Weekly Security Tip - “Verify Third-Party Access Before You Grant It”
Headline: Whenever you grant a vendor, consultant or service provider access to your systems or data, build in a verification gate before access is enabled.
Why it matters:
Many data-breaches occur because unauthorized or inadequately vetted third-parties gain access to sensitive systems.
As firms subject to regulations like Reg S-P or cyber-insurance controls, you can’t simply assume that a vendor has strong security practice—you must verify.
By adding a verification step you elevate your security posture, demonstrate due-diligence (which helps insurers) and reduce risk of vendor-caused incident.
Quick Tips
Before granting access, require the vendor to complete a short questionnaire (or have you review) covering:
Their user account provisioning and de-provisioning process
Whether access is restricted by time/location (e.g., remote only with MFA)
What type of monitoring or logging they do of their users or access to your data
Whether they’ve had any security incidents in last 12 months and how they responded
Only issue the minimum privileges necessary (“least-privilege”).
Set a calendar reminder to re-verify the access every 12 months (or sooner if the vendor changes).
Make sure you have a contractual right to review audit logs or ask for a security summary from the vendor at any time.
When the contract ends or vendor access is no longer needed, ensure the account is deactivated promptly and you receive confirmation of removal.
Call to Action:
Take 15 minutes this week to pick one vendor with access to your network or data—walk through the list above and make sure the verification gate was completed (or schedule it if missing). That simple audit will strengthen your compliance evidence and harden your firm’s security.As the holidays approach, cybercriminals are even more excited about your holiday shopping than the people on your gift list.
Stay vigilant. Grant access deliberately. Verify upfront. Protect proactively.
