Third-party contractors are a convenient and commitment-less way for businesses to get the services they need without a large financial or organizational commitment. However, hiring contractors is a risk. Without proper access control, your data can be easily exposed, copied, and stolen. Your business’s security is at the mercy of the contractor’s protection, and any secrets given over will never come back.
Less is More
The current approach to data protection involves a comprehensive solution stack. When working with a contractor, some enterprises may provide a fully stacked and protected company device. Others prefer contractors to work from their own computers.
The Challenges
When contractors use their own devices to access company data, enterprises become vulnerable to cyberattacks and malware via the contractors' devices. Without the protection of a company device or network, threat actors have a much easier path to sensitive, confidential information. Furthermore, if the contractor is working for multiple organizations, those other companies may have access to your data as well.
To mitigate this, the current approach of onboarding third-party contractors includes a comprehensive, time-consuming, and costly process in which contractors are required to undergo inspections of their controls and resources. While there is a need for visibility into the corporate actions of the contractor, the expectation of them to provide full access to their own devices is both unfair and impractical.
However, the decision to provide contractors with company-secured devices is not simple. Not only is there a significant risk that the device will never be returned, but contractors are wary of the monitoring systems that many enterprises use to track productivity, so they may not stay with the organisation long enough for the hardware investment to be worthwhile.
Additionally, the complexity of the security solutions required for third-party contractors can sometimes hinder business operations and prove to be incredibly difficult to work around. When security is forced to come at the cost of agility, CISOs are stuck in the middle.
By using a corporate browser and making the browser the first line of defense, enterprises receive an easy-to-use, non-invasive security solution that tracks corporate activity without invading personal browsing privacy. Enterprises maintain security and agility, while contractors remain comfortable safely downloading the security solution to their personal devices.
The Enterprise Browser
By using a Zero-Trust enterprise browser, businesses can ensure the security of their data without risking the agility needed for external collaboration. The Zero-Trust architecture allows for customised security and controls and an easy-to-manage user-based access approach. By authenticating each user and device, businesses are assured that contractors can access only the information they need in order to fulfil their roles - and nothing more.
Why SURF?
SURF Security is the only Zero-Trust secure enterprise browser that was created with both the employee and the employer in mind. SURF exclusively tracks ONLY corporate activity, ensuring contractors don’t have to risk the exposure of their personal information or their personal surfing habits.
Contractors can confidently work from their own devices, without risking their personal privacy. With SURF, user history isn’t tracked, and the company receives only reports on corporate activity and policy breaches. Unless a contractor tries to access data he doesn’t have clearance for, none of his actions will be tracked, traced, or reported – reinforcing corporate identity and protecting contractor privacy.
