Businesses require better visibility into third-party risks to reduce third-party cyber risk and its possible consequences. This necessitates a thorough understanding of both the vendor and the cyber threat landscape.
If organizations do not address third-party risk, they will remain vulnerable. Today’s businesses don’t operate in isolation; instead, they collaborate with experts and suppliers to better their products and services. While this strategy has a lot of advantages, it also has a lot of drawbacks. Every organization in the digital supply chain faces cybersecurity threats if just one provider is unsure about information security.
As a result, understanding existing third-party cybersecurity vulnerabilities is critical before deciding on the best method for managing third-party risk.
Partnering with vendors can result in an expanded attack surface. There are numerous vulnerabilities associated with vendor relationships, so here are a few of the most important ones to be aware of.
Unpatched and Vulnerable Technology
One of the most common third-party cyber vulnerabilities is the use of unpatched technologies. These products are rarely updated, and the versions in use currently may contain multiple known vulnerabilities and exploits.
Businesses that handle production technology patching understand that their enterprises are impacted mainly by legacy resources with known cybersecurity flaws. On the other hand, the updated versions include significant enhancements and patches to data privacy and security flaws.
Open Ports
Ports are essential in the internet connection model since they allow for communication. Specific ports are used by internet services to receive and transfer data.
Developers use these file transfer protocols to transmit data between hosts and create encrypted tunnels between devices. Launching additional services on that port becomes difficult when a service uses a specific port.
When security flaws allow attackers to exploit legitimate services or introduce harmful services through malware or social engineering, open ports represent a cybersecurity gap. By deploying such services on open ports, threat actors can get unauthorized access to sensitive data.
Also Read: Key Strategies for CISOs to Effectively Address Third-Party Risks
Third-Party Service Providers that are Not Known
It is common for businesses to operate without being aware of their connected vendors, posing a serious cybersecurity risk. In a large company, with many suppliers, there will be ones that the company is unaware of, posing a considerable threat to the security controls.
It’s obvious that if a company doesn’t know its third parties, it’s challenging to prevent cyber-attacks. Companies that fail to monitor their vendor relationships on a regular basis will be unable to identify any cybersecurity flaws that can be addressed in terms of Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM).
Human Error
In many vendor relationships, human error is a significant cybersecurity flaw. Most businesses overlook activities that could open doors for malicious software to enter their IT infrastructures. Exposed credentials and file sharing are the most common vulnerabilities related to human behavior.
This can be a possibility If employees fail to use peer-to-peer exchange protocols while sharing media and software. As a result, the network can be more vulnerable to cyber-attacks such as malware infections.
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