Cybersecurity Risk Management - How to Manage Third-Party Risks
Every day, we learn about breaches of data that have exposed the private information of hundreds of thousands perhaps millions. These breaches typically stem from third-party partners, such as an organization that suffers an outage in their system.
Information about your threat environment is essential to framing cyber risk. This helps you decide which threats need your most urgent attention first.
State-sponsored Attacks
If cyberattacks are carried out by an entire nation, they have the potential to cause more serious damage than other attacks. Nation-state attackers typically have significant resources and sophisticated hacking skills which makes them difficult to detect or fight. They can steal sensitive information and disrupt business processes. They can also cause more harm by focusing on the supply chain of the company and the third party suppliers.
The cost of a national-state attack is estimated at $1.6 million. empyrean out of 10 businesses believe they've been victims of a state-sponsored attack. Cyberespionage is becoming more popular among threat actors from nation states. Therefore, it is more crucial than ever before that companies implement solid cybersecurity practices.
Nation-state cyberattacks can take many forms, from theft of intellectual property to ransomware or a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. They can be executed by government agencies, cybercrime groups that are aligned or contracted by states, freelancers employed to conduct a nationalist-themed operation or even hackers who target the general population.
The advent of Stuxnet changed the rules of cyberattacks as it allowed states to use malware as a weapon and use it against their adversaries. Since since then states have used cyberattacks to accomplish political, economic and military goals.
In recent times there has been a significant increase in the number of attacks sponsored by governments and the advanced nature of these attacks. Sandworm, a group sponsored by the Russian government has targeted both customers and businesses by using DDoS attacks. This is in contrast to the traditional crime syndicates which are motivated by profit and tend to target businesses that are owned by consumers.
Responding to a state actor's national threat requires a lot of coordination between several government agencies. This is a significant difference from the "grandfather's cyberattack" when a company could submit an Internet Crime Complaint Center Report (IC3) to the FBI but not have to conduct a coordinated response with the FBI. In addition to the higher level of coordination responding to a nation-state attack also involves coordinating with foreign governments which can be challenging and time-consuming.
Smart Devices
As more devices are connected to the Internet cyber-attacks are becoming more frequent. This increased attack surface could create security risks for consumers and businesses alike. Hackers can, for example attack smart devices to steal information or compromise networks. This is especially true when these devices are not properly secured and secured.
Smart devices are especially appealing to hackers as they can be used to gain an abundance of information about businesses or individuals. For example, voice controlled assistants like Alexa and Google Home can learn a lot about users through the commands they receive. They also gather details about the home of users, their layouts as well as other personal details. Additionally they are often used as an interface to other kinds of IoT devices, such as smart lights, security cameras, and refrigerators.
If hackers gain access to these types of devices, they can cause serious harm to individuals and businesses. They can use them to commit a variety of crimes, such as fraud, identity theft, Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks, and malicious software attacks. Additionally, they can hack into vehicles to alter GPS locations or disable safety features. They may even cause physical harm to drivers and passengers.
While it's not possible to stop users from connecting to their smart devices however, there are steps that can be taken to limit the harm they cause. Users can, for example change the default factory passwords for their devices to prevent attackers getting them easily. They can also activate two-factor authentication. Regular firmware updates are also necessary for routers and IoT device. Local storage, rather than cloud storage, can lessen the risk of an attacker when transferring and storage of data from or to these devices.
It is necessary to conduct studies to better understand the digital harms and the best methods to minimize them. Studies should focus on finding solutions to technology that can mitigate the harms caused by IoT. They should also look into other potential harms like those that are associated with cyberstalking or exacerbated power imbalances between household members.
Human Error
Human error is a frequent factor that contributes to cyberattacks and data breaches. This can range from downloading malware to leaving a company's network open for attack. Many of these mistakes can be avoided by establishing and enforcing security measures. A malicious attachment can be opened by an employee within an email containing phishing messages or a storage configuration error could expose sensitive information.
Additionally, a user could disable a security feature in their system without even realizing they're doing so. This is a common mistake that makes software vulnerable to attacks from ransomware and malware. According to IBM the majority of security incidents are caused by human error. This is why it's crucial to understand the types of mistakes that can result in a cybersecurity attack and take steps to mitigate the risk.
Cyberattacks can be committed for many reasons, including hacking, financial fraud or to steal personal information or disrupt the vital infrastructure or vital services of an organization or government. State-sponsored actors, vendors or hacker groups are often the perpetrators.
empyrean corporation is a complex and ever-changing. As a result, organisations have to constantly review their risk profile and revisit their strategies for protection to ensure that they are up to date with the latest threats. The good news is that the most advanced technologies can lower the overall threat of cyberattacks and improve the security of an organization.
It's also important to remember that no technology is able to protect an organization from every possible threat. It is therefore crucial to create a comprehensive cyber-security strategy that takes into consideration the different layers of risk in an organisation's ecosystem. It's also crucial to perform regular risk assessments, rather than relying solely on point-in time assessments that are often incorrect or even untrue. A thorough assessment of the security risks of an organization will permit a more effective mitigation of these risks and ensure that the organization is in compliance with industry standards. This will help to prevent expensive data breaches and other incidents that could negatively impact the company's finances, operations and image. A successful cybersecurity plan will include the following elements:
Third-Party Vendors
Every company relies on third-party suppliers that is, companies outside the company that provide products, services and/or software. These vendors have access to sensitive data like client information, financials or network resources. When these companies aren't secure, their vulnerability becomes an entry point into the business' system. This is the reason that risk management teams for cybersecurity will go to great lengths to ensure that risks from third parties are screened and managed.
This risk is increasing as cloud computing and remote working become more popular. A recent survey by the security analytics firm BlueVoyant revealed that 97% of businesses surveyed were negatively affected by supply chain weaknesses. A disruption by a vendor even if it only affects a small portion of the supply chain, could have a ripple effect that threatens to disrupt the entire business.
Many companies have developed an approach to accept new suppliers from third parties and require them to sign service level agreements that define the standards they will be bound to in their relationships with the company. A sound risk assessment should also provide documentation on the ways in which weaknesses of the vendor are analyzed and then followed up on and corrected in a timely manner.
A privileged access management system that requires two-factor verification to gain access to the system is an additional method to safeguard your business against threats from outside. This will prevent attackers from accessing your network by stealing credentials of employees.
Also, ensure that your third-party vendors use the most current versions of their software. This will ensure that they haven't introduced unintentional flaws into their source code. These flaws are often unnoticed and used to launch more prominent attacks.
Third-party risk is a constant threat to any business. empyrean discussed above can be used to reduce the risks. However, the most effective method to reduce your risk to third parties is through constantly monitoring. This is the only way to know the condition of your third-party's cybersecurity and to quickly recognize any risks that might arise.