are often a weak link in the security chain, have access to it. One of the latest healthcare data breaches occurred at UC San Diego Health. From December 2020 through April 2021, attackers had access to names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers, payment account numbers, email addresses, insurance claims information, lab results, medical diagnoses and more. Investigators traced the breach back to unauthorized access to employee email accounts—more mounting evidence that healthcare organizations need email security solutions that include phishing protection. Chris Crellin, Senior Director, Product Management at Barracuda MSP, provides answers for managed services providers (MSPs) and value-added resellers (VARs) about the need for email security and phishing protection for your healthcare clients and what you can do to make healthcare data more secure.”
14 Top Cybersecurity Trends To Expect At Black Hat Conference
August 3, 2021- “A lot of user and organization data had already been stolen in previous breaches and is now being weaponized against them in subsequent attacks, said Barracuda Chief Technology Officer Fleming Shi. Adversaries leverage the personally identifiable information they’ve already taken to obtain a user’s credentials and password, and then target the SaaS applications where these people are logging in.”
Barracuda: Average Company Hit with 700 Social Engineering Attacks Per Year
July 28, 2021- “Barracuda released a new report in which it investigated instances of spear phishing attacks, noting that “all employees” – and not only top executives – need to be better prepared. The company’s “Spear Phishing: Top Threats and Trends Vol. 6 – Insights” report examined the evolving techniques employed by attackers, as well as their most-common targets, noting that 10 percent of social engineering attacks relate to business email compromise, while 43 percent of phishing strikes are designed to impersonate Microsoft software.”
MSPs: Security Best Practices for Staying out of Cybercriminals’ Crosshairs
July 27, 2021- “Ransomware and other cyberattacks are increasing in frequency and cost, and MSPs are now often the target of these attacks. Because MSPs provide a gateway into the networks of dozens or hundreds of clients, attackers can use compromised credentials to move freely among MSP and customer networks. Applying security best practices is key to staying out of cybercriminals’ crosshairs. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a warning about the threat to MSPs and cloud service providers, noting that “MSPs generally have direct and unfettered access to their customers’ networks, and may store customer data on their internal infrastructure. By servicing a large number of customers, MSPs can achieve significant economies of scale. However, a compromise in one part of an MSP’s network can spread globally, affecting other customers and introducing risk.”
Barracuda Completes Acquisition of SKOUT Cybersecurity
July 14, 2021- “Barracuda Networks, Inc., a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, announced it has completed its acquisition of SKOUT Cybersecurity, a Melville, NY-based leader in cyber-as-a-service software for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and provider of an extended detection and response (XDR) platform and service.”
Barracuda Completes Acquisition of SKOUT Cybersecurity
July 14, 2021- “Barracuda Networks, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, announced it has completed its acquisition of SKOUT Cybersecurity, a Melville, NY-based leader in cyber-as-a-service software for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and provider of an extended detection and response (XDR) platform and service.”
What solution providers need to know about Zero Trust
July 14, 2021- “With cybersecurity attacks and breaches getting more headlines than ever, security remains a hot topic in the channel, and the concept of Zero Trust is garnering a lot of attention. We dive into what Zero Trust is, how it solves for common security problems, and what solution providers need to know about it with Mark Ballegeer, systems engineer at Barracuda MSP, in this edition of the ChannelBuzz podcast.”
Ep. 12: The Danger of Post-Delivery Email Threats
July 13, 2021- “Stephanie Cavigliano, product marketing manager, and Olesia Klevchuk, principal product marketing manager, at Barracuda, discuss Barracuda’s research findings in post-delivery email threats and offer practical tips for MSPs to protect their customers in the latest episode of the XaaScast.”
Using services as an MSP growth driver
July 7, 2021- “As part of its fourth annual MSP Day event, Barracuda released the Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business Report 2021, which outlines opportunities that have emerged in the MSP space. This year’s key takeaway is the significant impact managed services are expected to have on revenue moving forward, with growth opportunities around digital transformation, cloud, and especially security. Barracuda surveyed more than 400 partners worldwide for the report and found a high degree of optimism. According to the report, 85 percent of MSP respondents believe there are opportunities in the market right now, including those driven by remote work, greater demand for security solutions and the know-how to implement these solutions, and the need to improve the overall customer experience.”
Do Your Clients Know About Content Filtering?
July 6, 2021- “Content filtering is a valuable tool that stops access to or from web pages or emails that can be threats to a business’ network or employee productivity. While firewalls control ingoing and outgoing traffic on the business’ network, content filtering looks at the website or email itself, searching for content patterns such as character strings, phrases, or objects within images. If it finds content that is restricted by company or security policies, it blocks it. It’s possible that a firewall won’t stop the traffic, but the content filter could identify the noncompliance and block it. Content filters are often a part of internet firewalls, but managed services providers can implement them via hardware or software for security purposes, possibly bundled with a firewall management service.”
Barracuda Buys SKOUT Cybersecurity to Enter Red-Hot XDR Market
July 1, 2021- “Barracuda Networks has signed a definitive agreement to buy SKOUT Cybersecurity, a provider of outsourced cybersecurity services for MSPs. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal, which is expected to close later this month, will allow Barracuda to add an eXtended detection and response (XDR) solution backed by a 24×7 security operations center to its current lineup of security services for MSPs. “We can basically take our security technologies, the XDR, and the SOC, and have a really cool offering that MSPs can use for their customers,” says Neal Bradbury, vice president of MSP strategic partnerships for the vendor’s Barracuda MSP unit. “
Barracuda acquires Skout Cybersecurity to enter the XDR market
July 1, 2021- “Barracuda Networks has purchased Skout Cybersecurity, a New York-based channel-only provider of extended detection and response (XDR) services. The deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, will see the California-based cybersecurity vendor enter the fast-growing XDR market. As a result of the ever-increasing attack surface as businesses shift to the cloud and embrace hybrid working, 80% of security professionals now say XDR solutions — which automatically collect and correlate data from multiple security layers to improve threat detection — should be a top priority for their organization, and 68% of enterprises plan to implement XDR in 2021 and 2022, according to recent research.”
Barracuda Acquires Skout for XDR Security, MSP-Focused SOC
July 1, 2021- “Barracuda Networks is acquiring Skout Cybersecurity, a Top 250 MSSP that develops XDR (eXtended Detection and Response) and Security Operations Center (SOC) solutions for MSPs. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Skout through January 2021 or so positioned itself mainly as cyber-as-a-service for MSPs. The company also competes in the highly fragmented SOC as a Service (SOCaaS) market for MSPs. More recently, Skout — like much of the cybersecurity industry — has jumped on the XDR term to emphasize a platform that connects “with email, firewall, identity and access, and a 24×7 SOC that aids the detection and response of cyberattacks.””
Barracuda Networks to acquire MSP cybersecurity firm SKOUT
July 1, 2021- “Barracuda Networks has announced its intention to acquire cybersecurity firm SKOUT. The Thoma Bravo-owned security vendor has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire SKOUT Cybersecurity, which offers cyber-as-a-service software for managed service providers (MSPs) and provides an extended detection and response (XDR) platform and service. “We are excited to add an XDR solution with a SOC to our already best-in-class security solution portfolio. Our goal is to accelerate our EMEA channel partners’ journeys to security-centric operations — where they can protect their clients’ users, devices, and applications and efficiently respond to a subset of critical threats. This is a great opportunity for our MSPs and partners to leverage Barracuda’s security expertise in growing their own portfolios with existing resources,” said Brian Babineau, SVP and GM at Barracuda MSP.”
Barracuda To Boost MSP Protection With Planned Acquisition Of Skout Cybersecurity
July 1, 2021- “Barracuda plans to buy Skout Cybersecurity to provide MSPs with the technology and manpower needed to respond more effectively to cyberthreats. The Campbell, Calif.-based cybersecurity vendor said its proposed purchase of Melville, N.Y.-based security monitoring and response company Skout Cybersecurity will help MSPs cull and correlate threat data as well as respond to incidents more efficiently. Skout offers an extended detection and response (XDR) platform for MSPs as well as an around-the-clock Security Operations Center (SOC). “All MSPs need to become security-first businesses and security-led, and I think we envision our platform being a mechanism for the market to be able to achieve that,” Skout Cybersecurity CEO Aidan Kehoe told CRN exclusively.”
The Executive Order on Improving Cybersecurity: Key Takeaways for MSPs
June 28, 2021- “Ransomware attacks are not only growing in number, but they are also targeting an increasing number of critical companies and operations. Several municipal governments and hospital systems were hit with attacks during the past several years: The recent Colonial Pipeline attack (which caused fuel shortages and price spikes in some areas of the United States), the health service in Ireland, the Massachusetts Steamship Authority and other entities have drawn attention to just how vulnerable key pieces of infrastructure are to cyberattacks. The Colonial attack is instructive (and typical): Hackers launched the attack via a compromised password to a disused virtual private network (VPN) account that wasn’t protected by multi-factor authentication. The White House issued an Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity in May. The order focuses on beefing up cybersecurity standards, with a specific focus on zero-trust architecture solutions. That could open up some new opportunities for security-centric MSPs, provided they have the right solution set in place.”
Moving Beyond Commodity Tech Support
June 22, 2021- “The rapid pace of technological innovation, focus on digital transformation across industries, shift to cloud computing, and a shortage of qualified IT professionals have led to an increased demand for third-party technical support across several sectors. Organizations need their IT infrastructure and networks to run reliably and securely so they can focus on their core business. But having full-time staff to handle those responsibilities is beyond the budget and means of many companies. For some, there simply aren’t enough skilled staff available to do it, even if they have the budget. As a result, the IT services market, in general, is expected to experience a CAGR of 8.87% through 2026. According to some estimates, there has been an attendant increase in the MSP market, with the number of MSPs in the U.S. now surpassing 40,000. Per Mordor Intelligence, the global managed services market reached $152.05 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $274.20 billion by 2026.”
New Vertical Market Opportunities for MSPs in 2021
June 4, 2021- “The past year has been an economic roller coaster across almost every sector, and MSPs have certainly not been immune. Businesses across the globe struggled during regional and global lockdowns, and supply chain disruptions wreaked havoc across many industries. Others, however, survived and even thrived, while requiring additional support because of the rapid shift to remote work. Cybersecurity threats continued to increase, with pandemic- and vaccine-related scams flourishing as networks and applications become more decentralized. In a new eBook from Barracuda, author Kevin Williams outlines several opportunities for MSPs that could have a big pay-off this year, both in terms of new business and strengthening relationships with existing clients.”
The Benefits of Zero-Trust Security over VPNs
June 3, 2021- “The shift to more remote work and collaboration has been happening for more than a decade, but the recent COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the process. While many workers will eventually return to offices, several companies are looking at more flexible models—including zero-trust security–that will allow more employees to work at least part of the time remotely. As a result, over the past year, the use of virtual private networks (VPN) has expanded. While this approach can provide a secure connection to applications behind the corporate firewall, the increased use of cloud-based applications has complicated the security landscape. In some cases, network traffic generated by cloud applications is backhauled through a local data center before being passed on via a VPN to an end user. This can create significant latency issues (and a frustrating user experience).”
Threat Spotlight: Post-Delivery Email Threats
June 2, 2021- “Barracuda researchers recently looked at approximately 3,500 organizations to better understand threat patterns and response practices. They found that an average organization with 1,100 users will experience around 15 email security incidents per month, and on average 10 employees will be impacted by each phishing attack that manages to get through. Researchers identified actions that can make a measurable difference post-delivery. For example, our analysis found that organizations that train their users will see a 73% improvement in the accuracy of user-reported email after only two training campaigns.”
Barracuda Expands Scalable IoT Connectivity Solution
June 2, 2021- “Barracuda, a provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, announced customers can now run Crosser Edge Analytics software directly on Barracuda Secure Connector. Barracuda’s scalable IoT hardware connectivity solution running the Crosser node application addresses the need for secure connectivity in large, distributed environments and accurate analytics at scale. Barracuda’s scalable IoT hardware connectivity solution running the Crosser node application addresses the need for secure connectivity in large, distributed environments and accurate analytics at scale.”
Remote monitoring: An unexpected MSP growth driver
June 1, 2021- “During the past year, SMBs were forced to rapidly transform their businesses digitally to accommodate the sudden shift to remote work and the widespread adoption of cloud and SaaS-based applications. This growing digital footprint, combined with the heightened cyberthreat landscape, significantly increased their risk of a cyberattack. As trusted advisors to their SMB customers, MSPs must adopt a security-centric approach. This means having the tools and resources in places to detect, prevent, and remediate cyberthreats promptly through the continuous assessment of the customers’ security posture, and proactively address vulnerabilities with multi-layered security solutions, to protect their customers’, as well as their own data, devices, and users. This may sound like a tall order, but a tool already in an MSP’s arsenal, and one that has proven very useful in achieving this objective, is remote monitoring and management (RMM).”
Lots of opportunities for MSPs, says Barracuda
June 1, 2021- “There are shedloads of opportunities coming up for MSPs in the coming year, according to a Barracuda report. Barracuda’s The Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business report, claims that the appetite for managed services is stronger than ever, with many survey respondents identifying managed services as the biggest sales opportunity in the coming year. The report said that that to seize this opportunity, MSPs can identify areas in which to focus their growth and expand their offerings. This is particularly key for those that are in the early stages of their journey or those that were forced down a specific route due to the demands of the pandemic.”
5 Channel Partner Progarms and MSP Updates
May 27, 2021- “The Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business report, an annual research report from Baraccuda, has surfaced for 2021. Barracuda spoke to over 400 partners from across the globe for the report, and the answers all showed that MSPs are facing similar challenges when it comes to services provision and the increasingly complex needs of their customers.”
Security and the MSP: Highlights from Barracuda’s Managed Services Report
May 26, 2021- “It’s a great time to be an MSP as the appetite for managed services is stronger than ever. That’s according to Barracuda‘s new report, “The Evolving Landscape of the MSP.” Barracuda released the report in conjunction with MSP Day. The company created MSP Day in 2018 to highlight, challenge and celebrate the managed services industry. Barracuda spoke to more than 400 partners from across the globe. Combined answers indicate similar challenges for MSPs worldwide when it comes to service provisioning and meeting customers’ complex needs.”
Barracuda MSP Day 2021 reveals unparalleled opportunities for MSPs
May 26, 2021- “Now in its fourth year, MSP Day is an annual movement created by Barracuda in 2018 to highlight, challenge, and celebrate the managed services industry. Today, in conjunction with MSP Day, Barracuda is pleased to announce the release of The Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business report, which points to numerous opportunities ahead for MSPs in the coming year. The 2021 report demonstrates that the appetite for managed services is stronger than ever, with many survey respondents identifying managed services as the biggest sales opportunity in the coming year. To seize this opportunity, MSPs can identify areas in which to focus their growth and expand their offerings. This is particularly key for those that are in the early stages of their journey or those that were forced down a specific route due to the demands of the pandemic.”
The Evolving Landscape Of The MSP Business Report 2021
May 26, 2021- “One of the biggest challenges for any MSP is knowing what areas to focus on when it comes to offering services. The services market is becoming increasingly crowded, and once a course has been set, it is not easy to change direction. So MSPs have to get it right the first time. Many are still in the early stages of their services journey and some were perhaps forced on the services path during the challenging year that was 2020. But as the fourth annual MSP Day Report shows, the appetite for services is growing, with more than half of our respondents (56%) revealing they saw managed services as the biggest sales/revenue opportunity for 2021.”
Barracuda MSP Day 2021 Reveals Unparalleled Opportunities for MSPs
May 26, 2021- “Now in its fourth year, MSP Day is an annual movement created by Barracuda in 2018 to highlight, challenge, and celebrate the managed services industry. Today, in conjunction with MSP Day, Barracuda is pleased to announce the release of The Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business report, which points to numerous opportunities ahead for MSPs in the coming year. The 2021 report demonstrates that the appetite for managed services is stronger than ever, with many survey respondents identifying managed services as the biggest sales opportunity in the coming year. To seize this opportunity, MSPs can identify areas in which to focus their growth and expand their offerings. This is particularly key for those that are in the early stages of their journey or those that were forced down a specific route due to the demands of the pandemic.”
‘There are many reasons for service providers to be celebrating right now’
May 26, 2021- “Soaring demand for solutions to address ongoing security concerns surrounding remote work, and a white-hot private equity market, are two of the top indicators to show interest in managed services is “greater than ever before”, according to Barracuda MSP. The vendor has revealed the result of a survey of 400 MSPs from around the world to take the pulse of the services channel. Published today, it’s part of the vendor’s fourth annual ‘MSP Day’, which it uses to collate best practices, and common pain points. International director of sales Jason Howells spoke to CPI about the key findings.”
Barracuda MSP Day Reveals Unparalleled Opportunities for MSPs
May 26, 2021- “Now in its fourth year, MSP Day is an annual movement created by Barracuda to highlight, challenge, and celebrate the managed services industry. In conjunction with MSP Day, Barracuda has released “The Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business”report, which points to numerous opportunities ahead for MSPs in the coming year. The 2021 report demonstrates the appetite for managed services is stronger than ever, with many survey respondents identifying managed services as the biggest sales opportunity in the coming year. To seize this opportunity, MSPs can identify areas in which to focus their growth and expand their offerings. This is particularly key for those that are in the early stages of their journey or those that were forced down a specific route due to the demands of the pandemic.”
New Research Reveals Today’s Biggest Application Security Challenges
May 18, 2021- “Barracuda, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today released key findings from a report titled The state of application security in 2021. Commissioned by Barracuda, the research surveyed 750 application security decision makers responsible for their organization’s application development and security to get their perspectives on data breaches, top application security vulnerabilities, and the most important product capabilities needed to defend against multi-vector application attacks.”
Barracuda Launches Cloud Application Protection 2.0 to Defend Web Apps from Evolving Attack Vectors
May 18, 2021- “Barracuda Networks, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today announced significant new capabilities for its Cloud Application Protection platform to deliver an additional level of protection and make it even easier for organizations to secure their applications in a digitally transformed world. These new services and features include client-side protection, the ability to deploy containerized WAF nodes, and an auto-configuration engine. In addition, Cloud Application Protection now leverages machine learning, vulnerability scanning and remediation, and Advanced Threat Protection to provide active threat intelligence for more powerful protection. Cloud Application Protection is Barracuda’s platform for Web Application and API Protection (WAAP). According to Gartner: “By 2023, more than 30% of public-facing web applications and APIs will be protected by cloud web application and API protection (WAAP) services, which combine distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection, bot mitigation, API protection and web application firewalls (WAFs). This is an increase from fewer than 15% today.”
Barracuda enhances its Cloud Application Protection solution with new features, bundle
May 18, 2021- “In late 2019, Barracuda Networks introduced their Cloud Application Protection platform, which is essentially a Web Application Firewall on steroids, updated for the modern era and delivered as a service. It was also built on Azure and available in the Azure Marketplace. Today they are announcing Cloud Application Protection 2.0, which adds new features like client-side protection, powerful containerized deployment capabilities, and a brand new auto-configuration engine that makes recommendations about modifying security settings. They have also created a new bundle of threat intelligence offerings that both increases efficiencies and will make it easier for partners to sell them. “When we started with the Cloud Application Protection platform, the idea was that we could tell the customer that once you get it, we will worry about what’s inside it, and provide the protection,” said Nitzan Miron, Vice President of Product Management, Application Security Services at Barracuda. “Version 2.0 is about making it even easier than it was before.”
Barracuda Delivers Strong Growth in Cloud Email Security
May 12, 2021- “Barracuda Networks, Inc., a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today announced product milestones and sales growth rates for its email protection business, which was accelerated by increased Office 365 adoption, and higher demand for Barracuda Sentinel, Barracuda’s advanced technology that leverages API integration to protect businesses from spear phishing, account takeover, business email compromise and other advanced threats.”
Office 365 and Regulatory Compliance
May 11, 2021- “Office 365 environments are expanding, and the recent shift to remote work has only accelerated business reliance on the platform. According to the Thexyz blog, the average gain in monthly Office 365 users nearly quadrupled between October 2019 and April 2020, primarily because of the need for more collaborative work environments during the global pandemic. With more users relying on Office 365, the need for security and reliable data backup is critical to ensure data and applications remain safe. In highly regulated industries like financial services, healthcare and the legal profession, compliance adds another wrinkle to the security challenge.”
Are You Using an RMM Tool to Grow Your Business?
May 11, 2021- “A remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool gives managed services providers (MSPs) the ability to monitor clients’ IT and troubleshoot and repair a range of issues without a trip to their offices or facilities. There’s no doubt RMM provides value—but are you maximizing it? An RMM tool can do more than help you efficiently run your business. It can help you grow it. Mark Whiffen, Senior Product Manager for Barracuda MSP, offers these three ways.”
5 Channel Partner Progarms and MSP Updates
May 11, 2021- “Barracuda’s email protection solutions, including Sentinel and Forensics and Incident Response, added 3,400 new customers in FY2021, which ended February 28, 2021. That’s 60 percent year over year growth in new customers, the company says. Also, Barracuda Cloud-to-Cloud backup experienced 112 percent growth. And annual recurring revenue (ARR) for Barracuda MSP’s email protection solutions grew 66 percent year-over-year at the end of Q4 FY2021.”
Remote Work is Here to Stay for SMBs
May 6, 2021- “Over the past year, many organizations had to rapidly shift to a work-from-home model because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many companies that had resisted remote work eventually discovered that productivity and employee satisfaction actually improved. However, for some companies, these work-from-home programs were hastily cobbled together in a way that didn’t provide the best performance or the right level of security. According to the Top 10 SMB Technology Trends study for 2021 (from the SMB Group), work-from-home operations will drive new technology investments in the next year and beyond. That means MSPs have an opportunity to provide new technology, new security infrastructure and consulting services to help the firms improve current remote work scenarios, expand their programs and better incorporate a variety of network and application access models in the future.”
Zero-Trust Security is a Lucrative Opportunity for MSPs
April 28, 2021- “Even before the abrupt shift to remote work in 2020, the old approach to network security was becoming outmoded. As more and more workers were on the move or working from home, the data center-centric approach that many firms took was no longer sufficient. For MSPs, zero-trust technology must be a vital part of the security portfolio to keep client data, networks and applications safe and ensure future growth. According to Gartner, as much as 60% of VPNs will be replaced by zero-trust solutions by 2023. The VPN market is worth between $25 billion and $40 billion, so more than half of that could be up for grabs over the next few years.”
The $4.2 billion cybercrime tsunami requires a new security strategy
April 27, 2021- “The FBI Internet Crime Report for 2020 was released earlier this year, and the news was grim. As expected, the ongoing pandemic, political instability, and sudden shift to remote and home-based work caused a significant spike in cyberattacks, specifically Business email compromise (BEC) attacks, phishing scams, and ransomware incidents. According to the report, cybercrime complaints are on a steep rise—the report says the FBI recorded a whopping 69 percent increase in total complaints compared to 2019. Financial losses due to these attacks exceeded $4.2 billion. With the rise in BEC attacks and sophisticated phishing scams related to the pandemic, MSPs and VARs in the tech sector will need to offer customers new and more advanced tools to help protect their data and applications, along with training and resources to recognize these new types of attacks.”
Podcast: The WFH Trend Confirms the Need for Zero-Trust Security
April 14, 2021- “Barracuda MSP’s Chris Crellin talks about how MSPs have less control over remote work environments, including the routers, Wi-Fi and devices that end users are leveraging to connect to their data and applications. Exposed networks, unmonitored user identities, unknown device security status and complex switching between VPNs are just the tip of the iceberg. Crellin discusses how MSPs must embrace both IT security and data protection by becoming security-centric in their offerings and adopting zero-trust network access strategies.”
Selling WAFs: Your Biggest Questions Answered
April 13, 2021- “Businesses and organizations that use protected or sensitive data and use web applications need to protect that information. So, which companies does that include? If you take a close look at your client list and the solutions they use, a web application firewall (WAF), which filters and monitors HTTP traffic between the application and the internet, is a good idea for most of them. Managed services providers (MSP) and a value-added resellers (VAR) new to selling WAFs, however, likely have questions about the potential to grow your business by expanding your portfolio to include these solutions. Chris Crellin, Senior Director of Product Management at Barracuda MSP, answered several of our questions on these topics.”
An MSP top priority: closing the cybersecurity skills gap
April 8, 2021- “As the pandemic subsides and the economy begins to recover, MSPs will be in demand to help their clients evolve and adapt to the next stage of their business journeys. There will be greater demand moving forward for mobile device security and MSPs that have expertise in public cloud infrastructure and hybrid cloud scenarios. But, both MSPs and their clients will be challenged by the cybersecurity skills gap in the industry. To succeed, MSPs will need to invest in training and education for their existing workforce and be more strategic in hiring as new talent enters the market. MSPs can also tap into external resources and expertise, such as services offered through vendors and partners, to ensure they have the right talent to assist their clients.”
IoTSSA Podcast: Zero Trust Architecture
April 6, 2021 “Has BYOD made the comeback and here to stay? Neal Bradbury, VP of MSP Strategic Partnerships with Barracuda MSP, catches up with the IoTSSA Podcast to discuss post pandemic technology and the escalating cybersecurity challenges that come with it. The adoption of Zero Trust policies with a remote and/or hybrid workforce now looks to be critical when upgrading your customers cybersecurity posture.”
Inoculate Your Customers Against Vaccine-Themed Phishing Attacks
March 29, 2021- “The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the lengths and depths to which cybercriminals will go to compromise their victims and exploit a catastrophe. Early in the pandemic, criminals leveraged the confusion around the rapid shift to remote work to increase their attacks and launch email scams that took advantage of the lack of information available about efforts to fight the spread of the disease. Now that vaccines are available, cyberattacks have expanded to include phishing scams centered around vaccine access. The FBI issued a warning in December about this emerging threat, outlining common email and phone scams. Things have only gotten worse in the ensuing months. Barracuda’s analyses found that vaccine-related emails were increasingly being used for spear phishing attacks. After the first vaccines were announced in November, these attacks increased by 12 percent. By the end of January, they were up by 26 percent.”
New Research Shows Shift To Remote Work Has Intensified Data Protection Challenges
March 25, 2021- “Barracuda, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today released key findings from a report titled The state of Office 365 backup. Commissioned by Barracuda, the research surveyed global IT decision makers to capture their opinions and perspectives about Office 365, data security, backup and recovery, SaaS solutions, and a variety of related topics. Overall, the findings indicate that the worldwide shift to remote work during the pandemic has intensified the challenges associated with protecting Office 365 data.”
Barracuda CloudGen Access to Increase MSPs’ Security Capabilities
March 12, 2021- “Barracuda has expanded its portfolio to include CloudGen Access for MSPs. It’s also updated its remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. Barracuda CloudGen Access makes zero-trust network access (ZTNA) capabilities available to the company’s MSP partners. Enhancements to Barracuda’s cloud-based RMM platform, now called Barracuda RMM, deliver expanded integrations, improved Microsoft patch management capabilities and more. The RMM platform was formerly known as Managed Workplace.”
Barracuda Networks Enhances Zero Trust Security, RMM for MSPs
March 12, 2021- “Barracuda Networks has introduced new Zero Trust Security and RMM (remote monitoring and management) software capabilities for MSPs. The Zero Trust effort involves Barracuda CloudGen Access for MSPs. The software, based on Barracuda’s Fyde acquisition, allows MSPs to enable “secure, reliable, and fast access to cloud and on-premises applications and workloads from any device and location,” according to Sinan Eren, VP of Zero Trust Access at Barracuda. The MSP-centric offering features multi-tenant management and monthly pricing options for partners.”
Barracuda opens up zero trust network access solution to MSPs
March 12, 2021- “Barracuda Networks is making its CloudGen Access solution accessible for MSPs and making updates to its cloud-based remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. The zero trust network access solution, CloudGen Access, was launched in November 2020 following the acquisition of Fyde. It is being updated with monthly pricing options and multi-tenant management to allow MSP partners to add the solution to their offerings.”
Barracuda expands MSP offering to mitigate work-from-anywhere risks
March 12, 2021- “Security solutions provider Barracuda Networks has expanded its offering for IT managed service providers and announced significant changes to its cloud-based remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. To help MSPs protect customers’ apps and data and control access from corporate or personal devices, it has launched an MSP version of its Zero Trust Network Access solution, Barracuda CloudGen Access, introduced in November 2020, following Barracuda’s acquisition of Fyde. Barracuda CloudGen Access for MSPs adds multi-tenant management and monthly pricing capabilities that make it easier for MSPs to deploy and manage the solution. Changes to the RMM platform Barracuda acquired in 2019 include a change of name from Managed Workplace to Barracuda RMM and the addition of several new features.”
Barracuda bolsters MSP support
March 12, 2021- “Security vendors have seen accelerated adoption of subscription-based services and in response, many are increasing the support they can offer to managed service providers (MSPs). At Barracuda, the focus has been on adding more functionality into the mix that MSPs can pitch to customers. The firm has extended CloudGen Access for MSPs and announced updates to its RMM platform. CloudGen Access was launched in November 2020, following the acquisition of Fyde, and the firm has now added multi-tenant management and monthly pricing to the mix to make life easier for MSPs. The firm has also renamed its Managed Workplace offering “Barracuda RMM”, with the latest version providing integration with its Intronis Backup solution as well as improved Microsoft patch management capabilities.”
Barracuda Launches MSP Version of CloudGen Access and Updated, Renamed RMM Release
March 11, 2021- “Barracuda Networks has shipped an MSP edition of its CloudGen Access solution and an updated release of its RMM application with a new name. Going forward, Managed Workplace, the remote monitoring and management system Barracuda purchased in 2019, will be called Barracuda RMM. The new name better aligns with a changed IT landscape in which users are as likely to be doing their job from home as from an office, according to Brian Babineau, Barracuda’s senior vice president and general manager of MSP solutions.”
Barracuda strengthens MSP capabilities with Barracuda RMM and Barracuda CloudGen Access for MSPs
March 11, 2021- “Today Barracuda is making a pair of announcements which are both geared at improving their MSP offerings. They are announcing Barracuda RMM, a rebranded (and improved) version of the Managed Workplace RMM product they acquired in 2019. They are also announcing the availability of the ZTNA [Zero Trust Network Access] solution Barracuda CloudGen Access, which came from the Fyde acquisition late last year. At the time it was acquired, Fyde was not multi-tenanted, and Barracuda said then that a multi-tenanted version for MSPs would be quickly developed. What is now Barracuda RMM started out in life as Level Platforms’ Managed Workplaces RMM offering, which was acquired in 2013 by AVG to be used as a delivery method for their endpoint protection products. That acquisition was spectacularly unsuccessful, and after Avast acquired AVG they unloaded the RMM, which they saw as hurting their overall business by poisoning the well with companies who might otherwise partner with them. Barracuda also sees the RMM product as being differentiated by a security focus, but it’s a very different kind of security focus.”
Barracuda Enhances Solution And Service Offering For Today’s Security-Centric MSP
March 11, 2021- “Barracuda CloudGen Access for MSPs and Barracuda RMM help MSPs mitigate the cybersecurity risks associated with the growing remote workforce. Barracuda CloudGen Access makes Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) capabilities available to Barracuda’s MSP Partners. Enhancements to Barracuda’s cloud-based remote monitoring and management platform, now called Barracuda RMM, deliver expanded integrations, improved Microsoft patch management capabilities, and more.”
Barracuda Enhances Solution, Service for Security-centric MSPs
March 11, 2021- “Barracuda Networks Inc., a trusted partner and provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, announces the expansion of its portfolio of solutions and services for IT-managed service providers to include Barracuda CloudGen Access for MSPs. Additionally, the company is unveiling updates to its scalable, cloud-based remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. “As organizations continue to adapt to hybrid work scenarios to support their growing remote workforces, the introduction of Barracuda CloudGen Access and enhancements to Barracuda RMM are necessary next steps in our commitment to supporting MSPs in their security-centric journey,” said Brian Babineau, senior vice president and general manager, MSP Solutions. “By enabling MSPs to adopt a security-centric operational model, we are helping them to better mitigate the security risks associated with the work-from-anywhere approach and creating new business opportunities for them to deliver more flexible, secure access to valuable data, and streamline data protection operations.”
Your Clients are a Long-Term Commitment
March 4, 2021- “Attention and appreciation are critical to any successful relationship, including the relationships that MSPs have with their clients. And creating a successful relationship means prioritizing activities that will increase customer loyalty. Scott Bennet, Senior Director of MSP sales at Barracuda MSP, provides six tips to help keep your MSP practice on the right track when it comes to customer satisfaction and commitment.”
Why cyber criminals want to hijack your private conversations
March 3, 2021- “Small and medium-sized businesses have become increasingly reliant on technology as the COVID-19 pandemic altered the way they did business, delivered services, and interacted with employees, clients, and vendors. SMBs were already embracing the cloud before the pandemic because it offered cost savings, resource allocation, and ease of use. The pandemic pushed them to test these solutions across even more application areas, including security, IT access, and collaboration. And the cloud enabled them rapidly adjust their operations while reinforcing the overall value of working on these platforms.”
SMBs and the cloud: Evolving security needs
February 25, 2021- “Small and medium-sized businesses have become increasingly reliant on technology as the COVID-19 pandemic altered the way they did business, delivered services, and interacted with employees, clients, and vendors. SMBs were already embracing the cloud before the pandemic because it offered cost savings, resource allocation, and ease of use. The pandemic pushed them to test these solutions across even more application areas, including security, IT access, and collaboration. And the cloud enabled them rapidly adjust their operations while reinforcing the overall value of working on these platforms.”
SASE: The Key to Mitigating Business Transformation Risk
February 22, 2021- “Last year, business transformation efforts took on a whole new dimension. The global health crisis upended markets and supply chains, disrupted manufacturing operations, and pushed many companies (ready or not) into remote work scenarios and cloud-based workflows. For some, this meant existing transformation initiatives were suddenly accelerated and stress-tested–everyone got a good look at just how cloud-ready their vendors, applications and employees really were. Others saw ongoing projects grind to a halt while they took steps to adjust. Companies’ ability to embrace the opportunities presented by this abrupt shift, and to adapt and transform to meet the challenges of this new reality, was critical to surviving the harsh business conditions of 2020.”
CEO Outlook 2021
February 17, 2021- “Barracuda’s President and CEO BJ Jenkins recently spoke with CRN to provide his outlook on the industry and Barracuda’s partnerships as 2021 begins. Specifically, BJ offered his insights on the opportunities and obstacles Barracuda and its partners will tackle together, Barracuda’s adjusted practices in response to the effects of the pandemic, and the strategic investments Barracuda is making in 2021.”
Barracuda redesigns Email Threat Scanner tool to improve user interface and experience
February 11, 2021- “Today, security vendor Barracuda is announcing a redesigned version of their Barracuda Email Threat Scanner. This tool is for Office 365 environments, and is provided free to partners, where its ability to show customers threats that have already made it past their email gateway makes it valuable as a pre-sales tool.”
Barracuda Email Threat Scanner Detects Millions Of Attacks Missed By Organizations’ Existing Protection
February 11, 2021- “Barracuda, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today announced a redesigned version of the Barracuda Email Threat Scanner, a free tool that helps businesses detect email threats that got past their email gateway. These threats include highly targeted attacks such as spear phishing, business email compromise, conversation hijacking and services impersonation, among many others. Each scan provides a report on attacks found inside the environment, as well as at-risk domains and employees. This helps organizations identify gaps in existing email protection and assess email security vulnerabilities.”
New Year’s Podcast Series: Brian Babineau of Barracuda MSP
February 8, 2021- “Brian Babineau, senior vice president and general manager of Barracuda MSP is our guest on this edition of the New Year’s Podcast Series. On it, Babineau walks us through how the company’s business went in 2020 and his thoughts on what’s to come in 2021.”
The SMB Cloud Adoption Trend has a Silver Lining for MSPs
February 3, 2021- “Over the past year, as a global pandemic forced businesses of all sizes to adjust to remote work scenarios and economic upheaval, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) increased their use of cloud-based technologies. As we move into 2021, MSPs should take this opportunity to help them leverage the cloud in ways that can enable them succeed and thrive. According to a new SMB Group report, Top 10 SMB Technology Trends, embracing new technologies and business processes will be critical for these smaller companies, many of which were pushed to the brink during the business disruption in 2020. “
How MSPs can grow their businesses in 2021
February 3, 2021- “As Australian and New Zealand businesses grapple with uncertain economic conditions and ongoing disruption to normal operations, many managed service providers (MSPs) are also facing a tough 12 months ahead. Because they need to service their clients and support IT infrastructures remotely, MSPs are realising their operation methods need to change. To avoid any revenue dips in 2021, new strategies are likely to be required. There are many ways in which MSPs can shore up their businesses and increase their chances of enjoying a profitable year.”
Five B2B website best practices to help attract and engage customers
February 2, 2021- “This summer will mark the 30th anniversary of the very first website. We have undeniably come a long way from those green screen days in terms of accessibility, content and web design. Many websites still fall short of their potential, however, so here are some tips that can help draw more traffic and make your site work harder for your business. A robust website plays a vital role in marketing and lead generation. But many companies don’t regularly revisit their page design or most visible content once the site is built and deployed. If your current website simply features a list of services, packages and prices, you’re likely under-utilizing this valuable marketing resource.”
Barracuda Introduces Fast, Scalable, And Resilient Backup Platform To Protect Data In Microsoft Office 365
January 28, 2021- “Barracuda, a trusted partner and a leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today announced the latest version of Barracuda Cloud-to-Cloud Backup with a new platform that delivers a fast search and restore experience for Office 365 data, including Teams, Exchange Online, SharePoint, and OneDrive. Compared to traditional backup and recovery solutions, a cloud-native solution provides scale and resiliency, fast performance, and wide global coverage to protect Office 365 data born in the cloud.”
Barracuda introduces fast, scalable, and resilient backup platform to protect data in Microsoft Office 365
January 28, 2021- “Barracuda, a trusted partner and a leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today announced the latest version of Barracuda Cloud-to-Cloud Backup with a new platform that delivers a fast search and restore experience for Office 365 data, including Teams, Exchange Online, SharePoint, and OneDrive. Compared to traditional backup and recovery solutions, a cloud-native solution provides scale and resiliency, fast performance, and wide global coverage to protect Office 365 data born in the cloud. According to an October 2020 Microsoft blog post: “This quarter, Microsoft 365 users around the world generated more than 30 billion collaboration minutes in a single day as people communicated, collaborated, and co-authored content across work, life, and learning. This new metric combines both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration and reflects the changing nature of work.”
Barracuda completely rearchitects Cloud to Cloud Backup platform to meet growth in Microsoft Office 365
January 28, 2021- “Today, Barracuda is announcing that in collaboration with Microsoft, they have entirely rearchitected their Barracuda Cloud-to-Cloud Backup solution, which had become sorely tested with the massive increase in Microsoft Office 365 use since it was first introduced four years ago. The rearchitected solution will be exponentially faster in the speed at which it does backups and high-fidelity searches, and will also provide more flexibility around where it restores. “We had a very successful $100 million purpose-built backup appliance business, and in 2017, we took that solution and pointed it at it at Office 365 and it became one of our fastest growing solutions,” said Tim Jefferson, SVP Engineering for Data, Network and Application Security at Barracuda. “Cloud to Cloud Backup has consistently grown 100% year over year.”
The Importance of Being Security-Centric
January 22, 2021- “Last year, as companies were abruptly thrust into work-from-home and remote work scenarios, IT security took on a new urgency. Outside the office network and corporate firewall’s perceived safety, it rapidly became apparent to many organizations that their approach to data protection and security was woefully outdated. For those who allowed some employees to work from home or on the road, the gaps in the security infrastructure suddenly looked like gaping holes. MSPs with existing security expertise and offerings scrambled to help their clients adjust to this new way of working while simultaneously helping shore up their security profile. As a result, it looks like 2021 may very well be the year of the security-centric MSP.”
New research reveals IT professionals’ growing confidence in public cloud despite security concerns
January 14, 2021- “Barracuda, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today released key findings from a report titled Cloud networks: Shifting into hyperdrive. Commissioned by Barracuda, the research surveyed global IT decision makers to capture their attitudes and opinions about public cloud, access constraints, security concerns, emerging solutions, and a variety of related topics. Overall, the findings indicate that although IT professionals are gaining confidence in the cloud, organizations face growing constraints when it comes to cloud access.”
Barracuda Study Reveals Growing Confidence in Public Cloud
January 14, 2021- “IT professionals are becoming increasingly confident about the public cloud despite security concerns, explains Barracuda in a new report titled Cloud networks: Shifting into hyperdrive. The research surveyed global IT decision makers to capture their attitudes and opinions about public cloud, access constraints, security concerns, emerging solutions, and a variety of related topics. Overall, the findings indicate that although IT professionals are gaining confidence in the cloud, organizations face growing constraints when it comes to cloud access.”
The MSP Value Proposition
January 5, 2021- “Building a solid technology portfolio is essential for a successful MSP, but having a good lineup of products and services is just one part of fortifying client relationships, attracting new business and remaining competitive. MSPs have to establish a unique position in a crowded marketplace, and communicating their value is a critical component of meeting their business goals. To win new business and maintain margins, MSPs have to offer a value that their clients can’t get from other providers. If they’re doing a good job, it’s likely their clients may even be taking their efforts for granted because things are, generally, running smoothly. MSPs need a simple, easy-to-communicate value proposition to clarify why existing and new clients should spend money with them. That value proposition also needs to be communicated regularly. How can they do all these things? Barracuda has a new eBook, The MSP’s Guide to Demonstrating Value to Customers, that can help.”
COVID, Work From Home making spear phishing attacks more widespread and dangerous
December 17, 2020- “Business email compromise [BEC] attacks have almost doubled compared to last year, likely as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s a key takeaway from a new report by Barracuda on the evolution of email threats, which is being released today. The report identifies 13 types of email threats, running from spam, malware and data exfiltration at the least complex end, to BEC, conversation hijacking, lateral phishing and account takeover at the more complex. “Different vendors use different labels when talking about these threats,” said Don MacLennan, SVP, Email Protection, Engineering and Product Management, Barracuda. “We saw a need to educate the market, and thought we could best do this through a vendor-neutral framework. All the different vendors, including us, use our own terms, so we have structured a common order to how we all talk about these things, which translates all our proprietary language, and makes it clear what we are all referring to. That shows that there are 13 specific types of threats. We think this is helpful for educating the market.”
Three 2021 Predictions that MSPs Can Bank On
December 16, 2020- “Believe it or not, 2020 is almost over, and many MSPs and VARs are already gearing up to execute on their 2021 planning. This is also the time when industry experts make predictions about the vital trends and technologies that we should all be focusing on in the coming year. What’s interesting, though, is that just about anyone who made predictions for this year back in 2019 was way off base about what the business climate was going to look like. 2021 predictions have similar challenges given the current state of things. Still, our experiences this year – one in which technology companies found innovative and sometimes surprising ways to pivot, serve customers and keep the lights on – point to three key trends that we think will be important.”
Threat Spotlight: When bad bots attack
December 15, 2020- “Holiday shopping season makes e-commerce sites an attractive target for cybercriminals using bots to run distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, make fraudulent purchases, and scan for vulnerabilities they can exploit. In mid-November, Barracuda researchers ran Barracuda Advanced Bot Protection in front of a test web application, and the number of bots they detected in just a few days was staggering, with millions of attacks coming in from thousands of distinct IP addresses.”
