How High Are Your Suppliers' Security Standards?

IT professionals should not underestimate the importance of their business partners and suppliers' security standards, and need to make investments to protect their interactions with others in their supply chain, according to a study conducted for security specialist Tripwire by Dimensional Research. A lack of security at business partners and suppliers can have a major impact on a business' bottom line, ranging from a loss of customers to lower share pricing. While the majority of the more than 320 IT professionals surveyed are confident in their organizations' ability to protect sensitive customer data, nearly half said they are not confident in the security practices of their business partners and suppliers. Yet many organizations continue to work with partners and suppliers that fail to meet their security standards, and many don't evaluate suppliers to make sure they meet their security requirements. One of the biggest reasons respondents cited is a lack of resources. This is where channel partners can work with organizations to help them select products and implement procedures to mitigate security risk in the supply chain. Here are key findings from the study that show why IT pros should take seriously the business impact of security throughout the supply chain.