It’s easy to be blinded by the acquisition news that came out of IT Nation Connect 2019, but there was another announcement that could carry more weight in the months and years to come. During the opening keynote, ConnectWise announced the soft launch of the TSP-ISAO (“eye-sow”), and independent non-profit launched to address the silos in which the IT security community currently operates.
The goal is to get vendors and TSPs (technology solution providers) to coordinate the sharing of intelligence and cybersecurity best practices to help find patterns and identify bad actors. With the IT industry aligned, it will be possible to launch coordinated countermeasures against criminals. According to the TSP-ISAO, the organization “will advance the cybersecurity resiliency of the global TSP industry by providing access to proactive threat intelligence, coordinate response, best practices evangelism, and support for research, training, and education.”
A critical piece of the TSP-ISAO offering is the sharing of information. “Using a threat intelligence platform powered by Perch Security, members will be able to see threat intelligence for no additional fee. Perch automates intelligence sharing for all TSP-ISAO members – a critical piece to the value of an ISAO membership.”
Founding members include CompTIA, as well as the University of South Florida (who has a strong security program).
Executive director MJ Shoer took to the IT Nation stage to welcome attendees to join the new organization, which formally launches Jan 1, 2020. It’s free to join TSP-ISAO for the first year.
Finally, Arnie (ConnectWise co-founder) and Lauren Bellini donated $250,000 to TSP-ISAO and $250,000 to the USF to help get the organization and threat research off the ground. Well done! 
