Security News
The 10 Most Controversial Companies Of 2019
Steven Burke
Whether it was a security vendor hit by hackers, whistleblower accusations of hiding damaging figures or a major channel policy change that raised the ire of partners, 2019 was a year filled with controversial companies. Here’s our list of the top 10 most controversial.
Security Breaches, CEO Departures, Policy Change Backlash
Security breaches led to a 2019 filled with fear, uncertainty and doubt in the managed service provider market.
In fact, the breach of a major systems integrator shined the spotlight on the fact that hackers were entering the internal systems of solution providers as a jumping-off point to infiltrate customers.
Classifying the attacks as being both persistent and aggressive, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center warned the channel that it is a prime attack vector. “Know the Risk, Raise Your Shield” was the battle cry of an NCSC public campaign.
Security also was front and center in a number of controversial companies, including the breach of a cybersecurity company that resulted in the exit of the CEO, and a networking and cybersecurity vendor that admitted potential violations of U.S. Sanction programs with its products being used by entities designated as terrorists or narcotics traffickers by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Meanwhile, a policy change can sometimes unleash a channel firestorm. That was the case this year for one of the top software companies in the world, which ended up rescinding the policy change.
With these events and more as a backdrop, here are the 10 most controversial companies of 2019.
Get more of CRN's 2019 tech year in review.
