Strengthen Vendor Security to Prevent Data Breaches

Many people know about the incident where the chain store Target suffered one of the largest data breaches in history, exposing over 100 million client records, including credit and debit card information. Few remember Fazio Mechanical Systems, a Pennsylvania-based HVAC company, which enabled the initial intrusion that led to the compromise of all those records.

Here’s what happened: Target hosted a web portal for vendors on its own servers. When hackers inevitably phished one of these vendors, they used the portal access to move through Target’s servers and reach the treasure trove inside.

Several measures could have prevented this breach: proper network segmentation, stronger access controls, or data loss alerting. However, the most egregious mistake was Target trusting that all of its vendors would uphold the same commitment to data security as it did. Research shows that 98% of organizations have a vendor that suffered a breach within the last two years.

Many other high-profile breaches—affecting brands like Home Depot, Okta, AT&T, Microsoft, Ticketmaster, Advance Auto Parts, BBC, British Airways, Panasonic, and Chick-Fil-A—also began when a vendor provided the initial access.

Good vendor security hygiene starts before you grant access to any of your data and continues throughout the relationship. You can achieve this by:

• Conducting thorough vendor assessments: Before engaging a vendor, review and assess their security posture to ensure they maintain robust security measures, including policies, practices, and compliance with relevant standards.

• Implementing strong contracts and agreements: Ensure contracts include clear terms on security requirements and responsibilities, that cover data protection, incident response protocols, and regular security audits.

• Monitoring vendor activity: Regularly monitor vendor activities and system access. Use security tools to detect suspicious behavior and ensure vendors comply with agreed-upon security practices.

• Educating your staff: Train employees on the importance of vendor security and how they can help protect your business, to include recognizing phishing attempts, maintaining secure passwords, and reporting suspicious activities.

Network 1 Consulting can partner with you on your journey to strong vendor security hygiene. Our expertise enables you to conduct partner risk assessments and ongoing compliance checks to ensure they maintain high standards. We also provide employee training programs to empower your team with the knowledge and vigilance needed to prevent breaches. Together, we can help fortify your defenses and build a resilient framework to mitigate risks from vendor relationships.