CRN has once again honored WatchGuard with a prestigious 5-star rating in its 2023 Partner Program Guide! This recognition marks the 7th consecutive year that the WatchGuardONE partner program has earned top marks in CRN’s definitive directory of the most rewarding partner programs for the IT channel. The 5-star rating of CRN’s annual Partner Program Guide is awarded to companies that go above and beyond to nurture strong, profitable, successful channel partnerships.

ChatGPT, the public generative AI that came out in late November 2022, has raised legitimate concerns about its potential to amplify the severity and complexity of cyberthreats. In fact, as soon as OpenAI announced its release many security experts predicted that it would only be a matter of time before attackers started using this AI chatbot to craft malware or even augment phishing attacks.

The security operations maturity model assesses an organization’s current security capabilities to reduce its cyber risk and incident cost by lowering its time to detect and respond to threats, become more cyber resilient, and draw a plan to mature over time.

The industrial sector is one of the largest, most diverse and changing segments of the global economy. It is also one of the main targets for cybercriminals. Industrial sites and factories continue to transform and digitize, which means that more and more critical assets and infrastructure are being connected to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). This has raised security concerns about operational technology (OT) in manufacturing, which is increasingly at risk.

Companies need to measure performance in all areas of operations to check whether they are proving cost-effective and achieving the desired results. One of the best ways for security managers to demonstrate that their security operations program is aligned with business objectives is to use metrics that demonstrate efficiency and effectiveness.

WatchGuard Technology was recognized as a Cybersecurity Channel Champion in the 2022 Canalys Global Cybersecurity Leadership Matrix. The Cybersecurity Leadership Matrix assesses vendor performance in the channel over the last 12 months based on partner feedback, vendor surveys, Canalys shipment estimates, and analyst insight.

At a high level, the SOC's core mission remains to help the enterprise manage cyber risk, but what has changed is the sophistication of cyber threats and the mechanics of the SOC to operate. To successfully protect and respond to threats, SOCs need deep visibility into organization activity and automate key but repetitive functions while freeing analysts to focus on more valuable functions such as threat hunting and vulnerability management.

Hybrid work, which involves splitting the working week between in-office and remote work time, is the new normal that many companies have been adapting to after the COVID-19 pandemic crisis forced them to work remotely to continue providing services. A recent study indicates that, in fact, 58% of companies have been encouraged to promote a hybrid return to the office. In addition, it estimates that 48% of employees will be following a hybrid or remote model in the next two years.

As managed service providers (MSPs) at the helm of keeping organizations secure, taking proactive steps toward cyber hygiene is more vital now than ever. Maintaining an up-to-date and healthy environment is impossible without regularly updating software agents. Updating these tools improves operational efficiency, reduces IT ticket volume, and defends against known or potential new vulnerabilities in your clients' systems.