A data security incident at any business – large or small – can cause serious damage. The average cost of a data breach rose to new highs in 2021, to the tune of more than $4 million.  

And unfortunately, the harm doesn’t end with the financial consequences. Despite how commonplace data leaks and breaches may seem, they still affect the psyche of customers, a majority of whom report losing trust in an organization after a data breach.   

In the face of so many concerning implications, it’s no wonder that businesses today consider data security to be a critical priority. But, it turns out that a majority of businesses are overlooking one key thing that could undermine all their hard work and dollars invested.  

Your Data Security Standards Are in Place – But Are Your Vendors’? 

Many growing businesses today outsource critical business functions to third-parties as an efficient way to leverage expertise they don’t have in-house. This makes smart business sense, but also opens new doors to new data security vulnerabilities. A majority of businesses surveyed in 2021 are not evaluating the data security practices of their service vendors. 

More than half of organizations have experienced a data breach caused by third-parties that led to the misuse of their sensitive information. Despite how many businesses today partner with service vendors, many don’t understand how to mitigate the potential risks. 

In a report by SecureLink and the Ponemon Institute:

• 63% of respondents reporting relying on reputation instead of evaluating the privacy and security practices of third-parties.
• 54% of respondents say their organizations do not have a comprehensive inventory of all third-parties with access to their network
• 65% of organizations have not identified the third-parties with access to the most sensitive data of the organization.
• 54% of organizations are not monitoring the security and privacy practices of third-parties that they share sensitive or confidential information with on an ongoing basis.

One Important Question to Ask Vendors

Businesses can start getting a better handle on vendor data security by asking one key question today: 

“Are you SOC 2 complaint?”  

SOC 2 is a set of criteria developed by the American Institute of CPAs that defines best practices for managing and storing customer data in the cloud. It requires companies to establish and follow information security policies and procedures that encompass the security, availability, processing, integrity, and confidentiality of customer data.

SOC 2 certification is issued by outside auditors. The auditors assess the extent to which a vendor complies with the principles based on the systems and processes in place.

We are proud to have earned and maintain B2E’s SOC 2 compliance. It gives our clients the confidence to entrust us with one of their most valuable assets – their data! Every year, B2E undergoes third-party audits of our systems and processes to maintain our certification.

Although eliminating data security risks in today’s world is simply not possible, good data governance practices that include the proper vetting of service vendors is a critical step that can offer your organization a lot of protection. If you’d like to learn more about the security measures we have in place to protect your data – we’d love to tell you more! Here’s how to schedule a conversation.