ACME Managed Services Provider: Internal Cybersecurity Initiative

My Semester in Residence project was conducted at ACME MSP in Escondido, CA. The company is an information technology managed services provider (IT MSP). The project was originally to be conducted for six months, from mid-October to mid-April. In mid-March, the project came to a sudden stop as the COVID-19 epidemic shutdown the Californian economy. As a direct result my position at ACME as a junior level IT technician was cut. The goal of the project was to overhaul and expand the cybersecurity measures of the ACME organization in the wake of cyberattacks against other MSPs. A team of four technicians was assembled to conduct the project. Together we negotiated the project scope with the CEO, established the project roadmap, learned best practices, improved the local network, and crafted new official internal documents. I myself set up test environments, deployed new endpoint protections, launched a phishing awareness campaign, and performed maintenance on the facility security system. The project was a resounding success. Over the course of five months many new cybersecurity changes were enacted. Negotiations with the CEO were highly effective. Our extensive preliminary planning payed off as we accomplished a large portion of our original objectives. Staff feedback throughout the process made it clear that we were an effective and reliable team. Many of the documents that resulted from our work were adopted as official company policies and procedures. As a direct result of the team’s efforts, ACME MSP now has a significantly improved cybersecurity stance. Both the organization and its members have all benefited from our work. I recommend that the next step for ACME is a thorough internal review of the initiative to define its priorities for the next six months. I have composed a thorough report of my experiences with the project. I am available to be contacted with any further questions for clarification on any of the content of this report.