Ever gone around the expo hall at a major cybersecurity conference and listened to the sales pitches? You nearly can’t tell them apart because their marketing is on overdrive, fuelled by the recent investment craze in cyber. It’s quite tough to tell what genuinely works and what’s just hype, so everything blurs into white noise. Confusing!
I interview hundreds of cyber vendors and experts, and I can’t always tell the difference. However, as you go deeper, you’ll eventually discover the truth. It takes time researching, investigating and talking with the experts. Even so, what you uncover is only valid for that moment in time so you need to keep on monitoring to stay ahead.
Breaking this down so that MSPs, MSSPs, SOCs, and CISOs can perform the necessary due diligence to strengthen their cyber portfolio is a significant undertaking. It is crucial to filter out the BS and focus on the most relevant solutions. For MSPs and MSSPs, simplifying and streamlining managed services is vital to their continued success.
The Cybersecurity Defense Ecosystem was built for the channel and cybersecurity experts with all this and more in mind.
The mission began shortly after the Pandemic of 2020, when our cybersecurity community began warning us of the impending storm. They were arguing back then that once everyone starts working from home, the attack surface will expand tremendously, making defence a massive challenge. No one was prepared for that!
Back then, we thought surviving Covid and transitioning from in-person to virtual activities were difficult enough, but that was only the beginning. Everyone and every business had to go virtual, resulting in an explosion of digital transformation. The ideal conditions for bad cyber actors to flourish.
Our cybersecurity specialists were so right! We rapidly witnessed a tremendous spike in all types of cyberattacks, but what could we do to assist the channel in overcoming this problem…
First, we increased our focus on researching and interviewing a wide range of cybersecurity providers and SOCs; hundreds can be found on www.e-channelnews.com. Back then, there were a few hundred cyber vendors. Fast forward to now, there are over 6,000. As we gained traction, we continued to rely on our community and formed an advisory council to guide our cyber activities.
The Cybersecurity Defense Ecosystem was born…
We set out to build a comprehensive year-round resource that our channel community could utilize to develop, sell, and deploy effective cybersecurity solutions. To ensure accuracy and relevance, we worked with a group of experts and CISOs to select the finest tools and solutions for MSPs, MSSPs, SOCs, and CISOs.
It took more than two years to build.
Since its inception in November 2023, we’ve welcomed over 5,000 freemium members and expanded with many new tools. With the help of CISOs, we have shortlisted around 250 suppliers, approving approximately 50 thus far (much more to come on this).
We were now ready to finally meet with the community in person to demonstrate what we had built for them and allow everyone to learn, provide feedback, and network.
The CDE Summits were introduced nationwide in early 2024.
Our one mission is to unite the channel community against cybercrime and help channel partners improve their cybersecurity abilities. The regional CDE Summits are in-person gatherings where the community can experience the value personally, with 2025 plans to expand to multi-day events that will include training, education, and peer-group meetings.
Don’t believe us out of the gate!
We invite you to spend one-half day experiencing the CDE for yourself so you can know.
Attendance is still free (including lunch and golf games), and joining the CDE in 2024 will cost you nothing for the first year. Starting January 1, 2025, new members will pay an annual fee, while ALL members who join before January 1, 2025 will have their membership payments waived for 2025.
Once you’ve seen the value the CDE brings, you’ll understand how crucial it is in helping you increase your protection against cyber threats and its impact on your business. It may not be the only thing you do, but it could be one of the most important.
Ready? Come meet us and experience the CDE on September 19 in El Segundo, California. Or just join online if you do not like in person!
If you miss this one, then we are back on the EAST on November 19.
Be warned, these are NOT typical cyber conferences! We provide some top-shelf content from the best experts in the morning, then we kick back, eat, drink, network and play golf-games in the afternoon! We have no sales pitches nor vendor booths but you can meet them in their private golf bays! We even have a pro golfer to give you some tips!
