TechGuard Security Keeps Clients Cybersecurity Aware with Infosec

When the CFO of a large manufacturing company acknowledged falling for a simulated phishing attack, he turned to Nick Just, vice president of commercial strategic development at TechGuard Security, shook his hand, and said, “Keep up the good work.”

That’s the kind of client feedback cybersecurity services and training company TechGuard Security gets on a regular basis since partnering with Infosec Institute for its security awareness training curriculum.

O’Fallon, Ill.-based TechGuard Security is a 22-year-old ISO 9001:2015-registered, certified SDB, DBE and Woman-Owned Business serving the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Intelligence as well as corporate businesses of all sizes and industries. Its core cybersecurity services include security awareness training, vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, social engineering assessment, and more.

When Just came on board, he was charged with building out the commercial business. One early step was to reevaluate all the firm’s partnerships and service lineup, including the security awareness training platform they had been using. After evaluating numerous offerings, TechGuard chose Infosec’s IQ platform, which it white labels as TechGuard S.H.I.E.L.D., almost three years ago.

“Infosec has made a world of difference, really across the board. The partner support, the platform itself, the capabilities, the content. It was leaps and bounds better from what we were seeing with our [previous] partner,” Just says. “It’s very user-friendly. The number of templates is almost endless.”

Infosec’s pricing model, which allows clients to use as much or as little of the training offerings for a set price, dovetailed with TechGuard’s model, so Just says it was easy for them to take to market. TechGuard’s clients especially like the phishing simulator, which includes more than 1,000 templates, a variety of attack types, and a phishing email reporter. “It’s not even just how realistic they are. It’s how quickly Infosec comes out with the real phishing attacks that are going on,” he says.

Just is also enthusiastic about the Infosec Skills curriculum, which includes on-demand courses and hands-on labs, plus boot camps with instructor-led training. “I truly see the Skills product offering to be a huge growth factor as I look at our partnership in the future. Couple that with the yearly skills gap that we are seeing in the cybersecurity industry, and this is truly a product that could not only help TechGuard and Infosec, but also our entire industry.” The partnership with Infosec has been “a huge positive for us,” improving efficiency along with helping to grow revenue and retain clients, Just says. “The content itself is customizable to not only your industry but different levels inside the organization, from the interns all the way up to your C-suite.”

Infosec is easy to work with as well, Just says. “In the channel ecosystem, relationships are key, and from day one they’ve been  nothing but great to work with. Not only their support team, but weekly meetings to catch up on how things are going and talk through opportunities. Communication has always been very good.”

He concludes, “They want to see us succeed. It’s a well-rounded partnership to where we’re all winning together.”

Donna Turgeon, head of Infosec’s North America Channel organization agrees, “Working with partners like TechGuard partners who are highly engaged with their clients and committed to ongoing user training—is the best part of what we do. We appreciate how TechGuard’s focus on education delivers a bottom-line result for both our organizations. We are proud to have TechGuard as a strong partner in the Infosec Partner program and look forward to a long partnership.”

Originally published in ChannelPro Magazine.