InfoArmor Pioneers Third-Party Vendor Monitoring Service

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- InfoArmor has pioneered a solution called Vendor Security Monitoring (VSM) to protect companies against the largest source of data breaches – their external vendors.

VSM is the first-of-its-kind tool that gives companies real-time safety reports about their third-party vendors and helps them make informed decisions about firms with whom they do business.

The product is particularly timely in light of recent security breaches at leading retailers and financial institutions.

Data breaches are the greatest risk factor for identity fraud.  Now, we're able to help businesses do even more to protect their customers," said Drew Smith, InfoArmor's chief executive officer.

Each year, nearly 90 percent of corporate data breaches are due to external vendors, according to Trustwave's Global Security Report.

As the incidence of security breaches grows, companies are being held accountable by customers, investors and employees for the actions of partners.

"Businesses tend to approach third-party security breaches as a cost of doing business, but that's set to rapidly change as their customers demand more accountability and security," said Steve Thomas, president of PwnedList, a subsidiary of InfoArmor that tracks compromised accounts. "Companies are realizing that they are only as strong as their weakest link, and research proves that in many cases, external vendors are that weak link."

Much like an employer would conduct a background check on an employee, VSM proactively monitors vendors for ongoing data incidents harvested from a variety of sources, including hacker forums, web crawlers, data loss databases, hacker communities, the dark net, deep web, file sharing portals, key logger dumps and malware logs.

In addition to looking at a vendor's current status, VSM will conduct a historical audit of previous incidents of exposure. If red flags arise, VSM will immediately report the concern to the business, enabling a partner to take preventive measures.

"Both consumers and the government are making it the company's responsibility to evaluate and use secure vendors," Thomas said. "In fact, future legislation is pointing toward making corporations financially responsible for breaches within their organization, regardless of whether they are directly or indirectly involved in a security breach."

Currently, companies may rely on self-reported security questionnaires that may not ask vendors the right questions. Similarly, vendors may not be aware of their own security vulnerabilities.

VSM is currently in internal review and beta testing, and set for release in April.

About InfoArmor
InfoArmor works with companies to provide identity protection and privacy management solutions to their employees, members and customers. The company's innovative and user-friendly services help employers and partners easily offer a valuable benefit, enhance their brand, improve loyalty, and generate revenue, all while providing stakeholders enhanced security and peace of mind. InfoArmor was established in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 2007 to help Washington Mutual protect the identities of its 10 million credit card holders. In August of 2013, InfoArmor acquired PwnedList to strengthen its position as a data innovator by adding compromised credential monitoring to its suite of solutions. Today, the company partners with a multitude of businesses and organizations of all sizes and throughout the United States.

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SOURCE InfoArmor