Guarding Digital Assets By Understanding Third-Party Access Risks

Companies depend on external partners to support operations and provide various services. Collaborating with contractors, consultants and auditors is often a necessity. However, the reliance on external resources also creates notable security concerns, as allowing partners to access the network and various assets can expose the company to undesired risk. The question arises: how well do companies understand what their partners can access within their network?

Granting access is often a double-edged sword. It can foster growth, but it can also expose a company’s digital assets if managed incorrectly. To maintain the safety of critical assets, companies must ensure that third-party vendors only access the data and systems they need – no more, no less, and monitor their access to ensure no suspicious activity is taking place.

Breaches such as those at the Metropolitan Police and CMS serve as an example of the damage that could derive from third-party access. These incidents signify a major oversight: many companies neglect the need to monitor and control what their partners do once they’re in a network. The lack of observability can create significant blind spots, which make it more difficult to detect unauthorized actions. As such, a top priority for companies should be gaining comprehensive observability into and actively managing what external partners can access.

Inadvertent or Malicious, Breaches Abound via Third Parties

Whether through oversight or inadequate security measures, third parties often have too much access. If access is compromised, companies can become exposed to not only data breaches, operational disruptions, financial losses and reputational damage, but also regulatory penalties. Because cyber threats are advancing and regulations are tightening, the need to monitor and secure third-party access has never been more urgent.

One of the main challenges companies face is the disjointed nature of current cybersecurity and Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions. Many companies deploy multiple tools that operate in silos, which means that they can offer only a partial view and limited oversight. A lack of oversight and difficulty in enforcing security policies can result from an absence of integration.

The risks associated with unmonitored third-party access to sensitive information and assets are too significant to dismiss. Without a unified approach to identity security, ensuring full observability into the actual activities of identities, and access paths, companies will struggle to detect illicit access attempts or unusual behaviors. For companies to strengthen their security posture, they must bring these siloed efforts together and employ integrated solutions.

The Need for Identity Observability

Having the ability to understand, contextualize and monitor identity systems as well as access paths is required to detect suspicious activity and respond promptly to any potential threat. Comprehensive identity observability helps companies protect digital assets by ensuring a complete view into identity activities and access paths, including those of third-parties. It helps contextualize the data, rapidly investigate any threat, and narrow the possible explanations for any suspicious behavior. Without adequate oversight, these third parties may inadvertently compromise sensitive data or systems, leading to significant disruptions. To ensure that third-parties are safely operating in the environment, companies must be proactive and take specific security measures:

Clearly stipulate what data and systems third parties can access. These policies must be widely communicated and strictly imposed.
Ensure you have the ability to gain real-time observability into relevant activities across the entire identity fabric to quickly identify and address any suspicious activity.
Periodically review third-party access to reveal undesired access paths that bypass security controls and ensure there are no unknown exposures.

A consistently proactive approach allows companies to monitor for any suspicious behavior, enforce security policies, and respond promptly to any incidents that may arise, helping to ensure the security of the company’s digital assets and operations.

By establishing robust identity security practices across all the identities in their networks – including their partners – companies can enhance their ability to detect and respond to security threats, prevent unauthorized access, and maintain the integrity of their IT environment.