Cybersecurity Risk Management - How to Manage Third-Party Risks
Every day is without a news story about data breaches that reveal hundreds of thousands, or millions of private details of individuals. These breaches are usually caused by third-party partners such as a vendor who experiences an issue with their system.
Information about your threat environment is vital for assessing cyber risks. This allows you to prioritize which threats require your most urgent attention first.
State-sponsored Attacs
Cyberattacks from nation-states can cause more damage than other attack. Nation-state attackers typically have significant resources and sophisticated hacking abilities which makes them difficult to detect or defend against. This is why they are usually able to steal more sensitive information and disrupt critical business services. In addition, they are able to create more lasting damage through targeting the supply chain and harming third-party suppliers.
The average cost of a nation-state attack is estimated at $1.6 million. Nine out of 10 companies think they've been the victim of a nation-state attack. With cyberespionage gaining the eyes of nations-state threat actors it's more crucial than ever before for businesses to have solid cybersecurity practices in place.
Cyberattacks against states can take a variety of forms, from taking intellectual property, to ransomware or a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. They can be performed by government agencies, cybercrime groups which are backed by states, freelancers who are hired to execute a nationalist attack or even hackers who target the general public.
Stuxnet was an important game changer in cyberattacks. It allowed states to use malware against their enemies. Since since then states have been using cyberattacks to achieve political as well as military objectives.
In recent years, there has been a rise in the number and sophistication of attacks backed by governments. For instance, the Russian government-sponsored group Sandworm has been targeting consumers and enterprises with DDoS attacks and ransomware. This is different from traditional crime syndicates, which are motivated by financial gain. They tend to target consumers and businesses.
Therefore, responding to threats from a nation-state actor requires a lot of coordination with multiple government agencies. This is quite different from "your grandfather's cyberattack" when a company could submit an Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Report to the FBI, but would not typically require significant coordination with the FBI as part of its incident response. Responding to a nation state attack requires a higher level of coordination. It also involves coordinating with other governments, which can be lengthy and difficult.
Smart Devices
Cyber attacks are increasing in frequency as more devices connect to the Internet. This increase in attack surfaces can create security risks for consumers and businesses alike. Hackers, for instance, exploit smart devices to steal data or compromise networks. This is particularly true when these devices aren't properly secured and protected.
Hackers are attracted to smart devices due to the fact that they can be employed for a variety of purposes, such as gaining information about businesses or individuals. For instance, voice controlled assistants like Alexa and Google Home can learn a lot about users through the commands they receive. They also collect information about the layout of users' homes, as well as other personal information. These devices are also used as gateways to other IoT devices, such as smart lighting, security cameras, and refrigerators.
Hackers can cause serious damage to both businesses and individuals when they gain access to these devices. They can employ these devices to commit diverse range of crimes such as identity theft, fraud, and Denial-of-Service attacks (DoS). Additionally, they can hack into vehicles to steal GPS locations, disable safety features and even cause physical injuries to drivers and passengers.
There are ways to minimize the harm caused by these devices. Users can, for example, change the factory default passwords for their devices to prevent attackers being able to find them easily. They can also turn on two-factor authentication. Regular firmware updates are also required for routers as well as IoT device. Also, using local storage instead of the cloud can reduce the risk of an attack while transferring or the storage of data to and from these devices.
enhanced cybersecurity is still necessary to conduct studies to better understand the digital harms and the best ways to minimize them. Particularly, research should concentrate on identifying and designing technology solutions that can help reduce the harms caused by IoT devices. They should also investigate other potential harms like those related to cyberstalking or exacerbated power imbalances between household members.
Human Error
Human error is a frequent factor that causes cyberattacks and data breaches. It could be anything from downloading malware to allowing a network to attack. Many of these mistakes can be avoided by establishing and enforcing security measures. A malicious attachment can be opened by an employee who receives a phishing email or a storage configuration error could expose sensitive data.
Administrators of systems can disable an security feature without realizing it. This is a common mistake which makes software vulnerable to attacks from malware and ransomware. IBM claims that human error is the main cause of security breaches. It's important to know the kinds of errors that could lead to an attack on your computer and take steps to minimize them.
Cyberattacks are carried out for a variety of reasons, including financial fraud, hacking activism or to collect personal data or to deny service, or disrupt vital infrastructure and essential services of a government or an organization. They are often carried out by state-sponsored actors, third-party vendors or hacker collectives.
The threat landscape is complex and constantly evolving. As a result, organisations should constantly review their risk profile and revisit their strategies for protection to ensure they're up date with the latest threats. The good news is that advanced technologies can lower the overall risk of a cyberattack and enhance the security of an organization.
It is important to remember that no technology will protect an organization from every threat. This is why it's crucial to devise a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that takes into account the different layers of risk within an organisation's network ecosystem. It's also important to regularly conduct risk assessments rather than relying on point-in-time assessments that are easily erroneous or inaccurate. A comprehensive assessment of the security risks of an organization will enable an effective reduction of these risks, and also ensure compliance with industry standard. This will help prevent costly data breaches and other incidents that could adversely impact the business's operations, finances and reputation. A successful cybersecurity strategy should include the following components:
Third-Party Vendors
Third-party vendors are companies which are not owned by the organization, but provide services, software, and/or products. These vendors have access to sensitive data like financials, client information or network resources. If they're not secure, their vulnerability becomes a gateway into the original company's system. It is for this reason that cybersecurity risk management teams are willing to go to the extremes to ensure third-party risks are screened and managed.
The risk is growing as cloud computing and remote working are becoming more popular. A recent study conducted by security analytics firm BlueVoyant revealed that 97% of companies which were surveyed suffered from supply chain vulnerabilities. A disruption by a vendor, even if it only affects a small part of the supply chain, can have a domino-effect that threatens to cause disruption to the entire company.
Many companies have developed an approach to accept new suppliers from third parties and require them to sign service level agreements that specify the standards they are accountable to in their relationship with the organization. A thorough risk assessment should also document how weaknesses of the vendor are tested and followed up with and corrected promptly.
A privileged access management system that requires two-factor authentication to gain access to the system is an additional method to safeguard your company against threats from outside. This stops attackers from gaining access to your network by stealing credentials of employees.
Lastly, make sure your third-party vendors are using the most current versions of their software. This ensures that they haven't created security flaws that were not intended in their source code. Many times, these flaws remain undetected and are used as a way to launch more high-profile attacks.
Ultimately, third-party risk is an ever-present threat to any business. While the above strategies may assist in reducing certain risks, the most effective method to ensure that your third-party risk is minimized is to continuously monitor. This is the only way to fully comprehend the cybersecurity threat of your third-party and to quickly identify the potential risks.