Third Parties and Machine Credentials: The Silent Drivers Behind 2025's Worst Breaches
May 06, 2025
AI Security / Enterprise IT
It wasn't ransomware headlines or zero-day exploits that stood out most in this year's Verizon 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) — it was what fueled them. Quietly, yet consistently, two underlying factors played a role in some of the worst breaches: third-party exposure and machine credential abuse . According to the 2025 DBIR, third-party involvement in breaches doubled year-over-year, jumping from 15% to 30% . In parallel, attackers increasingly exploited machine credentials and ungoverned machine accounts to gain access, escalate privileges, and exfiltrate sensitive data. The message is clear: it's no longer enough to protect your employee users alone. To truly defend against modern threats, organizations must govern all identities — human, non-employee, and machine — within a unified security strategy. Third-Party Risk: Expanding Faster Than Organizations Can Control Today's enterprise is a patchwork of partnerships: contractors, vendors, business p...