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Charl Pinches Head of Sales: Enterprise at Pinnacle

In today’s enterprise landscape, cybersecurity threats are increasingly sophisticated and persistent. Defending against them requires a holistic approach, one that integrates foundational principles like zero-trust and defencein- depth, with advanced technical controls and proactive governance.

Pinnacle ICT, as a leading best-of-breed cybersecurity vendor, enables the channel ecosystem, including resellers and system integrators, to deliver integrated, end-to-end cybersecurity architectures that safeguard data, applications, and networks at every layer.

Lying at the core of a robust cybersecurity strategy is the zero-trust model, where no user, device, or system is trusted by default, and all access is continuously verified. This is combined with least privilege access, reducing exposure and the deployment of overlapping controls for defence-in-depth protection. Security is integrated early, through security by design, to ensure strong protections are built into applications and systems from inception.

Layer 1: Prevention with Barracuda

Barracuda provides the essential prevention layer via solutions covering email, web, and network perimeters. Its email security gateway uses AI-driven malware detection and sandboxing, to intercept ransomware, phishing, and impersonation attacks. Network security is strengthened by Barracuda’s SecureEdge SASE and CloudGen Firewall platforms, which combine next-generation firewall features and secure SD-WAN to enforce dynamic policies across hybrid IT environments. 

Importantly, Barracuda’s Extended Detection and Response (XDR) platform integrates the security information and event management (SIEM) function within this stack, correlating data from endpoints, email, and network traffic with AI analytics. This capability delivers real-time threat detection and incident prioritisation for rapid security operations.

Layer 2: DNS threat layer with Control D

Control D secures the domain name system (DNS), a commonly exploited attack vector. Its DNS filtering prevents access to malicious domains, blocking malware callbacks and command and control channels early in the attack chain. Through content and category filtering, Control D enforces organisational policies and reduces threat exposure.

Layer 3: Endpoint containment via Xcitium

Xcitium offers advanced endpoint security using zero-threat virtualised containment, isolating suspicious activity without disrupting users. Its Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) capability enables quick detection and isolation of compromised endpoints, including protection against novel zero-day exploits.

Layer 4: Access and identity with Inuvika

Inuvika facilitates zero-trust application access, allowing secure remote delivery of applications, without traditional VPN vulnerabilities. This enhances access control based on verified identity, critical for hybrid and remote workforce models.

Layer 5: Governance and supply chain risk with Panorays

Panorays specialises in the growing challenge of supply chain cyber risk. Its AI-powered platform performs continuous third-party risk rating and compliance-monitoring. Panorays maps not only direct vendors, but also their upstream suppliers (Nth-party), uncovering hidden risks and enabling faster remediation.

Automated security questionnaires and a collaborative Risk Insights Portal help streamline vendor risk assessments. This assists organisations to reduce disruption risks, maintain regulatory compliance, and protect their reputation through comprehensive supply chain security visibility.

Layer 6: Lateral movement control with Guardicore (Akamai)

Guardicore employs micro-segmentation to prevent lateral movement of attackers inside networks, by isolating workloads and controlling east–west traffic in datacentres and cloud environments. This containment limits the scope of breaches and simplifies incident response.

Pinnacle ICT plays a vital role as a distributor of best-of-breed cybersecurity solutions, empowering resellers, system integrators, and channel partners to deliver tailored, integrated security architectures for enterprise clients. It offers strategic guidance and access to advanced vendor tools, facilitating continuous threat detection, incident response planning, and mitigation.

Together, these capabilities form a comprehensive, layered cybersecurity ecosystem, one that is aligned with zero-trust and defence-in-depth principles. This integrated framework enables enterprises to anticipate, resist, and rapidly recover from cyber threats, while still maintaining operational agility and ensuring compliance with evolving regulatory requirements.

For more on Pinnacle’s Cyber Security offer please visit 

www.pinnacle.co.za/enterprise/cyber-security