SaaS Firm Optimizes Third-Party Risk Management with Attaxion

PART 1

The Challenge

As the data management provider grew, their vendor ecosystem expanded, complicating third-party risk management and compliance efforts. The situation became even more complex after they acquired a smaller SaaS startup, which introduced new vendors and a largely undocumented attack surface.

Their key challenges included:

• Unknown third-party assets: They needed to quickly map the newly acquired startup’s internet-facing assets, many of which were tied to third-party vendors.
• Compliance gaps: The acquisition increased the number of systems requiring monitoring for compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and other regulatory frameworks.
• Resource constraints: They had no additional resources to dedicate to managing the compliance and security challenges stemming from the acquisition.

With looming client audits and the need to integrate the acquired company’s operations, they had to act fast.

“Acquiring a new company typically creates security blind spots, but we were able to get ahead of those risks. Attaxion gave us the insights we needed to integrate systems quickly while ensuring compliance with industry regulations.” – CTO at the data management provider

PART 2

The Solution

To address these challenges, the data management provider used Attaxion to gain immediate visibility into its expanding external attack surface and assess its third-party risks. 

As a cutting-edge external attack surface management (EASM) platform, Attaxion enabled them to quickly map the newly acquired startup’s external attack surface, including third-party vendors and dependencies, identify critical vulnerabilities and monitor for emerging risks — all without disrupting ongoing operations.

With Attaxion, they were able to:

• Build a complete inventory of assets: Attaxion helped identify all internet-facing assets, including those inherited through the acquisition. Among other things, they’ve discovered previously unknown and forgotten subdomains, exposed IP addresses, and third-party dependencies. With Attaxion, they effectively eliminated shadow IT in its external-facing infrastructure.
• Prioritize critical risks: Vulnerability scanning flagged high-risk vendor systems, highlighting the ones with a higher likelihood of exploitation and allowing the team to focus remediation efforts where they mattered most.
• Streamline compliance checks: The team conducted a thorough compliance assessment of the acquired startup’s systems and third-party vendors to ensure alignment with GDPR and CCPA requirements.
• Maintain operational continuity: They ensured that no critical vendor dependencies were overlooked during the acquisition, minimizing the risk of disruptions.

PART 3

The Results

The client achieved the following results within two months of using Attaxion:

• Full visibility post-acquisition: The team identified 30 previously undocumented assets from the acquired company’s attack surface, including third-party systems critical to its operations. 
• Compliance readiness: They resolved 95% of compliance-critical vulnerabilities and third-party software misconfigurations before the next scheduled client audit, avoiding penalties or client dissatisfaction.
• Optimized resources: The IT team managed the expanded attack surface without additional staffing by leveraging Attaxion’s automation and prioritization capabilities.

By quickly assessing the acquired company’s external attack surface, they seamlessly integrated its operations and minimized security and compliance risks.

Key Takeaways

When the client acquired another SaaS startup, they faced the dual challenge of integrating new systems and ensuring compliance with a growing network of third-party vendors. Using Attaxion, they built a comprehensive picture of the new attack surface, prioritized risks effectively, and stayed ahead of regulatory requirements without increasing costs or complexity.