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F-Secure calls for more response in managed detection and response solutions.

As the threat landscape continues to evolve, so does the need for organizations’ approaches to defending against the business impact of cyber attacks. In light of this trend, cyber security provider F-Secure is calling for greater emphasis on both the preparedness for a breach as well as fast and effective containment that covers the correct balance of people, process and technology.

“Cyber breaches are now a fact of life for many companies. It’s no longer a matter of ‘if’ a company will be breached, the question is ‘when’. And that calls for a shift in how organizations handle many aspects of security,” said F-Secure Countercept Managing Director Tim Orchard.

Research highlights one current area of weakness as the lack of investment in effective incident response strategies. 44 percent of respondents to a recent MWR InfoSecurity (acquired by F-Secure in 2018*) survey said they invested less in their response capabilities than in threat prediction, prevention, or detection. Only 12 percent said response was prioritized over their other security capabilities.

Continuous response, the art and science of having the right people in the right place at the right time armed with the information they need to take control of the situation, is an emerging concept in cyber security that’s central to boosting response capabilities. The aim is to combine elements of collaboration, context, and control into a fluid process. In practice, this could mean a single team of threat hunters, first responders, administrators and other personnel working together to actively identify and remediate potential threats before they escalate.

“Having the tools and techniques in place to quickly detect, contain and frustrate attacks as they unfold buys you time, and gives you an opportunity to understand the full picture about how attackers are exploiting your weaknesses and moving through your network. And they need to be sophisticated enough to avoid tipping off an attacker that you’re onto them, and prepared to evict them in one concerted push,” explained Orchard. “And it’s important to put these tools and techniques into the hands of the right team if you want them to work.” 

According to the Gartner’s Answers to Questions About 3 Emerging Security Technologies for Midsize Enterprises report, “MDR is about ’renting trained eyes’ you can’t find or afford to detect incidents that go undiscovered...It’s about finding the 10% of incidents that bypass traditional firewall and endpoint protection security.”

MDR solutions typically offer 24/7 threat monitoring, detection, and response services that leverage advanced analytics and threat intelligence to help protect organizations. Generally, MDR vendors deploy sensors (such as an endpoint agent or a network probe) to gather data from a client’s systems. The data is then analyzed for evidence of compromise and the client is notified when a potential incident is detected.

After detection, clients either respond on their own or bring in external IR teams and approaches, which can include local or remote investigations and forensics, as well as advice on a possible orchestrated technical response. But at best, response activities stop at isolating hosts using EDR agents or firewalling.

But effective solutions can potentially do much more. Treating response as a continuous activity means team members will be in constant communication and collaboration with one another, able to discuss suspicious events happening anywhere within their infrastructure. MDR solutions can facilitate this process, giving defenders the edge they need to stop, contain, and ultimately, eject an adversary.

“Finding a balanced MDR solution, regardless of whether its an in-house solution or outsourced, is key. I think our approach to preparing our clients to assume the breaches have already happened, and then help them hunt down those threats, is the essence of continuous response,” said Orchard. “Getting this right lets defenders evict attackers quickly on their first try, and prevent those adversaries from repeating their attack.”

Serve has announced the addition of Las Vegas to its list of cities now offering Serve’s service platform based on blockchain technology.

Piloting its software, business processes and transaction protocols, Serve will bring residents, visitors, and businesses more options by increasing access to the products and services, the firms says.

"We are excited to pilot the Serve platform in Las Vegas, Nevada’s most populated city and globally renowned tourist destination,” said Serve’s CEO Shahan Ohanessian. “By showcasing the potential of our unique technology, which increases transparency and decentralizes the on-demand economy, Serve aims to empower users, service providers, and enterprises of all sizes to conduct business on one cohesive platform in a manner that benefits all participants.”

Scott Berg to transition to Board Advisor.

ServiceMax has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Neil Barua as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors.

Previously, Barua was CEO of IPC Systems and most recently served as an operating partner at Silver Lake. Barua’s appointment, effective immediately, concludes a thorough search for a successor to Scott Berg, who will become an advisor to ServiceMax’s Board.

“I’m thrilled to join ServiceMax at such an exciting period of change and innovation,” said Barua. “The team at ServiceMax has a passion for service and is an established leader in the Field Service Management software industry. Together we will help ServiceMax accelerate its growth, expand its product offerings and continue to deliver on the promise of service execution management through powerful outcomes for customers and partners.”

“It has been a privilege to lead ServiceMax, and I am enormously proud of what our team has accomplished together,” said Berg. “We have achieved growth that has outpaced the market over the past two years, expanded beyond ServiceMax’s leading Field Service Management capabilities, entered the Asset Service Management market, brought real-time communication to service technicians through the acquisition of Zinc and stood up the company as a standalone business. With Neil at the helm, I know the future of the company is in good hands, and I look forward to working with him to ensure a seamless transition.”

ECi Software Solutions have launched MobileTech software, a new native mobile app its e-automate^® users.

The app will streamline the process of managing service calls by providing service technicians with real-time, remote access to customer data and enabling them to create, view and address service calls from any location.

 

ECI's E-automate software centralises complex business processes, giving a holistic view into operations and helping eliminate redundancies. With MobileTech, dealers will now have access to a mobile app that is completely integrated with their ERP software, allowing them to give the best possible customer service from anywhere, at any time. Customer and equipment history will be available in its entirety, making it easy for technicians to look up past customer data.

The mobile app also includes a GPS feature so service technicians can map service call and tech activity; a search functionality to quickly look up part location and availability; a service call recording and time tracking capability; and a live chat feature allowing technicians to communicate with one another. As a result, technicians will be able to resolve even more calls per day, increasing customer satisfaction and ultimately saving time.

 

Verizon Connect has partnered with Iveco to provide customers with its comprehensive telematics and mobile workforce management software platform.

The Verizon Connect Fleet and Workforce offerings will provide vehicle and driver information that businesses of any size can use to optimize their mobile business. Iveco fleet management by Verizon Connect is available now in new Iveco Daily light commercial vehicles.

Iveco customers can select among three Verizon Connect plans at the time of purchase - Fleet Essential without tachograph driver hours, Fleet Essential with tachograph driver hours, and Fleet Enhanced with tachograph driver hours and tachograph remote download, which enables the timely download of driver cards and tachograph data according to legal requirements.

Verizon Connect Tachograph helps fleet managers stay informed of driver activity with weekly reports detailing driver and vehicle performance, fuel use and helps manage European tachograph regulation compliance. Verizon Connect’s mobile workforce management solution, Workforce Essential, is also available as an extension on all plans. 

“Integration of the Verizon Connect platform will extend value and benefits to Iveco customers beyond delivering an outstanding vehicle,” said Fabio Santiago, TCO services director at Iveco.  “By fitting Verizon Connect solutions in select new vehicles, we are able to help our customers run their businesses with better control of their operations.” “This level of customer services and benefits can only come with the deep integration that now exists between Verizon Connect and Iveco vehicles,” said Dan Levy, OEM business at Verizon Connect. “With Iveco fleet management by Verizon Connect, our common customers now have the solutions they require to help enhance the safety, productivity and efficiency of their fleets.”

Contract with GSA will see telematics tech rolled out to 217,000 US Government vehicles.

IoT and connected transport firm Geotab has announced a deal with General Service Administration (GSA) to equip over 200,000 of its vehicles with its fleet management technology.

The deal, which is the largest single-source telematics contract to date, will see the technology implemented into GSA Fleet, a division of GSA that provides vehicles to US Federal agencies.

Established in 1954, GSA Fleet conduct vehicle acquisition, leasing and disposal, maintenance control, accident management and loss prevention services and is one of the largest non-tactical fleets in America.

Commenting, Geotab CEO, Neil Cawse praised the US Government for taking the lead in fleet technology. "With GSA paving the way, we believe the U.S. government leads the world in the adoption of telematics in the public sector. Particularly within local, state and federal agencies where fleet vehicles typically account for a large portion of their annual budget, our intelligent integrated solutions have the potential to protect capital assets, reduce associated risk, improve accountability and decrease operating costs,” he said.

Application will enable Fleet Managers to monitor driver activity helping with tachograph compliance.

Verizon Connect has announced the launch of a digital tachograph tool that shares information with fleet managers including driving times and rest periods.

A digital tachograph is a device that records speed, distance and driver activity; data, which when used correctly, can ensure European Tachograph regulation is adhered to.When this data is used with Verizon Connect's fleet management platform users can save time, improve processes and remain compliant, the firm says.

“One of the biggest challenges for fleet managers is helping drivers understand their tacho status so customers aren’t losing time and money by pulling drivers off the road to manually download tachograph files from trucks,” said Derek Bryan, EMEA vice president, Verizon Connect. “Digital Tacho Live View provides the visibility necessary to access driver data quickly and easily, helping managers make quick and informed decisions, produce more accurate plans and receive advanced warning of infringements.”

TVCable Group, one of the leading service providers in Ecuador, has successfully finalised the implementation of the Comarch Field Service Management system, which now enables the operator to improve SLA compliance, decrease time to work order assignment, and improve service delivery time. 

Efficient management of services in the field requires effective coordination and motivated, customer-focused employees. However, even the most committed workers cannot ensure optimal service processes if they have to handle manual work on each step of service delivery. TVCable Group sought to ensure high quality of service for its customers, which was the main concern for the top management of the organization. For this reason, TVCable Group decided to implement the Comarch Field Service Management web and mobile applications, to bring benefits to managers, dispatchers and technicians in the field, and completely digitize service processes. 

The applied solutions have helped the company to improve customer satisfaction and service efficiency on several levels. The most appreciated result is the reduction of manual work, which translates into faster service delivery. With the implemented solution, the services are also delivered within the set SLA. TVCable Group can ensure 90% of installations within 24 hours, while the SLA for this type of service is 48 hours. Also, 80% of repairs are completed within nine hours, whereas the SLA here is 12 hours.

"The implemented Comarch Field Service Management software fully automates and truly streamlines our service delivery process. Since we deployed this solution, we have been able to eliminate a lot of manual work and, as a result, to coordinate field task assignment and execution more efficiently," says Marcel Ceruso, Director of Customer Service at TVCable Group. "This tool enabled our organization to achieve better KPIs, both operational and strategic. Decreasing our mean service time and providing it within the framework of a set SLA definitely improved our relationship with our customers.

"These changes could take place thanks to Comarch’s support throughout the analysis and implementation process, underpinned by their experience in the telecommunication industry. With their guidance, we have applied appropriate modules, configured the service workflows, and modernized the quality and productivity of the service," Ceruso added.

Beside the quantitative results, the company and their clients also benefit from the quality of the provided service. Customers receive updates via email, calls and text messages about service visits and their allocated technician’s location. The mobile app enables managers and dispatchers to control the quality of the technicians’ work. As a result, workers are motivated to follow the procedures and ensure the expected quality of service.

Ex-Astea employee David Giannetto to take up post of Chief Operation Officer at service management solutions firm.

WorkWave has announced the appointment of David Giannetto as its new Chief Operation Officer. 

The former Astea employee will be based in the company's New Jersey office and will be expected to bring his experience across SaaS and his knowledge of emerging technologies to WorkWave's customer experience and innovation strategy.  

In a statement, WorkWave's CEO Marne Martin, said he was looking forward to Gianetto's arrival. “I am thrilled to welcome David to our leadership team," he said. "With more than 25 years of bottom-line responsibility growing business-oriented service and technology companies, his arrival will enable us to continue to grow as a company, while providing the service industry with best-in-class SaaS solutions. The insights and expertise he brings to the table will help further our position as the dominant SMB SaaS solution for the pest vertical and other service industries.”