The success story of CynexLink and SecureLink

SecureLink is proud to introduce our enhanced Partner program, PartnerLink. PartnerLink is designed to build and grow relationships with valuable cybersecurity solutions for customers. This year, SecureLink signed 11 new partners, including Cavalry Solutions, Cyber Distribution, and SkyHelm, strengthening an ecosystem of 38 partners globally. Cory Shirk, SecureLink’s VP of Channels, sat down with Ayman Totounji, owner of CynexLink, to discuss how they were introduced to SecureLink, how SecureLink met their customer needs, and how PartnerLink has helped them in their business initiatives so far.

CS: How did CynexLink come to know SecureLink?

AT: There was a customer we were working with on a security assessment, and they realized that the third-party vector of risk was too high due to current tools. We conducted some research in our network of IT professionals as well as online and this is where we discovered SecureLink.

CS: What was the customer using for third-party remote access before SecureLink? Were there any associated risks? 

AT: The customer was primarily utilizing VPN connections for multiple third parties. One of the biggest issues they were facing was not knowing exactly what the individuals were doing while connected. They needed a solution that could securely connect their third parties.   

CS: What requirements were needed when searching for a third-party security solution? Any specific functionalities you were hoping a system could perform?

AT: CynexLink as a managed service provider (MSP) is the primary responsible party for the management and security of the customer’s network. We needed to collaborate with our customer to see the functionality of approval processes, audits, vaulted credentials, and SSH forwarding ports. Once we saw those, we knew what to look for when searching for third-party remote access solutions for them.

CS: Once you found SecureLink, you began to dive into the process of seeing everything SecureLink has to offer. How was the delivery of the live PoC (test drive)?

AT:  Due to the MSP nature of the relationship, the test drive setup was done with CynexLink rather than with the customer. CynexLink had a system in their environment for the host setup and did most of the testing during the PoC. The testing environment was great for us to see what SecureLink was capable of and if they could actually meet the requirements we established with our customer.

CS: Part of the process of setting up the SecureLink connection is inventorying third parties with access to a customer’s network. It’s an important step for us since un-inventoried third-party access is actually a leading cause of data breaches. How was the process of creating an inventory of all third parties? 

AT: CynexLink worked together with the customer and the SecureLink project team to gather all pertinent data, individuals, and related assets inside the network. Once we were able to identify all the third parties involved, we were able to set up controls for each party through the SecureLink server. 

CS: How did you collect and document pertinent information about third-party network access?

AT: CynexLink worked again with SecureLink and the customer to determine what methods of connection were appropriate for each third party. From there, we were able to better identify the connectivity needs and work with the third parties on getting them connected within the SecureLink platform.

CS: How was the process of onboarding third parties to the SecureLink platform?

AT: SecureLink has a subscription model which includes installation, configuration, third-party onboarding, training, etc., so there is very little extra effort for our customer to get started, which made things efficient all around. 

CS: How will the implementation of SecureLink look for the customer?

AT: Since CynexLink manages this customer’s network security, we will manage the SecureLink platform for them. The customer is using SecureLink to manage 15 third-party entities. 

CS: How has remote access looked after partnering with SecureLink? 

AT: The customer now has full control over the access of 15 third parties, including CynexLink. The level of visibility, control, and audit of activity are the primary benefits. The other unseen benefit is the decrease in risk from a third-party attack, which we’re especially thankful for.