It goes without saying that organizations want and need to protect their brands from a cybersecurity standpoint. Otherwise, darknet activity leading to a number of different cyber-attacks can quickly and thoroughly destroy an organization’s reputation. Once that happens, rebuilding a brand is rarely easy. Enter third-party risk and the need to continue monitoring and assessing it.

As a cyber threat intelligence and data specialist, DarkOwl insists that brand protection and third-party risk are closely intertwined. They take the position that understanding third-party risk is not an option in today’s interconnected business landscape. As such, they believe it is very important for organizations of all sizes to have a solid handle on their risks associated with third parties.

Third-Party Risk Basics

When cybersecurity experts talk about third-party risk, they are referring to potential threats an organization might face as a result of its relationships with parties outside its own network. These include business partners, vendors, service providers, and suppliers.

Third parties matter because organizations are only as secure as the partners who have access to their networks. Third-party risks are especially concerning because they come in all shapes of sizes. They include:

• Data breaches
• Compliance violations
• Cybersecurity vulnerabilities
• Operational disruptions

All four have one thing in common: they can lead directly to significant reputational damage. An organization serious about brand protection cannot reasonably ignore third-party risk. To do so is to open the door to serious attacks with equally serious brand reputation consequences.

When Brands Are Attacked

An attack on a brand’s network is an attack on the brand itself. And once again, serious attacks have serious consequences. Consider the following:

• Reputational Impacts – A compromised brand often faces reputational impacts they can run fairly deep. Unfortunately, customers rarely differentiate between brands and their third-party partners. So a brand can suffer even when an attack is traced back to a third-party.

• Loss of Credibility – A loss of credibility can almost always be expected when brands are successfully attacked. Just a single third-party incident can completely erode customer confidence.

• Compliance Questions – Successful breaches launched through third parties tend to lead to compliance questions. Are organizations doing enough to protect data and customer information?

• Continuity of Service – Third-party failures can lead directly or indirectly to service disruptions. When a brand is unable to maintain continuity of service, brand loyalty and customer satisfaction are negatively impacted.

It is easy to ignore third-party risk and simply assume that an organization’s partners maintain the same level of cybersecurity and brand protection. Unfortunately, ignorance often leads to finding out too late that a third party isn’t up to par with its security.

How Brands Can Protect Themselves

With the relationship between brand protection and third-party risk being what it is, it’s up to brands to protect themselves. Fortunately, doing so is not rocket science. There are a number of common-sense approaches brands can take to ensure the integrity of their supply chains.

At the top of the list are robust third-party risk management processes. These are processes purpose-built to assess, monitor, and mitigate the risks associated with doing business with external partners.

Brands should also take advantage of dark web monitoring, threat intelligence strategies, contractual safeguards, incident response planning, and more. Every strategy should be built on a foundation of due diligence. Applying due diligence to an organization’s security posture sets that organization up for success.

Third parties can do significant damage to an organization’s brand. Therefore, if a brand truly wants to protect itself, it must pay sufficient attention to third-party issues. Brand protection and third-party risk simply cannot be separated into mutually exclusive entities.

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