Manufacturers – And Their Partners – Have Targets on Their Backs

Never has picking the right partner been more critical. Manufacturers, with their distributed supplier and partner networks, have increased demands on Identity and Access Management (IAM) resources.

Manufacturing has been the most targeted sector for the past four years, and despite a general decline in malware, it was also the hardest hit by ransomware. The Asia-Pacific region, a central hub of manufacturing supply chain activity, experienced the most cybersecurity incidents this past year, at over one-third of the total.

The sector has rightfully monitored growing supply chain threats for years. Manufacturing leaders believed third-party supply chain threats would increase year over year, and stolen credentials continue to lead these attacks. Credential-based attacks surged 71% year-over-year. Last year, credential-based incidents outpaced even phishing at 17% and exploits at 16%, contributing to the highest number of breaches at 38%.

With B2B third-party relationships underpinning the global manufacturing ecosystem, these statistics draw attention to the fact that preventing attacks means securing credentials and strengthening identity and access management among external entities.

IAM Interactions – More Valuable Than You Think

Recent Thales research, B2B IAM – The Hidden Value of Third-Party Identities, reveals that 7 in 10 identities represent external users and that B2B relationships make up nearly half of all users.

In fact, non-corporate identities comprise 71% of all those accessing corporate networks; this includes partners, vendors, contractors, and customers. The bottom line is that external users make up a critical mass in today’s organizations but are typically underserved.

However, current IAM solutions are geared towards internal users.

• Conventional IGA (Identity Governance Administration) is designed for internal compliance and security management. It relies heavily on third-party processes and requires heavy manual lifting, adding to the operational workload.
• Workforce Identity & Access Management (WIAM) solutions focus on employees and automated HR-driven provisioning. With a focus on internal access security, WIAM struggles to meet the complex, cross-organizational needs of external user IAM that manufacturers need to safely and productively engage with their partner ecosystem.

Combined IGA and WIAM tools can technically support external identities, but they weren’t built for it. Stitching them together demands heavy integration, custom workarounds, and ongoing maintenance. For manufacturers with extensive partner ecosystems, this complexity creates friction, increases cost, and introduces unnecessary risk.

How B2B IAM Secures Manufacturing Partner Interactions

Increasingly, IAM interactions are some of the first experiences a partner will have with your organization. You want these to be smooth and effortless for those in your ecosystem, while retaining the permissions, policies, and essential security standards.

For example, a car manufacturer may have a long supply chain filled with parts suppliers along with a distribution network of dealership partners. All ecosystems need to be secured, and IAM must be managed within their various IT networks and among their various employees. All of these entities are external and need to reflect the manufacturer’s attention to security as well as their commitment to an enjoyable working experience.

The following questions may arise:

1. How do you deliver a harmonious user experience, despite fluctuating user identity requirements?
2. How can you avoid drowning under the increased operational workload of secure, user-friendly partner IAM?
3. How can you maintain high availability for all stakeholders while meeting data privacy compliance standards?

B2B IAM: External Identity Lifecycle at Scale

B2B IAM fills these gaps, stepping in where WIAM, IGA, and others fall short.

Not only is B2B IAM tailored for external clients, but it also easily accounts for fluctuations in outside identity needs, such as taking on a partner or finishing a contract. Especially in the post-pandemic economy, where gig workers and contractors are more common (especially among manufacturing suppliers and partners), B2B IAM supports fast onboarding/offboarding cycles and permission adjustments, all with built-in security controls.

Meanwhile, Delegated User Management offloads a significant amount of the operational burden from manufacturers while giving partners more freedom to manage their own identities within pre-defined scopes.

Lastly, both the organizational workload and the partner UX improve with additional B2B IAM features like self-service access requests, consent management, and relationship-based access control (ReBAC). The important thing is that these tools not only provide convenience, but they also enhance compliance.

B2B IAM is designed to provide total experience management for partners (and suppliers) in the manufacturing ecosystem, and more. Not only will its adoption cut down on stolen credentials, but manufacturers can expand their partner relationships without the fear of being crushed beneath the weight of a complex external identity management load or the looming threat of credential-hunting data breaches.

The Only Bespoke IAM Solution for External Entities

Manufacturers are the hub of a many-spoked wheel. Being that hub and maintaining flawless partner interactions, compliant data privacy policies, and secure identity and access management experiences requires a purpose-built tool. B2B IAM is the only solution on the IAM market ready to deliver a bespoke solution where other tools can only approximate.

Jose Caso, B2B IAM at Thales, is a seasoned product professional with over 15 years of experience in software development, product management, and product marketing. He specializes in aligning technical and business goals to deliver solutions that meet evolving client needs. With a background spanning physical security, cybersecurity, and enterprise solutions, Jose focuses on driving innovation that keeps businesses competitive in a dynamic market.