Cybersecurity Risk Management - How to Manage Third-Party Risks
It's not a day without news of data breaches that expose hundreds of thousands, or millions of personal information of people. These breaches usually stem from third-party partners, such as an organization that suffers an outage in their system.
Information about your threat environment is vital for assessing cyber risk. This helps you decide which threats need immediate attention.
State-Sponsored Attacks
Cyberattacks carried out by nation-states could cause more damage than any other attack. Attackers from nations are usually well-equipped and have sophisticated hacking techniques, making it difficult to recognize them or to defend against them. This is why they are usually capable of stealing more sensitive information and disrupt vital business services. They can also cause more harm by targeting the supply chain of the company and compromising third party suppliers.
The cost of a nation-state attack is estimated at $1.6 million. Nine in 10 companies believe that they've been a victim of an attack from a nation state. With cyberespionage gaining popularity among nations-state threat actors it's more crucial than ever to have solid cybersecurity practices in place.
empyrean from nation-states may come in many varieties. They range from ransomware to Distributed Denial of Service attacks (DDoS). They are carried out by cybercriminal organizations, government agencies that are aligned or contracted by states, freelancers who are hired to conduct a nationalist-themed operation, or even criminal hackers who target the general public.
Stuxnet was an innovative cyberattacks tool. It allowed states to weaponize malware against their enemies. Since the time states have been using cyberattacks to achieve political, economic and military goals.
In recent times there has been an increase in the number of attacks sponsored by governments and the sophistication of these attacks. For example the Russian government-sponsored group Sandworm has been targeting consumers and enterprises with DDoS attacks and ransomware. This is distinct from traditional crime syndicates, that are motivated by financial gain. They tend to target businesses and consumers.
In the end responding to threats from an actor of a nation-state requires a lot of coordination with multiple government agencies. This is quite different from the "grandfather's cyberattack" when a company would submit an Internet Crime Complaint Center Report (IC3) to the FBI but not be required to engage in significant coordinated response with the FBI. Responding to a nation state attack requires a higher level of coordination. It also involves coordinating with other governments, which is time-consuming and challenging.
Smart Devices
As more devices connect to the Internet, cyber attacks are becoming more prevalent. This increased attack surface can cause security issues for companies and consumers. Hackers, for instance, exploit smart devices to steal information or compromise networks. This is particularly true when devices aren't properly secured and secured.
Smart devices are especially attractive to hackers because they can be used to gain a wealth of information about businesses or individuals. For instance, voice controlled assistants such as Alexa and Google Home can learn a lot about users through the commands they are given. They can also collect details about the home of users, their layouts as well as other personal details. These devices also function as gateways to other IoT devices like smart lighting, security cameras, and refrigerators.
If hackers can get access to these kinds of devices, they can cause a lot of harm to people and businesses. They can make use of these devices to commit a wide range of crimes, including identity theft, fraud and Denial-of-Service attacks (DoS). They can also hack into vehicles in order to spoof GPS location, disable safety features, and even cause physical injuries to passengers and drivers.
While it is not possible to stop people from connecting their smart devices but there are ways to minimize the harm they cause. Users can, for instance, change the factory default passwords for their devices to avoid attackers getting them easily. They can also enable two-factor verification. Regular firmware updates are necessary for routers and IoT devices. Local storage, instead of cloud storage, can lessen the risk of a hacker when they transfer and storing data from or to these devices.
It is essential to understand the effects of these digital harms on people's lives, as well as the best ways to reduce their impact. Research should be focused on finding solutions to technology that can help mitigate harms caused by IoT. Additionally, they should investigate other potential harms such as cyberstalking and exacerbated power imbalances between household members.
Human Error
Human error is a typical factor that causes cyberattacks and data breaches. It could be anything from downloading malware to allowing a network to attack. Many of these errors can be avoided by setting up and enforcing strict security measures. A malicious attachment could be opened by an employee within an email containing phishing messages or a storage configuration issue could expose sensitive data.
A system administrator can turn off a security function 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 most significant cause of security breaches. This is why it's essential to be aware of the types of mistakes that could result in a cybersecurity attack and take steps to reduce the risk.
Cyberattacks can be triggered for many reasons, including hacking, financial fraud or to steal personal data and disrupt the critical infrastructure or vital services of an an organization or government. They are usually perpetrated by state-sponsored actors, third-party vendors or hacker collectives.
The threat landscape is complex and constantly changing. Organisations must therefore constantly review their risk profiles and revisit strategies for protection to keep pace with the latest threats. The good news is that advanced technology can lower an organization's overall risk of being targeted by hackers attack and improve its security capabilities.
But, it's crucial to keep in mind that no technology can protect an organisation from every potential threat. This is the reason it's essential to develop a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that considers the various layers of risk within an organisation's network ecosystem. It's also crucial to perform regular risk assessments, rather than relying solely on point-in time assessments, which are often in error or even untrue. A comprehensive assessment of the security risks facing an organization will allow for a more effective mitigation of these risks and will ensure that the organization is in compliance with industry standards. This will ultimately help to prevent costly data breaches and other security incidents from adversely impacting a business's reputation, operations, and financials. A successful cybersecurity strategy should include the following elements:
Third-Party Vendors
Third-party vendors are businesses that do not belong to the organization, but provide services, software, or products. These vendors have access to sensitive data like client information, financials or network resources. If these businesses aren't secure, their vulnerability becomes a gateway into the original company's system. This is the reason that cybersecurity risk management teams are going to extremes to ensure third-party risks can be identified and managed.
This risk is increasing as cloud computing and remote working are becoming more popular. In fact, a recent survey by security analytics firm BlueVoyant found that 97% of companies they surveyed were affected negatively by supply chain vulnerabilities. A disruption by a vendor even if it only affects a small part of the supply chain could have a ripple effect that could disrupt the entire business.
Many organizations have taken the initiative to create a process that onboards new third-party vendors and requires them to sign to specific service level agreements that define the standards to which they will be held in their relationship with the company. A thorough risk assessment should also provide documentation on how the vendor's weaknesses are analyzed and followed up with and corrected promptly.
A privileged access management system that requires two-factor authentication to gain access to the system is another method to safeguard your company against third-party risks. This prevents attackers from easily getting access to your network through the theft of credentials.
Not least, ensure that your third party providers are running the most current version of their software. This will ensure that they haven't introduced any unintentional security flaws in their source code. These vulnerabilities can go unnoticed, and then be used to launch additional high-profile attacks.
Third-party risk is an ongoing risk to any company. While the aforementioned strategies can assist in reducing certain risks, the most effective way to ensure that your third-party risk is minimized is to conduct continuous monitoring. This is the only method to fully comprehend the cybersecurity threat of your third-party and to quickly spot possible threats.