How to secure data when outsourcing development

Outsourcing, particularly in the development niche, is a practice that many organizations undertake, which sees them hire third-parties to handle certain business operations on their behalf, as opposed to doing it in-house. Actually, startups and organizations can benefit immensely from going through with using a third-party in this manner.

However, there has to be some serious consideration done beforehand, as it comes with certain risks. One such risk is how data can be vulnerable to malicious actors, which can be disastrous in this day and age, hence the need to secure it. Fortunately, keeping your data safe, if you decide to apply outsourcing development, is possible, according to N-iX. So let’s explore how it could be achieved.

To begin with: why to use third-parties

There are reasons why people are willing to invest in data protection. Companies, as part of their outsourcing strategies, are increasingly investing in data protection to secure the sensitive data. As recently as 2019, global outsourcing as a market was worth above $92 billion, and it also means that if this niche grows, businesses recognize the need to invest in protecting that data as well. The most notable ones include the following:

• Money that would have been spent on things such as labor and equipment is saved as software development outsourcing firms already have everything necessary to function
• Because money can be saved, operations are made available to even smaller businesses working on a budget, which gives them a fighting chance in the hyper-competitive market
• A wide pool of expertise is readily available to you, even on a global scale
• Because of the aforementioned potential access to global expertise as well as resources, you can expand your operations into other regions
• Outstaffing firms are also beneficial because their business is to do the task they’re hired to do to the best of their power to gain more clients, which can lead to quality work
• They allow you to focus on other elements of your operation, thus making it more efficient

Data issue

The data issue when it comes to outsourcing is found on multiple fronts, which we’ll discuss, but all of these stem from one source: the link between the client and the outsourcing development firm. Essentially, whenever the choice to outsource is made, there’s going to be some data transfer between the two parties.

As soon as the data leaves the “safety” of your organization’s framework, it’s exposed to the outside world and all the malicious actors out there. The most prominent data threats include:

• Data leaks occur when potentially sensitive information can be accessed by those who aren’t authorized to see it
• Internal threats, which often present themselves as human error, or malicious intent by certain individuals
• Cyber attacks, which include several hacking, and intrusive measures such as phishing, and malware 

How to solve it

The issues highlighted above are always going to be threats irrespective of the task the outsourcing firm has been hired to do or what field. Therefore, all manner of measures and precautions should be taken to ensure that this specific risk is limited or contained to prevent catastrophe. The measures organizations can take to halt this issue include the following:

Research the chosen firm thoroughly

The first thing to do when seeking out an outsourcing partner is to ensure that they can properly carry out whatever you ask them to do. This should be accompanied by thorough vetting that shows that they can handle data safely. This is something that a history of no data-related incidents, as well as the presence of proper certifications like SOC 2, can give assurance of.

Ensure that access is secure

Making sure that only the right people can access the right data is important if you are going to keep the valuable asset secure. This can be done by not only generally restricting access on those grounds but also adding extra padding by adding elements like strong authentication protocols, which add to strong password abilities.

Handle compliance correctly

Compliance, especially as it pertains to data, is something that every organization that deals with it heavily should adhere to, as it is a sign that an organization is going about it correctly. As such, ensuring that the outsourcing development company is compliant with data protection regulations such as the GDPR and CCPA should be done before any hiring.

This is something that should be done especially, if the third party is abroad. In this case the international regulations regarding data should be followed on both sides.

Be aware of all security measures

To make sure that whatever measures you put in place are working, they have to be monitored closely. By doing this, you can get an overview of how your and the outsourcing firm’s security systems are doing. To achieve this, regular audits have to be conducted to seek out and handle any potential issues that may be hidden.

Both parties can also take more of a proactive approach in which they can actively test for weaknesses and address them; a process known as penetration testing. While you’re doing these things, you can further prove the competence of an organization’s security by having reports of the aforementioned acts reviewed. This is because there needs to be proof that something is being done, as well as a way to see if said acts are being done correctly.

Create response measures

You and the outsourcing firm should also come up with responses for when breaches occur. This will include the addition of notification systems to alert you when things go wrong, as well as testing the response plan to ensure that it works optimally.

The above measures should also come in conjunction with others such as data encryption as well as backup assurance. By doing this, and all the above, your data will be safe, making you ready for your outsourcing venture.

Final thoughts

There are several reasons businesses outsource various operations to third-party firms as opposed to doing it in-house. This, as the above has shown, leaves the business vulnerable to several data-related attacks. As such, great emphasis should always be placed on what measures one can take to prevent any potentially disastrous data incidents from occurring.

Fortunately, there are some things that one can do to ensure that their organization’s information is and remains safe, especially for the outsourcing venture. Suffice it to say that it requires thorough due diligence of the outsourcing firm before any hiring, as well as ensuring that all measures put in place afterward function.