MSP Transform: Focus on more than just 'shiny tools', urges Flow Communications CEO

Flow Communications CEO Etienne Greef spoke at CRN's MSP transform event

Flow Communications CEO Etienne Greeff urged MSP's and customers to not focus on just a "shiny" deck of tools to protect themselves from cyberattacks.

Greeff gave a keynote during CRN's MSP transform event on Tuesday over large scale attacks and how CSOs and CISOs are seeking assistance to help bolster thire defences against the growing strength and number of attackers.

During his keynote, he said that a lot of industries are led by "shiny tools", saying that this is the "hallmark of a young industry".

He said: "We tend to focus a lot on protection, the shiny, we can manage it, and install it. In an immature business, you typically find that they spent their budget not so much on assessing risk or responding to recovery."

Greeff said businsses should focus on legacy methods such as phishing which he said are still responsible for the majority of ransomware attacks.

He said: "I plan to focus on other areas, not just the shiny stuff.

"These are things I think can we really help our customers with. This stuff can actually really reduce the risk."

Greeff also highlighted the need for businesses to test their systems under stress in order to ensure they are as safe as possible.

Referencing a car, he said that what makes them safe is testing things like crumple zones and ABS under stress, not by just ticking a box saying it's there.

"It's how they handle the stress which infers safety," he said.