President & CEO, LAN Infotech
Introduction
This case study is a testament to how powerful implementing security automation tools can be for MSPs. We will showcase how efficiency leads to better security and the benefits of using a strong Partner Program to establish communication between Vendors, MSPs and end users.
The Challenge
After evaluating the cyber threat landscape, Lan InfoTech recognized a need to align their security posture to proactively address the growing number of emerging threats.
During their internal evaluation, the team discovered that all their machines used extremely similar usernames and passwords for local administrator accounts. “We had a need to go out and make sure that we really did recycle all those local admin passwords,” recalls Michael Goldstein, President, and CEO of Lan InfoTech.
Manual management and maintenance of passwords for critical accounts (such as local admin or Office 365 accounts) is a tough task for an MSP of any size. These password rotations can interrupt a technician’s daily workflow, and as an MSP’s security estate continues to grow, can become time-consuming and frustrating, motivating a team to delay rotations, and making it something that nobody feels they have the time to do.
With this specific case, Lan InfoTech manages many long-standing on-premise servers. Managing these servers requires an engineer to make an on-site visit, and if a standard service accounts’ credentials weren’t rotated then, they would have to continue using the existing passwords. In the face of a growing number of clients with stagnant credentials and the difficulties with managing these credentials, the team chose to partner with CyberQP Cybersecurity to address this issue.
The Solution
“CyberQP offered us a unique solution,” said Michael Goldstein, President and CEO of Lan InfoTech, “You offered a really simple way for us to go out there and roll out an agent as part of our PSA and RMM that’s in place. Then, the ability to write these passwords securely back to IT Glue… It was just one of those really cool things that made us much more secure.”
By partnering with CyberQP in March 2022, Lan InfoTech successfully replaced their manual on-premise password management processes with QGuard, giving them more time to focus on high-impact projects and business goals.
“We have rolled out the agent to almost every managed customer,” Mr. Goldstein says, “we implement password changes to uphold their agreement to their errors, omissions and professional liability policy.” Using QGuard’s ability to regularly schedule password rotations saves technicians and end users from a headache.
While end user pushback can be a concern while rolling out new products, Lan Infotech has been able to address customer concerns with CyberQP’ Partner Marketing Program. The CyberQP Partner Program is designed to help MSPs go to market with CyberQP’ products and solutions with strategy. We provide support to our MSP partners by guiding them through internal, external, packaging/pricing and demand gen resources, including the end user adoption step of the process.
As new clients begin onboarding, Lan InfoTech uses CyberQP’ end user marketing materials to explain how they benefit from these security solutions. Lan InfoTech clients have even begun including these materials in their employee onboarding, especially as remote work becomes the norm, and cybersecurity becomes an even greater concern.
During their partnership with CyberQP, the team has continued to grow their customer and end user base. “Before when we had that core group of clients, we kind of knew everyone by name, but now when Joe calls up from ‘ABC Corporation’ I’m not necessarily sure that it really is Joe. So, we began to use the feature (Quickpass’ QDesk solution) to allow us to identify ourselves and have them identify themselves. I will say that this has saved us in a couple of instances.”
End user identity verification is the key to eliminating impersonation attacks on your business. With QDesk, MSPs can verify their end users’ identity directly from CyberQP or within your PSA. Clients can verify their identity through several methods including the CyberQP mobile app, text message or email notifications. The verification process takes place with the click of a button saving MSPs time and adding an extra layer of defense to their security.
Michael Goldstein has implemented this into his business practice and has not looked back since, “I can sleep better at night [because] everyone who calls for support has to identify themselves.”
The Future
Lan InfoTech’s partnership with CyberQP has also directly unlocked new opportunities for the MSP. Larger, co-managed accounts have approached the team to make password rotation and management easier.
“We’ve had the ability to resell CyberQP to them to be their password change management tool, said Mr. Goldstein, “You guys have been great to us.”
Now, Lan InfoTech can accommodate larger accounts with many end users and even more passwords. Offering regularly scheduled password rotations through automation with QGuard has allowed them to increase their margins.
CyberQP came full circle for Lan InfoTech. While this partnership began from a need to tighten internal security, this successful MSP is able to use the CyberQP platform to acquire new clients and gain revenue.
“You know, there’s a lot of vendors that we all say we love, but the CyberQP team has been amazing in supporting the MSP community.”
