Supply chain attacks are the latest beast to burden the day to day computer user, the worst thing is they can be extremely hard to combat as most of the damage is done from the source, not just accidentally clicking a malicious link.
These attacks can be devastating and more importantly, you likely aren’t even the main target. The ripple effect creates mass impact, therefore it is important to ensure you have the appropriate processes in place to minimise the potential devastation.
There are 3 tips we can give you to help with this
Assess and understand your supplier network
Establishing a good relationship with your third-party service providers who have access to your business's information system is important. It is more beneficial that there is a concrete level of trust and transparency about what data is available, who it is available to, and how it will be used. It is better to work alongside your current provider than being lulled into a shiny new product that promises one thing missing from your current setup.
By focusing on the relationship building aspect with your supplier, you can track risk factors such as ownership, manufacturing locations, and supplier relationships while at the same time working with your provider to ensure your needs are met. Consider including your expectations for security controls and periodic auditing within vendor contracts to ensure that your selected suppliers meet the same level of scrutiny as your internal enterprise or business. This is a great baseline for making sure there are no unexpected hiccups along the way, and if there are, you can trust that it wasn’t some shifty side hustle.
This is both a preventive for these third-party providers being accidentally blamed for something outside of their control and also a crucial way to provide your business with the right policies and maximum transparency about what's happening to your data.
Know the risks associated with third-party partners and suppliers
To determine how adversaries may seek to disrupt your business operations or manufacturing production, first consider the motivations behind a potential attack. You should also identify your most valuable assets, such as intellectual property, proprietary information, and customer information.
By pinpointing these motivations and assets, your organization can figure out which systems and areas of your supply chain to protect and how to prioritize your cybersecurity investments. This is where investing in backups can be a resourceful asset to your business, you can backup the data that you have identified, and replicate it in several locations, including making use of products such as our ACS cloud, which replicates and regularly updates your systems in several locations.
Ensure you know what the process is for products and updates reaching your business and apply adequate measures to ensure this is maintained.
Include the supply chain in your response and remediation plan
When an incident does occur, it’s best to be practiced, poised, and ready to swiftly and effectively eradicate infection and minimize damage throughout your supply chain environments. Using third-party dedicated IT teams is a great way to automate this process and ensure appropriate preventatives are in place. This not only improves the timing for recovery but it means that stress is reduced if you are familiar with the process before an incident occurs. Knowing this can mean mistakes made in a panic are reduced and further harm may be prevented. Familiarise yourself with your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plan. If you have any questions regarding what this is or perhaps you require setting one up, contact us and we can guide you through this process.
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