Who’s in your digital house? The truth about third-party access

In this Help Net Security video, Fran Rosch, CEO at Imprivata, discusses organizations’ challenges in securing third-party access and offers valuable insights on how businesses can address these risks effectively.

A recent report conducted by the Ponemon Institute, “The State of Third-Party Access in Cybersecurity,” found that third-party data breaches have severe consequences across critical sectors, with data theft and loss posing the greatest risk. Healthcare is the most affected, with 60% of breaches leading to stolen or lost sensitive information, followed closely by finance at 56% and industrial sectors at 48%.

Beyond the immediate exposure of sensitive data, these breaches also carry regulatory and legal repercussions. The healthcare and financial industries face the highest regulatory fines, at 49% and 45%, respectively. All sectors contend with legal challenges, with financial and industrial organizations both reporting a 41% impact.

The fallout from these breaches extends beyond compliance concerns, affecting business relationships and revenue. In healthcare, 47% of organizations sever ties with third-party vendors following a breach, a trend mirrored in the financial (43%) and industrial (43%) sectors, underscoring how interconnected these industries are with external partners.

Financial losses are also a significant consequence, with the industrial sector experiencing the highest percentage of revenue loss at 45%, followed closely by healthcare at 42%, and finance at 34%. These figures highlight how vulnerabilities in one organization can create cascading effects, making third-party cybersecurity a priority.