Datto, which develops data protection and networking solutions for MSPs, has hired Ryan Weeks as chief information security officer (CISO). It's part of a growing CISO trend within the MSP technology and vendor ecosystem.
Weeks will drive Datto's information security initiatives and be responsible for the ongoing development and maintenance of Datto's security program roadmap.
"Information security is critical to Datto's ability to meet the continually evolving needs of our partners and their small-to-medium business customers. By adding a CISO, Datto is expanding upon its initiative to take a more pre-emptive and proactive approach to data security across its entire product line," Weeks told ChannelE2E.
Datto BDR, UTM & Networking Solutions
That product line is growing rapidly. Datto has expanded its portfolio from business continuity solutions to include unified threat management (UTM), WiFi and other types of networking hardware. Some of the effort involves organic R&D (Datto Network Appliance, DNA) while other potions involves the Open Mesh acquisition. Datto VP of Business Development Rob Rae described the portfolio strategy in this ChannelE2E podcast.
Weeks previously served as vice president and associate director at FactSet Research Systems, a provider of financial data and analytic applications for investment management and investment banking professionals. In that previous role, Weeks managed an information security program designed to safeguard data provided by the world's largest financial institutions, according to Datto.
At Datto, Weeks will build upon the company's vision "to ensure solutions provide the level of protection MSP partners demand and to minimize IT risks for their customers," he said in a prepared statement. Weeks also is expected to help Datto analyze and address new IT security challenges. He reports to Datto Chief Technology Officer Robert Gibbons.
SMB and MSP Security: The Big Emphasis
Security is increasingly important to Datto and its MSP-centric technology rivals. Datto occasionally was under the microscope during the Hilary Clinton personal email server investigation. An MSP leveraged some Datto equipment to back up Clinton's server. No email security server breaches were found, and Datto complied with government subpoenas about the equipment.
Still, the process essentially put all SMB storage and security companies on notice -- prompting many firms to double-check their approach to security and associated staffing.
Indeed, several tech companies have named or hired CISOs in recent months. In addition to Datto, a key example includes end-to-end security company SecureAuth. The company recently appointed Danielle Jackson as its CISO. The move comes as SecureAuth is expanding its portfolio of adaptive access control, multi-factor authentication (MFA) and single sign-on (SSO) products.
Jackson previously served as director of information security at Bloomberg BNA. She also has held advisory and senior leadership roles at Mandiant (now owned by FireEye) and Accenture and is expected to help SecureAuth manage rapidly evolving IT security challenges.
