Are you numb to the exorbitant number of security incidents happening to enterprises large and small on a daily basis yet? Sadly, the number gets larger as time progresses.
Enterprises, regardless of size today, face significant challenges with Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) when it comes to all sorts of security risks. However, one risk specifically lingers in the shadows, flying under the radar – third-party application security.
One of the primary struggles with third-party application security is the lack of direct control over these applications, which often results in limited visibility into their data flows, vulnerabilities, and potential attack surfaces.
Third-party apps frequently interact with critical systems via APIs, and without robust monitoring, detecting anomalies or breaches within these integrations becomes difficult. This delayed detection impacts the MTTD, potentially leaving enterprises vulnerable for extended periods.
When it comes to MTTR, response times are often hindered by the need for coordination between internal teams and external vendors. Third-party vendors may not provide detailed logs or real-time insights into data movements, leaving security teams blind to critical changes until a breach or incident occurs. The challenge is compounded by the high volume of data these systems generate, requiring advanced analytics to sift through normal activity versus anomalies.
Take the recent Snowflake breach this past June. If you were a Snowflake customer, did you hear about the breach from a helpful Snowflake representative or your favorite security news feed? The truth of the matter is, when your vendor gets breached, the first thing on their minds, much like yours in a similar situation, is how to stop the bleeding. A distant second is customer reachout. In a landscape where cyber threats evolve rapidly, this delay in response leaves organizations exposed to greater risk, making faster detection and response critical to mitigating the impact of security incidents in large enterprises today.
Most security experts agree that the metrics of MTTD and MTTR are universal across any security organization. Regardless of what’s being secured, the time to detect and respond has a direct correlation to the level of security in place.
But what about context? I’d offer that context plays a major role in the accuracy of MTTD and MTTR metrics. One of the most significant challenges large enterprises face in third-party application security is gaining context on changes to critical or sensitive data. How do you determine where the sensitive data is being modified, accessed, or transferred relative to your third-party apps?
With context being so important, MTTC, or Mean Time To Context, is just as meaningful a metric, if not more meaningful when it relates to third-party application security. Without contextual awareness of data modifications, organizations are left unable to enforce compliance policies effectively or mitigate risks swiftly, increasing the likelihood of data loss or breaches.
Vorlon adds contextual awareness to your third-party applications and maintains the level of visibility you need to protect your most sensitive and critical data.
Don’t rely on legal agreements with your vendor to secure your data, take back control and provide yourself with a way to secure it.
