Microsoft Sentinel, MISA Gain MSSP and ISV Critical Mass -

The Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA), designed for MSSPs and ISVs (independent software vendors) continues to expand. And each time an MSSP or security software company plugs into the ecosystem, it also strengthens Microsoft Sentinel, a cloud-based SIEM (security information and event management) platform.

The latest company to join MISA is Armorblox, an email security platform provider. Armorblox's software now integrates with Microsoft Sentinel to "help InfoSec teams better defend against threats based on business email compromise (BEC), ransomware, phishing, and vendor/supply chain attacks," the email specialist indicated.

Read between the lines, and Microsoft Sentinel is emerging as a potential point of convergence for MSSPs and security-minded ISVs.

In Armorblox's case, the company claims to complement Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and Microsoft Sentinel with three capabilities:

Provides customers a means to stop BEC and phishing attacks using artificial intelligence, behavioral analytics, and natural language understanding.

Prevents financial loss/data loss/ransomware by stopping attacks that target business workflows.

Shares threat intelligence, optimizes playbooks, and enriches threat hunting for SecOps teams with an API-based integration between Armorblox and Sentinel.

MISA: Continued Expansion With MSSPs, ISVs

Meanwhile, MISA -- led by Maria Thomson -- remains in expansion mode. As of August 2021, MISA had 67 MSSP members that supported 165 managed security services as of August 2021. Furthermore, MISA reported that 176 ISVs delivered 259 integrations as of July 2021.

MSSPs and ISVs that joined MISA in recent weeks include...

November 2021:

Arista Networks, a network detection and response (NDR) provider.

Concentric, which develops a Semantic Intelligence platform to assess risk and remediate vulnerabilities in individual files.

Difenda, an MSSP that specializes in SecOps as a Service

Pathlock, an access orchestration platform provider.

Sonrai Security, a cloud security provider.

October 2021:

Cofense, the phishing detection and response (PDR) solutions provider.

IronNet, which develops a collective defense platform.

Logicalis, an IT solutions provider and MSP.

VMRay, a provider of automated malware detection and analysis.

September 2021:

Cloudflare, the Internet accelerator and security provider.

CWSI became the first Irish MSSP to join MISA.

Note: Whom did we miss in terms of new members announced since September 2021?

MISA members can provide preview product access and input, and can access security integrations and leverage co-marketing opportunities.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Engages MSSPs

Somewhat similar to MISA, Amazon Web Services (AWS) in August 2021 introduced the Level 1 MSSP Competency for AWS Partners as it tries to foster new partnerships with MSSPs and ISVs. AWS Partners can earn this competency to deliver AWS security and monitoring as a fully managed service.