November 23, 2020//Ellen Neveux
Last Updated: January 15, 2021Data breaches caused by the access that vendors and external third parties have continues to be the easiest way hackers have into a network. So, let’s talk about how if you provide support to clients, you can be as safe as possible and ensure you can continue to hit SLAs, provide the best support, and keep customers happy. In other words, it is in your best business interest to ensure your technicians do not unwittingly leave a back door open.
It’s important to remember that the security of a network is only as strong as its weakest connection. Third-party remote access is an attractive target for bad actors because vendor IT companies typically serve many enterprise organizations. And the best part is, for hackers at least, is that this can be the golden key into a ton of different networks in different industries. Typically vendors aren’t specialized to one industry, so when you get access to one, you get access to all of their customers.
As a vendor who has clients in financial, banking, retail, healthcare, or any other highly regulated, compliance-minded industry, a slip-up by one of your technicians could create a nightmare of liability and reputational damage.
And don’t just take our word for it. Let’s look at one of the biggest examples in recent history-– AMCA, a vendor, files for bankruptcy after a data breach that impacted up to 20 million patients of Quest Diagnostics, LabCorp, and BioReference. Now the 3 different companies that used this vendor will forever be associated with a data breach that stemmed from a vendor that had to file for bankruptcy.
It’s always easy to say that the scenario would never happen to me. That’s something other companies deal with, not my company and not me! But, it’s important to plan for anything that could happen, right? Sure, you think you’re going to be safe and secure, but let’s make sure your confidence around safety and security is backed with knowledge, procedures, and policies. Consider these 4 tips to protect your clients—and your business:
The bottom line is that a strong approach to third-party remote access security is a selling point for any IT tech provider. Take time to evaluate your risk of contributing to a client data breach and decide how you are going to protect them—and your reputation. To see exactly how technology vendors can easily protect their reputation with a standardized remote support platform, check out our helpful solution brief that shows you how to:
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