Every year since 1991, the RSA Conference has offered tens of thousands of attendees an opportunity to hear from cybersecurity experts, see all the latest vendor offerings and connect with others in the IT sphere. But for the first time in more than a decade, during this year’s conference the Moscone Center in San Francisco will stand empty: no colorful booths, no swag and definitely no shaking hands.

Despite the fact that it will be fully virtual this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the conference — much like cybersecurity itself — lives on, relevant not in spite of but because of the times we find ourselves in. SonicWall is a Silver Sponsor of this year’s event, which will take place May 17-20.

The theme of RSA Conference 2021? Resilience.

“2020 tested us — it didn’t break us. We’re an industry built on resilience, a sector that adapts, innovates and evolves. But the next test is coming,” proclaims the conference website. “So let’s celebrate our strengths, share what we’ve learned and expand our community to continue protecting what matters most.”

A special live session, “Discord, Generation Z’s Hacking University,” provides a first-hand look at what one of the next tests might be. On Wednesday, May 19, at 1:30 p.m. PDT (Session ID: HT-W14), SonicWall Senior Strategist Brook Chelmo will highlight how the next generation of hackers is more ambitious and better-equipped than any that preceded them.

“Gen Z hackers are younger, have access to more resources and are more formidable than those who came before them,” Chelmo said. “Social media platforms like Discord and Telegram have become a hotbed for them to leverage as they ramp up efforts to spread highly sophisticated ransomware and malware with little to no chance of being caught.”

Though the easy availability of hacker tools has made malicious hacking easier than ever, Chelmo believes there are still a number of ways those in the cybersecurity industry can convince these young hackers to use their considerable knowledge for the betterment of all.

As these young and promising ethical hackers begin to take their place in the cybersecurity world, they’ll do so alongside powerful AI and machine-learning tools — some of which are already proving themselves worthy defenders, like SonicWall’s patented Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection (RTDMI^TM) technology.

During the first of two virtual briefing sessions, titled “Disrupting the Malware Business: How to Stop Evasive Malware with Memory Analysis,” SonicWall Vice President, Platform Architecture, Dmitriy Arapetov will focus on evasive threats, what makes them pervasive and how we can use RTDMI and other tools to stop them.

“Malware is a lucrative business in which cybercriminals expect a high return for their time and effort in coordinating and launching a successful attack, with a lot of effort being put into evasion of existing security tools,” Ayrapetov said. “Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection is a vital weapon to catch such evasive attacks early in the malware campaign.”

Attendees also will get a closer look at what some of these evasive threats are during the second virtual briefing session, when Chelmo discusses the findings in the recently released 2021 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report. Drawn from SonicWall Capture Labs telemetry data collected from millions of sensors worldwide, these findings show record increases across several threat types, and reveal which areas and which industries were worst hit by threats such as ransomware, IoT malware, cryptojacking and more.

During the conference, ticketholders will also have the opportunity to hear from a number of high-profile keynote speakers, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and executives from Johnson & Johnson, Google Cloud and SolarWinds.

And as always, attendees will have the opportunity to connect with SonicWall reps, attend booth briefings, receive digital materials and speak with cybersecurity experts at the Digital Expo, which will be open Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. PDT, and Thursday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PDT.

With all the changes the past year has brought to the world of cybersecurity, RSA Conference 2021 will definitely be one you don’t want to miss. We look forward to connecting to you during the conference — in the meantime, if you’d like more information or want to schedule a meeting with a SonicWall cybersecurity expert, please visit www.sonicwall.com/events/rsa.

For many, the number 42 holds an elevated degree of significance. Sports fans will recognize it as MLB great Jackie Robinson’s jersey number. Comic book fans will associate it with the spider that bit Miles Morales, creating the next Spider-Man. And science-fiction fans will remember it as “the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything,” as revealed by supercomputer Deep Thought in Douglas Adams’ 1979 novel, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

It has added significance for SonicWall, as well: It’s the number of CRN awards that SonicWall, its team and its partner program have received since 2016.

President and CEO Bill Conner has been a key driver behind the numerous awards bestowed upon the company and its team members, products and partner program since taking the helm at SonicWall. During his tenure, the company’s channel leaders have consistently earned spots on CRN’s lists of ‘Channel Chiefs’ and ‘Most Influential’ — including this year’s honorees, Bob VanKirk, HoJin Kim and Dave Bankemper. A testament to the diversity of its expansive, global channel team, several SonicWall channel drivers have also been recognized as ‘CRN Women of Channel.’

“After arriving at SonicWall, I was blown away by the company’s portfolio, team and partner program,” Conner said. “I wanted all of those who had been working hard to feel appreciated and recognized for a job well done. Looking back at the tally of CRN awards is satisfying, and also a reflection of where we have taken this company as a team.”

SonicWall itself has been the recipient of numerous awards, and has been honored on lists such as ‘Coolest Network Security Vendors’, ‘The 25 Hottest Edge Security Companies’ and ‘Security 100’, which provides a look at 100 vendors across five market segments to help solution providers determine which security technologies and vendors they can place their bets on in a crowded market.

SonicWall’s products have earned their share of accolades as well, including ‘2021 Tech Innovator’ for the SonicWall TZ 570, 670 and NSsp 15700; ‘2018 Products of the Year’ for SonicWall Capture Cloud Platform; and SonicWall Email Security, which received top marks in the ‘2018 Annual Report Card’ based on performance in 24 product categories, including product innovation, support and partnership.

“We’re proud of our work here at SonicWall, our offerings, and our partner program but, most importantly, we’re proud of the loyal and dedicated support we get from our amazing partners around the world,” said SonicWall VP, Worldwide Channel Sales HoJin Kim.

For more additional details regarding SonicWall accolades, please visit https://www.sonicwall.com/about-sonicwall/awards.

Only three months into the start of a new year, SonicWall has now claimed its 18th industry-recognized accolade. The SonicWall SecureFirst partner program has received a 5-star rating in the 2021 CRN Partner Program Guide.

The honor is awarded to an exclusive group of companies that offer solution providers the best of the best, going above and beyond in their partner programs. This annual guide provides a conclusive list of the most distinguished partner programs from leading technology companies that provide products and services through the IT channel.

“At SonicWall, we listen,” said HoJin Kim, SonicWall SVP, Worldwide Channel, North American Sales. “We work incredibly hard to provide partners with everything they need in order to not only meet their yearly objectives, but exceed them. We hope to see our partners increase their use of partner playbooks and marketing campaigns in the new year and ingrain themselves in our partner community.”

The SonicWall SecureFirst program was modified this year to make it more inclusive of registered partners. Changes include acceptance of third-party certifications for the silver tier to recognize the rise of industry talent. The continuing education requirement was also reduced to allow more flexibility with enablement requirements, as was the number of gold partners to strengthen the program and partner relationships.

“As innovation continues to fuel the speed and intricacy of technology, solution providers need partners that can keep up and support their developing business,” said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. “CRN’s 2021 Partner Program Guide gives insight into the strengths of each organization’s program to recognize those that continually support and push positive change inside the IT channel.”

Given the importance of IT vendor channel programs, each year CRN develops its Partner Program Guide to provide the channel community with a detailed look at the partner programs offered by IT manufacturers, software developers, service companies and distributors. Vendors are scored based on investments in program offerings, partner profitability, partner training, education and support, marketing programs and resources, sales support, and communication.

In addition to its 5-star rating, SonicWall’s Bob VanKirk, HoJin Kim and Dave Bankemper were recently named to the annual CRN 2021 Channel Chiefs List, which recognizes leading IT channel vendor executives who continually demonstrate outstanding leadership, influence, innovation and growth. In March, the company was included on the outlet’s list of Top 100 Security Companies and took home 10 Globee® Awards in the 17th Annual 2021 Cybersecurity Global Excellence Awards^®.

If you’re interested in more information on becoming a SonicWall partner, please visit, www.sonicwall.com/partners/become-a-partner.

It’s award season with the Golden Globes now complete and the Oscars just around the corner. SonicWall is also enjoying this time of year, announcing today that The Globee® Awards has named the company a winner in the 17th Annual 2021 Cybersecurity Global Excellence Awards® in 10 categories.

“The SonicWall team has collectively worked countless hours to bring customers and partners technology that is proven to block todays’ most sophisticated and increasingly nefarious threats,” said SonicWall VP of Products, Jayant Thakre. “These awards are gratefully accepted and a testament to their continued dedication to defend organizations of all size and their growing mobile and remote workforces.”

Based on its demonstration of overall excellence in a range of categories, as well as the quality of its entry submissions and content, SonicWall was awarded the coveted Grand Trophy distinction along with four gold, two silver and three bronze accolades. All SonicWall awards include:

• Grand Trophy Winner: SonicWall
• Gold Winner: Capture Security appliance (CSa) 1000 – Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) – Detection, Protection, and Response
• Gold Winner: TZ570/670 Series Next-Generation Firewall SonicOS 7 – Best Security Hardware
• Gold Winner: Network Security services platform (NSsp 15700) SonicOSX 7 – Enterprise Network Firewalls
• Gold Winner: Network Security Manager (NSM) 2 – Security Management
• Silver Winner: SonicWall TZ570/670 Series Next-Generation Firewall SonicOS 7 – Firewalls
• Silver Winner: SonicWall SMA 1000 and SonicWall Cloud Edge Secure Access SMA 1000 Release 12.4 and Cloud Edge Secure Access Rel x. – Zero Day | Attack & Exploit Detection & Prevention
• Bronze Winner: Cloud App Security (CAS) 2.6.8 – Email Security and Management
• Bronze Winner: Network Security Manager (NSM) 2 – Network Security and Management
• Bronze Winner: Cloud Edge Secure Access Cloud Edge Secure Access Rel x. – Security-as-a-Service Solution

These global awards recognize cyber security and information technology vendors with advanced, ground-breaking products, solutions, and services that are helping set the bar higher for others in all areas of security and technologies. More than 45 judges from around the world representing a wide spectrum of industry experts participated in the judging process.

If you would like to talk with the SonicWall team about these solution sets and how they can work together to build a better security ecosystem, email our team.