A recent IBM Cost of a Data Breach report reveals a startling statistic: Only 42% of companies discover breaches through their own security teams. This highlights a significant blind spot, especially when it comes to external partners and vendors.
The financial stakes are steep. On average, a data breach affecting multiple environments costs a whopping $4.88 million. A major breach at a telecommunications provider in January 2023 served as a stark reminder of the risks associated with third-party relationships. In this case, attackers exploited vulnerabilities in a third-party vendor’s access, exposing the personal information of over 40 million customers.
Why is data protection such a challenge?
In 2022, 20% of data breaches were linked to third parties, contributing to even greater financial losses due to reputational damage and business disruption. Threat actors often target third-party vendors because of the vast amounts of sensitive data they manage. Managing third-party risk can be incredibly difficult due to limited visibility into vendors’ security practices.
While cybersecurity firms can conduct assessments of potential partners’ security…
