N-able has added Microsoft security expert Ann Johnson (pictured above) to its board of directors, and formed a cybersecurity committee of the board. The moves come as MSP software companies strive to further safeguard their code and supply chains from cyberattacks.
At Microsoft, Johnson is corporate vice president of security, compliance, identity, and management business development. She also is a member of the board of advisors for The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), an advisory board member for the Executive Women’s Forum on Information Security, Risk Management & Privacy (EWF), and a board member at HUMAN (formerly WhiteOps), as well as Seattle Humane.
N-able's newly formed cybersecurity committee of the board includes Johnson, fellow N-able directors Darryl Lewis, as committee chair, and Cam McMartin. Lewis and McMartin both joined as directors in connection with N-able’s spin-off from SolarWinds in July 2021. The committee will oversee N-able policies, plans, and programs relating to cybersecurity and data protection risks associated with its products, services, and business operations, N-able indicated.
The N-able boardroom updates arrive a few weeks after CEO John Pagliuca and other executive team members participated in a cybersecurity war games that tested the company's cyber resilience plan.
Board-level Cyber Perspectives
In a prepared statement about joining N-able's board, Johnson said:
“I was attracted to N-able because of how they approach technology, as an innovation ecosystem that is constantly challenging themselves and their customers to go further. I’m honored to be joining such a respected group of fellow directors and thank John Pagliuca and the board for the opportunity.”
Added N-able Pagliuca:
“Ann is a force to be reckoned with in the tech industry and a true cyber trailblazer, and we’re thrilled that she accepted the appointment of director. This good news is made even greater with the unveiling of our new cybersecurity committee with Darryl at its helm. Cybersecurity isn’t a one and done exercise and our aim is to continually increase our level of investment, focus, and responsibility, which we believe is a mutual and shared one for our entire industry.”
The overall N-able board spans executives who have backgrounds in technology, operations, M&A, and security.
MSP Software Companies Strengthen Security Postures
The MSP industry as a whole has been striving to lock down their code, supply chains and MSP partner installs ever since MSP ransomware attacks began to intensify around 2019. The effort has escalated significantly over the past two years, and then reached a fever pitch during the SolarWinds Orion cyberattacks of 2020 and the Kaseya VSA ransomware attack of July 2021. (N-able's code was not involved in the SolarWinds Orion attack.)
Amid that backdrop:
- ConnectWise changed its security tone for the better even before some of the high-profile industry attacks surfaced.
- Datto CISO Ryan Weeks, a high-profile MSP market educator, has quietly grown a staff of direct reports to dozens of employees.
- Kaseya hired FBI veteran Jason Manar as CISO.
Of the major MSP software providers, both Datto and N-able are publicly held.
