Cybersecurity and 3rd Party Accounts: What You Must Know

Organizations owe a lot to third-party vendors, contractors, and partners. Without the help of these experts, many organizations would be missing crucial components of a thriving team. 

Managing these relationships with care is critical. While third-party vendors bring innovation, they also bring risks when not properly managed. 

Here’s what you need to know to secure your cybersecurity framework when working with third-party accounts.

Shine a Light On Visibility

One of the foundational principles of cybersecurity is visibility: you cannot protect what you cannot see. 

Do you know where your third parties are? Do you know what they can access? Do you even know what they are doing? Without a clear directory of third-party access points and activities, you leave yourself vulnerable to breaches and mismanagement. 

Organizations must maintain an up-to-date inventory of third-party accounts and permissions, tracking not only where access exists but also the purpose and scope of that access.

Root Out Shared Accounts

One ineffective strategy organizations use to simplify third-party access management is the use of shared accounts. While sharing accounts may seem like a convenient way to simplify access and avoid managing multiple passwords, this practice significantly undermines accountability. 

Shared accounts make it nearly impossible to trace which user performed specific actions, creating blind spots in your security framework. It’s tempting—but don’t do it. 

Shared credentials increase the risk of mishandling, and if a single shared credential is compromised, attackers could exploit it to breach your systems on a massive scale. 

Enforcing individual accounts with robust password policies ensures better tracking, accountability, and security.

Automate Security Updates

Now let’s talk about third-party software that gets deployed in an organization’s infrastructure. Security updates often feel disruptive—who hasn’t been annoyed by a software update during a busy workday? 

However, these updates are critical for protecting systems against vulnerabilities. 

Automated updates ensure that you’re always protected against known threats. And the good news is you can schedule them during low-impact times, like overnight, so you can sleep soundly while protected from malicious attacks. 

Using a strong vulnerability management software allows you to test updates, schedule during low-impact times, and roll them out systematically so you can stay secure without sacrificing productivity.

Why Privileged Access Management (PAM) Is Essential

Malicious actors often target privileged credentials to access sensitive systems, including third-party accounts. Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions mitigate this risk by enforcing and monitoring the principle of least privilege.

Solutions like senhasegura Domum are specifically designed to protect and manage third-party access. senhasegura’s tools provide a secure interface that limits third-party access to only the tools and systems they need. 

With real-time monitoring and auditing capabilities, organizations can detect and respond to third-party incidents swiftly. senhasegura Domum offers access control based on user geolocation and time of day, day of the week, and duration of the access. 

The platform’s robust credential management and session recording features ensure that every action is logged and traceable, providing peace of mind in an increasingly complex cybersecurity landscape.

Conducting Third-Party Risk Assessments

Due diligence is non-negotiable when working with third parties. Assess your vendors’ cybersecurity practices to ensure they align with your standards. Even if your organization has cutting-edge security measures, a third-party vendor with lax cybersecurity can put your entire framework at risk. 

Regularly review and update third-party privileges, enforce the principle of least privilege, and implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) to secure access points. Additionally, invest in cybersecurity awareness training for both internal teams and third parties. Attackers often exploit human error, making education a critical layer of defense.

The risks associated with third-party accounts are not hypothetical. Consider these high-profile cases:

• Target (2013): A third-party HVAC vendor’s compromised credentials were used to access Target’s network, leading to a massive data breach.
• Toyota (2019): Compromised third-party access exposed IT systems across subsidiaries, highlighting the dangers of inadequate access controls.
• Equifax (2017): A vulnerability in third-party software allowed attackers to steal sensitive personal data, impacting millions of users.

Takeaways

1. Visibility and accountability are crucial for managing third-party accounts.
2. Avoid shared accounts and enforce the principle of least privilege.
3. Automate security updates with tools that minimize risk and disruptions.
4. Use PAM solutions and Remote Access to secure privileged credentials and monitor third-party activity.
5. Conduct thorough risk assessments and train all stakeholders on cybersecurity best practices. 

By implementing these strategies and leveraging tools like senhasegura, organizations can effectively manage third-party risks and protect their cybersecurity framework.