Deloitte And Verizon Form Security Alliance

Deloitte, ranked 18 on CRN's SP 500 list, unveiled on Tuesday a strategic security alliance with Verizon Enterprise Solutions that will combine their offerings to help customers better prepare for, respond to and recover from cyberattacks.

"Ultimately, an enterprise could look to us as the one phone call that they can make to respond to any incident or breach," said Emily Mossburg, cyber resilience leader for Deloitte’s Cyber Risk Services, in an interview with CRN.

The partnership aims to help customers address the aspects of business resilience related to cyberthreats on a day-to-day basis, which the New York-based solution provider has been recently pushing, according to Mossburg.

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With cyberattacks and data breaches becoming more frequent and disruptive, there is a "significant opportunity" in the security marketplace in areas such as incident detection and professional services, said Bryan Sartin, director of Investigative Response for the Basking Ridge, N.J.-based Verizon Enterprise Solutions.

"We're the battleground on which cyberattacks are taken place because of our public IP backbone," said Sartin. "There are parts of our business that struggle to keep up in terms of pace in the number of feet on the street and head count -- the market is growing so much faster than we're able to keep up, and secure capacity, so there's really significant opportunities that both ourselves and Deloitte recognize."

Sartin said the partnership will leverage the strength of Verizon's global computer forensics, investigation services and incident response together with the depth of Deloitte's cyber-risk advisory services designed to fortify businesses and deliver an end-to-end incident response experience. This alliance gives a comprehensive set of security and risk-management solutions to help businesses prepare for, respond to and recover from more effectively and thoroughly when a cyberattack occurs.

Sartin said recovery from a cyberbreach can take weeks, or even months, which can lead to widespread and harmful data loss, brand reputation damage and loss of customer trust.

"When you combine Deloitte's depth and reach on the professional services side with some of our elements, what you suddenly have is a one-stop shop for anything an organization, enterprise or agency might need in responding or recovering from a major cyberattack," said Sartin. "I think that is really unparalleled."

Deloitte has been experiencing "tremendous growth" over the past 10 years and is expecting a "very positive" growth projection for the next several years, said Mossburg.

"Obviously, this is a hot space, there's a lot going on," said Mossburg. "There's a new level of understanding and interest at the executive levels and board levels around what the impacts really may be when you have a cyberincident."

PUBLISHED MARCH 31, 2015