A cloud security provider has backed the government’s call for businesses to improve their defences against cyber-attacks that come through their suppliers and partners.
David Willetts, the universities and science minister, recently warned blue chip organisations planning mergers to be extra vigilant, adding that b law firms, accountants and investment banks are being targeted by cyber-criminals seeking confidential information on corporate deals.
Firms that advise companies on mergers and other transactions have become attractive to hackers who want to circumvent the stronger defences of blue-chip companies.
"The involvement of different professional advisers and financiers and the multiple flows of information and data create vulnerabilities that can be exploited,"Willetts said.
Phil Turner, VP of EMEA for Okta – a cloud based identity and access management provider – feels organisations need to take heed of the warning and added that it is not only blue chip organisations involved in mergers or large corporate deals that need to be wary.
He said: "The reality is that in order to do business in the modern digital economy, organisations must open their virtual doors to partners and services providers by allowing them access to data and information. As more business applications move into the cloud this becomes easier to do, is more efficient and will become commonplace over the next 12-18 months.
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"Subsequently, the need for more robust authentication methods has never been greater. They are essential to ensuring data is secure and that access is controlled across all users, devices and applications. This means companies must invest not only in solutions that provide a seamless and secure experience for internal users, but also external users at partners and customer companies."
