When it comes to defending against cyber attacks, Trivalent Group is named one of the country's best

Trivalent Group, a West Michigan-based leader in managed IT services, cloud, business continuity, and network services, has been named a WatchGuardONE Platinum Partner by WatchGuard Technologies, an international leader in network security.

Why is this important? Well, for one thing, it’s a scary world out there, and the products utilized by WatchGuard Platinum Partners help protect companies and their customers from some nasty people.

Consider the following information shared by Brad Andrus, manager of market development at Trivalent Group. 
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According to a report issued by cyber security firm Symantec, businesses of all sizes are increasingly under direct threat of cyber attack and security breaches. 

A few findings from the report:

- Last year, 43 percent of all cyber attacks targeted businesses with fewer than 250 employees.
- There were more than 430 million new and unique pieces of malware (an umbrella term referring to such hostile or intrusive software as computer viruses, trojan horses, spyware, adware, and more) in 2015, up 36 percent from 2014.
- In 2009, there about two million pieces of malware, which was considered overwhelming — and now there more than 430 million. That's more than a million new pieces of malware getting written each and every day.
- More than an estimated 75 percent of all legitimate websites have unpatched vulnerabilities; flaws that make it easier to be hacked.
- The total number of identities exposed from all intrusions jumped 23 percent to 429 million in 2015. But Symantec believes the true number is much higher, at more than a half billion.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

“The shifting focus of attacks have been on small and medium sized businesses,” say Andrus, who notes it’s at these organizations that hackers can more easily access confidential and proprietary information.

WatchGuard’s Platinum level is by invitation only, and it represents the company’s recognition of those partners who ultimately provide the highest level of network security expertise and consistent experience to WatchGuard’s end customers. Trivalent Group is one of only seven WatchGuard partners in the United States to earn and to be awarded Platinum status.

The recent recognition goes hand-in-hand with other efforts by Trivalent Group to help educate businesses and organizations about these types of threats.

For example, the firm works with Better Business Bureau Serving Western Michigan and the West Michigan Cyber Security Consortium to host the Grand Rapids Cyber Security Conference. This link contains the full agenda and speakers from last year to give you an idea of the scope of this event. Planning is already underway for the next conference, which is scheduled for October 5, 2016 at GVSU’s Eberhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids.
 
To learn more about Trivalent Group and WatchGuard, you can view their websites here and here.

Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Job News Editor