Do you know how many third-party vendors access your network?

Do you know how many vendors are accessing your network? Is someone in your organization following vendor movements in your system, and controlling their logins? If this is not a question you can answer with certainty, your network is vulnerable to data loss or breach. Companies of all sizes use vendor IT support. Third-party vendors bring expertise, scalable resources, and the ability to manage problems and issues on your network. This gives your enterprise the time to develop and market your key capabilities. But using third-party vendors can be an inherently risky business. For vendors serving your network, fast access is critical, and knowledge of your platform is essential in order for them to do their job right. When the heat is on, it is easy to share a login or your desktop so you can get a problem fixed and return to work. And, when that happens, you hope it doesn’t cause a security problem. Maybe it won’t. But this is NOT a risk you should take.

Platform visibility is important

As cybercrime becomes progressively more complex, regulated companies can run afoul of legislation designed to protect consumer, financial, medical, and other information. While you probably trust your third-party vendors, you should not rely on just an agreement to protect your regulated data.

What can you do to secure vendor access?

Protect your most valuable data by considering how it may be vulnerable and simple steps that can be taken to mitigate risk.

• Catalog ALL third-party technology vendors that require remote access to your network. A surprising number of organizations lack a list of users, often with “anytime” access to privileged accounts.
• Tier your systems and vendors. Look at your current roster of vendors and determine which are the highest priority and which pose the greatest risk. Create different levels of access and accountability requirements that reduce risk and make vendor access easier to manage.
• Negotiate remote access before you buy, or during a contract renewal. Your vendors want to help you, but you’ll have the most leverage negotiating their access when your checkbook is out. If you avoid the conversation, chances are you’ll end up with a remote-access solution that makes it easy for the vendors and less than ideal for you.

Monitor all activity on your network

Increase the security of your data by boosting the visibility of remote actions on your network. The SecureLink platform gives you tools to gain a full understanding of what each individual actor is doing in your network. Network security and compliance require multiple levels of protection. Our Secure Audit features include:

• Real-time knowledge of each vendor connection, why they are connecting, and the activity associated with each individual user.
• Detailed information on file access, deletion, or information transfers tied to the vendor responsible.
• Review full video recordings of end-user support sessions and remote desktop sharing events.
• View Secure Socket Shell (SSH) and all database activities.

On a secure platform, you always know how many vendors are accessing your network. If you work in a regulated industry, make sure you have the right answers to questions about your data security and compliance. To learn more about how to streamline and secure vendor access management, see a game-changing demo of the SecureLink solution.