Cybersecurity is mission-critical for any organization, with many small- to medium-sized businesses outsourcing security services to reduce costs, access expertise, or improve efficiency. While outsourcing can be beneficial, it also introduces hidden risks that could put your organization in jeopardy.
Too often, we come across companies that assume outsourcing means they can "set it and forget it", or "Eh, the service provider takes care of that for me!". While these companies provide great findings for penetration testers, they opposite can be true for the risk posed to the organization.
Unfortunately, not all outsourced security providers operate with transparency, diligence, or your best interests in mind—and some may even introduce new vulnerabilities into your environment.
Before entrusting your cybersecurity to a third party, it’s crucial to understand the risks, hidden costs, and potential pitfalls of outsourcing.
Losing Control Over Security Operations
When you outsource cybersecurity, you hand over control of critical security functions to an external provider. While this can reduce operational burden, it also means that your visibility into security operations is diminished.
Key Risks
- Lack of transparency into how security incidents are handled.
- Dependence on the provider’s response times, tools, and methodologies.
- Inability to enforce your security policies and compliance standards.
Mitigations
Every organization should review and identify service-level agreements (SLAs) and roles for monitoring, response times, and reporting. This is going to be extremely relevant when faced with an incident and who is responsible for doing what. You should also have an internal oversight team to monitor outsourced activities and, if possible, be granted real-time access to security logs and event data.
Data Security and Confidentiality
Here's an example: would you trust me to have access to your bank account without vetting me? The same goes with third-parties: if mishandled, improperly stored, or accessed by unauthorized personnel, your risk of breaches or compliance violations increases. Outsourcing naturally requires sharing sensitive data with a third party but ensuring only the appropriate access is provided is key (i.e., least privilege).
Key Risks
- The provider improperly stores or transfers sensitive data.
- Employees at the third-party firm gain unnecessary access to critical systems.
- Insider threats from outsourced personnel.
Mitigations
Outsourced providers should follow the requirements of the organization, not the other way around. Make sure they follow the internal procedures and requirements for data encryption, access control, and secure storage best practices. In addition, implement strict data-sharing agreements, limiting access to only what’s necessary. And, when in doubt, enable auditing and logging to identify when data has been accessed and by whom.
Conflicts of Interest
Oh boy is this a big one, especially for SME's. Cybersecurity has grown into being a massive revenue generator and it seems like everyone is getting in on the action. When onboarding a provider, it's easy to checkbox all the options available, so you're fully covered, right?
Here's some food for thought: if the same company manages your IT infrastructure also performs security testing, can you trust they are accurately reporting security flaws? Why would they want to point out things they are charging you for aren't done to the correct "standard" and then bill you for fixing them? And if they're "subcontracting" or outsourcing cyber assessments to a third-party, isn't that kind of the same thing but with extra steps?
Key Risks
- Security assessments may lack objectivity if the provider is also responsible for security management.
- The provider may downplay security risks to avoid additional work.
- No independent verification of security controls.
- Lack of transparency regarding specific third-parties involved and tooling.
Mitigations
Specific services should be separated and provided from respective experts within their fields. Just because you've been brushing your teeth for years doesn't mean you're qualified to be a dentist. When it comes to performing annual assessments (such as Penetration Testing or Cyber Risk Assessments), working with independent and qualified firms will yield unbiased evaluations that are transparent in their findings.
Closing Thoughts
Look, we're not dogging outsourcing cybersecurity; it can have massive upsides to an organization by hiring qualified, independent firms to assist with their cyber needs. Outsourcing cybersecurity can be beneficial—but only if done carefully and with the right safeguards in place. Blindly trusting a third-party provider without proper oversight introduces serious security risks that could outweigh the benefits.
Need help evaluating outsourced cybersecurity providers or need independent security assessments? Our team can help you assess risks, identify vulnerabilities, and implement best practices to keep your business secure.
To learn more about how Ember Lake can assist with Penetration Testing, CIMA Statement of Guidance assistance, or other cybersecurity professional services, drop us an line at info@emberlake.ky.
