The 16 Biggest Things Trustwave Did in 2016

Before turning the page on 2016, we must take the opportunity to highlight our many impressive accomplishments and achievements of the past 12 months. From global growth to industry recognition to security skills initiatives, these are our stories of triumph and gratitude.

1) We expanded our leadership in managed security services.

Throughout 2016, Trustwave celebrated significant milestones in managed security services, and the industry took note. According to a report released from industry analyst firm Gartner, Trustwave was the fastest-growing managed security services provider worldwide based on 2015 market share revenue. Gartner also positioned Trustwave in the "Challengers" quadrant in the "Gartner Magic Quadrant for Managed Security Services, Worldwide."  Also this year, IDC named Trustwave a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: U.S. Emerging Managed Security Services 2016 Vendor Assessment based on IDC analysis and buyer perception.

2) We changed the way managed security services are delivered with our new model for global security operations centers.

Trustwave introduced the industry's first global network of federated Advanced Security Operations Centers (ASOCs) designed to power a new generation of managed security services. Unlike traditional security operations centers, federated ASOCs are united worldwide and usher in a new level of local threat awareness combined with global threat visibility and intelligence - delivering protection on a truly global scale.

3) Our global network of ASOCs expanded throughout Asia-Pacific.

Almost doubling our geographic security operations capacity in less than a year, Trustwave now operates nine - up from five - ASOCs globally, located throughout North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. With the opening of a new ASOC on the Optus campus in Sydney, we expanded in Australia. We also opened our first ASOC in Japan, which enhanced our ability to serve clients headquartered in the Land of the Rising Sun, in addition to large, multinational businesses with operations in the region.

4) Industry leaders delivering our managed security services increased.

Optus Business in Australia and TIS in Japan were added to the growing list of big companies offering managed security services powered by Trustwave in their regions. Last year, Rogers Communications in Canada announced a similar alliance with Trustwave,  Singtel is offering our services in Singapore. We expect more partnerships in 2017, so stay tuned.

5) We expanded our leadership team.

Over the past year, we expanded our management team with several notable managed security services veterans joining, including Trustwave Chief Operations Officer Rick Miller, Senior Vice President of Managed Security Services Chris Schueler and Senior Vice President of Product Management C.J. Spallitta. Mike Petitti also became head of Alliances, Kevin Kilraine was named our chief financial Officer, Dave Feringa joined as EVP of global sales and Jim Ritchings took the reins as channel chief.

6) Our roster of innovative managed security services got larger.

We continued to innovate by offering new managed security services such as the Trustwave Managed Endpoint Detection & Response service. It can help identify behaviors and footprints commonly associated with sophisticated and never-before-seen attacks, and help immediately contain and rapidly respond to incidents.

7) We built on our third-party technology partnerships.

Trustwave and CounterTack announced a new alliance to help businesses minimize the impact of data breaches by speeding up incident detection and response times. Through strategic relationships with several third-party security industry vendors, including Akamai, Carbon Black, CounterTack and Palo Alto Networks, we can not only manage our own technologies but also those from these and other security industry leaders.

8) Our cloud-based Secure Web Gateway extended our Zero Malware Guarantee.

Trustwave introduced the industry's first cloud-based Secure Web Gateway service with a Zero Malware Guarantee. The Trustwave Secure Web Gateway Cloud (SWG) service helps provide distributed enterprises with real-time protection from the hundreds of millions of obscured or encrypted new pieces of dynamic malware and ransomware attackers create each year.

9) Testing bodies called out our Secure Web Gateway for its effectiveness.

Trustwave SWG blocked 100 percent of exploits and proved effective against all evasion techniques in an independent test conducted by NSS Labs. The solution also won the VBWeb award from Virus Bulletin, which evaluated us against hundreds of malicious web pages hosting drive-by downloads, direct malware downloads and potentially malicious behavior. Virus Bulletin declared Trustwave "one of the industry leaders when it comes to web security."

10) We kicked off initiatives to concentrate on the cybersecurity skills shortage.

Trustwave and LifeJourney announced a global education initiative to help address the skills gap facing the information security industry by providing students with the resources and mentorship needed to discover and develop future careers in cybersecurity. Along the same lines, we announced a partnership with the Illinois Technology Association (ITA) to foster cybersecurity skills and job placements that can better help businesses better fight cybercrime, protect data and reduce risk.

11) Our parent opened a "cyber range" to bolster skills.

Trustwave enhanced the cybersecurity skills and preparedness of stakeholders across businesses and governments in Asia-Pacific by launching the Singtel Cyber Security Institute (CSI). A hybrid between an advanced "cyber range" and an educational institute, the CSI is a first-of-its-kind in the region to test and train companies in dealing with sophisticated cyber threats.

12) We produced eye-popping reports.

One of the most effective ways we can help educate and enlighten our audience is through the sharing of high-quality original research. Take for example our portfolio of reports, all available for free and easy download. They included the 2016 Security Pressures Report from Trustwave, the 2016 Trustwave Global Security Report and Security Testing Practices and Priorities: An Osterman Research Survey Report .

13) The SpiderLabs team at Trustwave made some major discoveries.

Our team of SpiderLabs researchers, penetration testers, incident responders and forensic investigators offered practical insight and actionable information (including indicators of compromise) into a slew of specific threats affecting organizations worldwide. This ranged from analysis into crime groups like Carbanak, to the discovery of a zero-day exploit up for auction in the cybercriminal underground, to a probe into the Angler exploit kit, to the expose of a Skype for Mac OS X backdoor. All of the SpiderLabs team's most notable work can be found here.

14) Our database security solutions got a big nod of approval.

Trustwave database security products received their Certificate of Networthiness (CoN) from the U.S. Army, approving their use in the Army Enterprise Infrastructure (AEI). The news demonstrated Trustwave's commitment to developing and delivering the most comprehensive and scalable database security software solutions to the U.S. Armed Forces and other federal agencies that seek to uphold the highest standards in data security and privacy.

15) We expanded in Canada.

We opened a new office in Waterloo, Ontario, expanded hiring and added a new country manager to support Trustwave's expansion in the Great White North. Canadian businesses are under increased pressure from cybersecurity threats, vulnerabilities and resource constraints, according to the aforementioned 2016 Security Pressures Report from Trustwave.

16) Our shelf of accolades grew more crowded.

In addition to the momentous analyst recognition we received in 2016, our list of awards expanded. CNP named Trustwave Best PCI Compliance Provider, and SC Magazine highlighted Trustwave as 2016 finalist in numerous areas, including Best Risk or Policy Management Solution, Best Database Security Solution, Best NAC Solution and Best Regulatory Compliance Solution. We also were shortlisted in two 2017 SC Awards categories, including Best Managed Security Service.

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We are so thankful to our customers, partners and employees for such a remarkable 2016. Let's do it all again next year, shall we? Happy New Year, from your friends at Trustwave.

Cas Purdy is vice president of corporate marketing and communications at Trustwave.