On this page
Summarize with AI
Open this article in your favorite AI assistant for a quick summary.
For years, software developers have had programs to help them identify flaws in their code. Well-meaning coders (white hat hackers) and not so well-meaning coders (black hat hackers) have circled this industry for a long time. But, could this ecosystem be coming to managed services?
According to a recent article from IDG Connect, both the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have been openly discussing the idea of a mandatory vulnerability disclosure program (VDP). What is a VDP you ask?
VDP Explained
A VDP is a method for organizations to disclose security issues to external entities who wish to help in remediating those vulnerabilities or at least should be aware of them. In the software community, working with internal and external researchers on security vulnerabilities is not a new concept. What is new is the formalization of this practice into civil and possibly criminal law.
VDP Applied to Managed Services
Now, you may be saying to yourself what a VDP policy aimed at software developers has to do with managed service providers. Good question.
Similar to VDP, laws are being enacted all over the world pushing organizations (including MSPs) towards disclosure of certain types of behavior related to security intrusions and data theft: data breach notification laws. These data breach notification laws exist in all 50 of the United States, throughout all of the European Union due to GDPR, and in many other countries.