Keep Malicious Actors Out of Your Private Business Workflows
External file threats introduce a malicious file into the organization under the guise of an everyday workflow, generally with the help of an end user. A phishing email with a malicious attachment presents a classic example, but it is far from being the only available attack vector. Every potential entrance for an external file offers an attacker a foothold onto the threat surface, including email, web, chat, FTP, P2P, and even flash drives.
The modern enterprise spends millions of dollars on cyber security, yet the modern CISO can’t say in any specific detail what information is entering and leaving the firm. If you can’t see it, you can’t defend it. Everyday workflows where employees exchange sensitive information with external parties expose the firm to constant threats, including leaks, phishing, malicious files, and compliance violations. These external workflow threats have a common theme: a user is the actor, and a file is the agent. Complete protection requires a defense that spans the full breadth of the associated threat surface: the collective paths of all files entering and leaving your organization.
In my last blog post, I discussed defending the threat surface against internal threats like data breaches by employing tight governance over all file transfers. Today, I’ll discuss defending the threat surface against external threats by inspecting every file to block malicious attacks.
Inspect Every Incoming File to Neutralize Threats
Having shrunk the threat surface by limiting the entrances—the user apps where files can enter—we can now efficiently monitor and inspect every incoming file to detect, isolate and neutralize all incoming threats. At a minimum, security integration options ensure every file is cleared by anti-virus software prior to storage in an enterprise repository. More suspicious files may require advanced threat protection (ATP) to isolate and execute them in a secure environment. High inbound file traffic should undergo stratified inspection to avoid reducing user productivity. Suspicious files can be marked for detailed inspection and queued based on workflow metadata, so that higher priority workflows receive higher priority processing.
Monitor the Entire File Transfer Path
A CISO Dashboard lets you monitor the entire file transfer path and allows you to go beyond simple file inspection. Security rules based on file transfer metadata can also be applied to strengthen your defense. Who is sending the file? Who is receiving it? Where is it coming from? Not just an IP address, but who and where. This information is only available at the user-application-file level, so this defensive strategy is only possible on the external workflow threat surface.
In the next post, I’ll discuss building a holistic, proactive defense that spans the entire threat surface. Once CISOs can send every external file transfer through a gauntlet of best-in-class security solutions, data protection becomes a proactive effort, rather than defensive one.
To learn more about defending the threat surface against external threats, schedule a custom demo of Kiteworks today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Third-party risk management is a strategy that organizations implement to identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with their interactions with third-party vendors, suppliers, or partners. These risks can range from data breaches and security threats to compliance issues and operational disruptions. The process typically involves conducting due diligence before engaging with a third party, continuously monitoring the third party’s activities and performance, and implementing controls to manage identified risks. The goal is to ensure that the third party’s actions or failures do not negatively impact the organization’s operations, reputation, or legal obligations.
Third-party risk management is crucial because it helps to identify, assess, and mitigate the risks associated with third-party relationships. This can include cybersecurity threats, compliance issues, operational risks, and reputational damage.
Policy controls are essential in third-party risk management as they establish clear expectations for third-party behavior, data handling, and security practices. They help mitigate the risk of security incidents by defining acceptable actions, and ensure third parties comply with relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards. Further, policy controls provide a foundation for monitoring third-party activities and enforcing compliance, allowing the organization to take appropriate action in case of policy violations. Thus, policy controls serve as a critical framework for managing third-party risks effectively.
Audit logs are integral to third-party risk management as they offer a comprehensive record of all third-party activities within your systems. They aid in identifying potential risks by highlighting unusual or suspicious activities, serve as a crucial resource during incident response and forensic investigations, and help ensure regulatory compliance by providing proof of effective security measures and third-party monitoring. In addition, they foster a culture of accountability and transparency among third parties, deterring malicious activities and encouraging adherence to security policies.
Kiteworks helps with third-party risk management by providing a secure platform for sharing and managing sensitive content. The platform is designed to control, track, and secure sensitive content that moves within, into, and out of an organization, significantly improving risk management. Kiteworks also provides two levels of email encryption, Enterprise and Email Protection Gateway (EPG), to secure sensitive email communications. This helps to protect against third-party risks associated with email communication.
Additional Resources
- Glossary Security Risk Management Work
- Glossary Vendor Security Management
- Glossary Risk Management Cybersecurity
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- Blog Post Protect Your Sensitive Content with These Ten Best Practices