As the holiday season fast approaches, we at KedronUK are thrilled to reflect on the incredible journey we’ve had throughout the year. It’s been a year of growth, new partnerships, and exciting milestones that have shaped our company’s narrative. Throughout this blog, we reminisce on the past year, and share some key highlights from our 2023.

Welcoming New Faces to the KedronUK Family
This year, our team has expanded with the addition of three talented individuals who have seamlessly become integral parts of our sales and technical teams. Join us in welcoming:

• Max Raine – Business Development Assistant.
• Sean Thompson – Systems Support Engineer.
• Peter Costello – Account Executive.

Their expertise and enthusiasm have undoubtedly contributed to the success of our projects and the overall positive vibe within our work environment. We’re also looking forward to welcoming 3 new starters in the new year!

Forging Stronger Partnerships
In our commitment to delivering top-notch solutions, we are proud to announce new and exciting partnerships formed over the past year. Over the course of 2023, we have partnered with some valued vendors, such as, Forescout Technologies, Wib, Allegro Packets, Heimdal and BullWall. These collaborations with cutting-edge vendors have allowed us to enhance our service offerings and better address the evolving needs of our clients. 

Unforgettable Events Around the Globe
In 2023, we went beyond borders, hosting two company events in the heart of London and attending exciting partner events in Dubai and Germany. These experiences provided us with valuable insights, fostered new connections, and reinforced our commitment to being a global player in the IT industry. 

Celebrating 20 Years of Innovation
March marked a significant milestone for KedronUK as we celebrated our 20th anniversary. Two decades of innovation, dedication, and client satisfaction have shaped us into the company we are today. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our clients, partners, and the incredible team that has been instrumental in our success. 

Looking Forward to the Future
As we bid farewell to 2023, we are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. The coming year promises more innovation, continued growth, and the opportunity to strengthen existing relationships while forging new ones. We remain committed to delivering excellence in IT operations, security operations and service management. 

From all of us at KedronUK, we extend warm wishes for a joyful holiday season and a prosperous New Year. Thank you for being part of our journey, and we look forward to creating more success stories together in 2024. 

Merry Christmas!

Call us today on 01782 752 369
KedronUK, Kern House, Stone Business Park, Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0TL

The KedronUK team once again journeyed south for the last “No Sales Pitch” event of 2023 – Bridging the Gap: Managing and Protecting IoT/OT in the IT World. We returned to Clays Bar in Moorgate as the feedback from our last event was that virtual clay shooting was good fun (not to mention that it avoided standing around in a cold, muddy field waiting for your next turn!).

The “No Sales Pitch” theme means no hard-sell but a chance for attendees to see and learn about products which can help with current and upcoming challenges. IT teams are now often finding that security for the myriad of OT and IoT devices now appearing on enterprise networks is a headache. What has worked in the traditional PC world such as endpoint or agent-based solutions doesn’t readily translate to basic or outdated devices that cannot be easily managed, upgraded or replaced. 

The first presentation was given by Axel Debray from Forescout, who are a new partnership for KedronUK. Established for over twenty years, Forescout has a huge amount of data on the riskiest devices, including 39 billion data points and over 18 million device profiles. Being able to automatically inventory networks and profile the discovered devices with supporting information such as risk scores (both operational and security) starts to address the problem that you cannot secure what you don’t know about. With the Vedere Labs (the research arm of Forescout) showing a proof-of-concept for IoT specific ransomware last year, the risks associated with these devices continues to grow.

Kevin Berry from Keysight Technologies looked at many of the practical challenges facing security teams, who are tasked with increasing protection in the OT / IoT world. We often find the Keysight brand isn’t well known in the IT industry, but as the world’s largest test and measurement company, they have a wide range of solutions. Aside from the technical challenges of gaining visibility of OT devices, the typical environment where OT device lives has physical challenges such as temperature, humidity and vibration which need special consideration. Some of the scenarios considered included:

• Analysing packets from network switches which are full (no space for a mirror port) or which nobody dares to touch as they are so old or unmanageable.
• Getting the capture traffic to multiple tools without wasting bandwidth or overwhelming the tool(s) with the wrong data.
• Ensuring that any downtime (scheduled or otherwise) with the monitoring tool(s) does not impact the OT environment being monitored.
• Capturing traffic in the harsh environments as noted above.

Unfortunately, airline problems prevented Jorg Schallmayer from Infosim GmbH joining us to present on his topic – “StableNet as an IoT Platform Manager”. Phil Swainson stepped-up in his absense to provide an overview of StableNet but we hope to feature more about the work being done in the StableNet Innovation Lab on the management of IoT devices in the future.

Pulling a “double shift”, Phil Swainson concluded the talks and spoke about how Totuus from KedronUK can help with the ever-present challenge of maintaining a fit-for-purpose CMDB. A recent survey we ran indicated that almost half the respondents did not believe their CMDB was fit for purpose.

With the presentations complete, the bar opened, food was served and the shooting could start. Across the three virtual shoots in the event room, the best attendee on each screen stepped forward at the end for a winner takes all shoot-off. The prize of a new Xbox perhaps made for a timely Christmas present for somebody…

From speaking to attendees, the key takeaway from the afternoon was that gaining visibility into and securing OT / IoT is difficult for a wide variety of reasons, but there are innovative solutions to help bridge the gap and manage the risk around these devices. The environments and challenges can be complex but help is at hand!

To find out more about each technology discussed, take a look at our Bridging the Gap Presentation Slides here!

Call us today on 01782 752 369
KedronUK, Kern House, Stone Business Park, Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0TL

Read some of the latest industry insights from us and our vendors in KedronUK’s monthly Techbrief! This month we share with you information on Mastering IP Management, AI-Driven Cloud Anomaly Detection, Patch Management and much more!

KedronUK
“Bridging the Gap: Managing and Protecting OT/IoT in the IT World”. (Event)
Last month, we hosted our last #NoSalesPitch event of 2023 “Bridging the Gap: Managing and Protecting OT/IoT in the IT World” at Clays Bar in London and it’s safe to say it was another successful event! We had insightful presentations from some of our valued vendors, Forescout, Keysight Technologies, Infosim and Totuus, followed by some fun virtual clay pigeon shooting, and food and drink on us. From speaking to attendees, the key takeaway from the afternoon was that gaining visibility into and securing OT/IoT is difficult for a wide variety of reasons, but there are innovative solutions to help bridge the gap.
You can view our event presentations here!

ExtraHop
NDR Visibility Will Enable Zero Trust Transformation in 2024. (Blog Post)
As 2023 draws to a close, it’s a good time to consider how security leaders may need to shift their cyber strategies in the new year. One thing that’s certain: threat actors will continue trying their hardest to exploit any cyber weaknesses they can find, so ensuring your organisations cyber hygiene is in top form will remain critical. To the end, network visibility will be a crucial part of organisations transformational security plans in 2024. 
Read more here.

Infosim
Achieving Holistic Network Visibility with StableNet via 3rd-party Integration. (Blog Post)
A firms concrete understanding of what network visibility means depends on specific needs in accordance with your network scope, forcing many companies to use a mixture of tools. However, this can complicate data management and result in limited end-to-end visibility. The key to success for a deeper analysis is 3rd party integration into a single, unified platform solution. StableNet is a highly automated cross-vendor, -technology and -silo network and service management platform that combines configuration, fault and performance management as well as discovery and inventory on a single platform. In addition to a wide range of out-of-the-box network management functions, StableNet is able to seamlessly integrate 3rd party applications/technologies through open interfaces. Furthermore, StableNet offers you a high degree of flexibility and customisation through the integration of different data sources and intelligent data normalisation.
More information here.

Keysight Technologies
Mastering IP Management. (Blog Post)
In the intricate and high-pressure realm of integrated circuit (IC) design, IP reuse, whether it’s a basic component like matric multiplier and DSP to larger memory or wireless subsystem, is pivotal in accelerating design processes, minimising costs, and enabling the designers to focus on the differentiating components of the devices. To maximise the benefits of IP reuse, engineering teams may surprisingly find inspiration in the high-energy kitchens of restaurants. Both arenas share a common ground: the need for orchestration of a myriad of tools and resources, the relentless push against time constraints, and the quest to satisfy a clientele that demands nothing short of excellence.
Find out more about what to expect in 2024 here.

Rapid7
Rapid7 Introduces AI-Driven Cloud Anomaly Detection. (Blog Post)
Now available in early access for Rapid7 customers, Cloud Anomaly Detection helps security teams detect unknown threats in their cloud environments that traditional rule-based detections miss, and with more precision to avoid excess noise and false positives.

Detecting malicious activity in cloud environments poses a formidable challenge in cybersecurity due to the inherent speed and complexity of the cloud. Cloud infrastructure is dynamic, with constantly changing virtual assets, which make it hard to pinpoint and respond to threats effectively. The complexity of cloud configurations, the transient nature of assets, and the vast data generated can obscure malicious activities, necessitating advanced monitoring and analysis tools.
Find out more here.

Allegro Packets
Top 10 Use Cases. (Blog Post)
Is it the network, the server, the client, or the application? How can errors in the network be quickly detected and isolated – regardless of whether the event being analysed is current or in the past? What network performance statistics and metrics are displayed in what detail in the GUI? Here are Allegro Packets top 10 use cases to illustrate how and when Allegro Networks Multimeters can quickly identify network problems, performance bottlenecks, and packet loss.
Read the full article here!

Heimdal
Patch Management Guide. (Blog Post)
Patch management involved distributing and applying updates to various endpoints, which is crucial in fixing software vulnerabilities or unforeseen system interactions. 60% of cyber incidents leading to covert data theft link to absent, misconfigured, or incompletely implemented patches.

This article serves as an introduction to patch management, and will walk you through a patch management guide discussing modern and evolving practices, the importance of early patching in reducing vulnerabilities, frameworks for patch management, issues in deployment and post-deployment, and how implementing an early path policy can reduce costs linked to cyberattacks.
Read the full blog here.

Forescout
Hack the Building 2.0 Hospital – Training New Cybersecurity Talent. (Blog Post)
This year for the 13th year in a row, the healthcare idustry continues to experience the most expensive data breaches worldwide, at an average cost of nearly $11 million – double the cost for the next-highest industry, finance. That’s not surprising; ransomware attacks on hospitals and health systems are constantly in the news. Add to that the cybersecurity talent shortage, which is especially acute (pardon the pun) in the healthcase industry. Providing hands-on, specialised training for a new generation of skilled cybersecurity practitioners who understand the unique challenges of healthcare couldn’t be more timely.
Read the full blog post here.

Call us today on 01782 752 369
KedronUK, Kern House, Stone Business Park, Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0TL

Read some of the latest industry insights from us and our vendors in KedronUK’s monthly Techbrief! This month we share with you information on Managing & Protecting IoT/OT in the IT World, Threat Briefing, 2023 Cyber Security Predictions and much more!

KedronUK
Upcoming Event – “Bridging the Gap: Managing and Protecting OT/IoT in the IT World”. (Event)
We’re hosting our latest #NoSalesPitch event “Bridging the Gap: Managing and Protecting OT/IoT in the IT World” at Clays Bar in London on Thursday 16th November. We will be showcasing some exciting technologies from our partners, but with no sales pitching! You will be free for some networking while being able to take advantage of a free bar, canapes, and the chance to join in on some virtual clay pigeon shooting.
Register here!

ExtraHop
Reveal(x) Threat Briefing Helps Users Find Cisco IOS XE Vulnerability (Blog Post)
ExtraHop has released a new Threat Briefing in Reveal(x) that gives users visibility into a critical vulnerability in the Cisco IOS XE networking software. This vulnerability allows attackers to gain top-level administrative access to targeted networks. The Threat Briefing shows users how to run queries for vulnerable Cisco IOS devices receiving external traffic.
Read more here.

Infosim
Unlocking Network Performances Insights with TWAMP and StableNet: A Comprehensive Guide. (Blog Post)
In the world of networking, measuring and optimizing network performance is a critical task. Network engineers and operators rely on various tools and protocols to ensure their networks are running efficiently and meeting performance targets. One such protocol that has gained prominence in recent years is TWAMP, which stands for Two-Way Active Measurement Protocol. This blog post will delve into the world of TWAMP, exploring its significance, functionality, and how it empowers network professionals to maintain and enhance network performance.
Find out more here.

Keysight Technologies
The Cyber Security Shakeup Continues in 2024. (Blog Post)
Cyber threats and cybercrime show no signs of slowing. The growing risk makes it imperative that organisations constantly evaluate their security posture and take steps to harden their defences, protect internal networks, and secure data from the barrage of threats.
Find out more about what to expect in 2024 here.

Rapid7
Is That Smart Home Technology Secure? Here’s How You Can Find Out. (Blog Post)
Smart technology should never be treated differently than how we as consumers look at other products, like purchasing an automobile for example. In the case of automobiles, we search for the vehicle that meets our visual and performance expectations, but that will also keep us and our family safe. With that said, shouldn’t we also seek smart home technologies that are secure and protect our privacy?
Find out more here.

Allegro Packets
IT-Administrator Tests The Allegro 1000. (Blog Post)
IT-Administrator, a specialist magazine published by Heinemann Verlag, carried out an independent device test with the Allegro Network Multimeter. The focus was on the Allegro 1000, which was thoroughly tested by a network professional. Besides the basic features of the Allegro, the article looks at external storage options, integration modes, the GUI or performance areas such as insights into VoiP.
Read the full article here!

Heimdal
12 Best Vulnerability Management Systems & Tools 2023. (Blog Post)
Industry reports highlight the urgency: malicious actors can exploit a vulnerability within just 15 days of its discovery (CISA). The longer you wait, the larger the target on your back grows. Without proper vulnerability management tools, your business not only risks data breaches but also the loss of customer trust, and revenue, and potentially faces legal ramifications. But with so many options to choose from, which solutions truly stand out in 2023?
Read the full blog here.

Forescout
DarkGate Loader Delivered via Microsoft Teams – How It Works, How To Mitigate It, and How Forescout Can Help. (Blog Post)
The threat intelligence data that Forescout Research – Vedere Labs curates comes from the millions of connected devices that we monitor, attacks we observe and dissect in our sandboxes, data relating to attacks that is traded on the Darknet, and from our Adversary Engagement Environment. We see a lot of data. One thing no cybersecurity researcher wants to see, however, is an attack on their own organization.

That’s exactly what happened on September 25, when Forescout was targeted in a highly tailored phishing attack abusing Microsoft Teams functionality to deliver the DarkGate Loader malware. Since many of us are cybersecurity professionals, and all employees receive regular training on how to spot phishing attempts, our Information Security team was able to quickly intervene.
Since then, Forescout has analysed the attack in detail. Discover out what they found here.

Call us today on 01782 752 369
KedronUK, Kern House, Stone Business Park, Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0TL

In today’s digital age, businesses must be proactive in protecting their sensitive data and networks from cyber threats. One way to do this is through the use of breach and attack simulation (BAS) tools. BAS tools are designed to test the resilience of a company’s cybersecurity policies and procedures by simulating real-world cyber-attacks. This allows businesses to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in their systems before a malicious actor can exploit them. However, many business leaders may be unsure of the differences between breach and attack simulation, vulnerability scanning, and penetration testing.

Vulnerability scanning is the process of identifying and assessing vulnerabilities in a company’s systems and networks. This is typically done using automated tools that scan for known vulnerabilities and provide a report on any that are found. Penetration testing, on the other hand, goes one step further by actively attempting to exploit vulnerabilities in a company’s systems and networks. This is done by a team of ethical hackers who simulate real-world attacks to identify and assess the effectiveness of a company’s cybersecurity defences.

BAS takes a different approach by simulating real-world cyber-attacks in a controlled environment. This allows businesses to test their cybersecurity policies and procedures in a realistic scenario and identify any gaps or weaknesses. One of the challenges when deploying BAS is knowing how to deploy it within different customers’ unique technical architectures, to test all the critical security policies. Kedron provides this expertise as part of their service along with ongoing support and review. This means customers get the benefit of a delivered managed service but without the higher costs of a total outsource arrangement.

Kedron offers the ThreatSim product from Keysight, a market leading BAS solution, as part of their service. Many experts in the field, such as Gartner and Forrester, have stated that Breach and Attack Simulation is essential for enterprise security teams. Gartner states that “BAS solutions are essential for enterprise security teams to test the effectiveness of their security controls and identify vulnerabilities that need to be prioritized for remediation.” Forrester notes that “BAS has emerged to provide an attackers view, with deeper insights into vulnerabilities, attack paths, and weak/failed controls, making it an essential tool for any enterprise security team looking to proactively identify and remediate vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by attackers.”

In conclusion, breach and attack simulation is an important tool that should be used in addition to vulnerability scanning and penetration testing. It allows businesses to test their cybersecurity policies and procedures in a realistic scenario and identify vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

Read our recent Survey Report in partnership with Keysight Technologies, to learn more about how KedronUK and ThreatSim can help you business with BAS services.

Call us today on 01782 752 369
KedronUK, Kern House, Stone Business Park, Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0TL

Who are Allegro Packets and when was the company established?

Allegro Packets was formed by Klaus Denger, a serial tech entrepreneur, in 2007. Based out of Leipzig Germany his mission was to provide affordable, fast and easy to use insights into Network issues. This led to a range of 4th generation Network Performance management solutions.

How did Allegro Packets and Kedron come together?

Kedron was identified as a Partner who could add to Allegro’s channel only focus, as previous experience of working together of management made a good fit. Kedron’s customer first ethos fitted perfectly with Allegros, who’s continued development of the solution is based on customer feedback. 90% of all development is done this way with regular user feedback days.

What gap is Kedron filling for Allegro Packets?

Kedron as a partner brings real benefit as a true Value-added reseller. Years of experience in the Network performance management field has lead to a wealth of expertise that could see the benefit of the Allegro range. From small portable solutions to large Enterprise installations Kedron has the staff and project management skills to ensure a successful deployment.

What can Allegro Packets bring to Kedron?

When the initial solution was created. The first pillar was performance. 3rd Generation systems captured all the packets, then extracted for analysis. This had two problems. The first is time to extract those packets, mining through all the captured packets, takes time. The second is capturing and storing all those packets require huge drive arrays. 4th generation Allegros overcome this by real time analysis that allows users to instant go to the issues. Packets of interest can then be stored. This leads to the second pillar affordability. Less storage = lower cost. Allegro’s bring performance management back to sensible budgets levels with superb ROI. The third pillar, ease of use, is from a simple intuitive L2-7 menu system with a top down view means issues can be found quickly and easily. Add the software is the same on a large data centre as it is for portables an easy hybrid monitoring and ad-hoc environment can be created, without learning two sets of software.

Phil Swainson, Head of Technology at KedronUK says: “We’ve found that customers managing enterprise networks are struggling to find a network performance management tool focused on packets that can handle the demands of high-speed, high-bandwidth networks, while not breaking the bank with excessive storage requirements. The unique way Allegro Packets solutions work means that network managers and IT Ops managers can get the information they need without having to search petabytes of data.”

To find out more about Allegro Packets, please Contact us or get in contact with our sales team through sales@kedronuk.com. 

Call us today on 01782 752 369
KedronUK, Kern House, Stone Business Park, Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0TL