The ongoing security-related outage affecting Ingram Micro has raised significant concerns across the information technology landscape. While the full scope and nature of the incident remain unclear, the lack of timely communication and transparency has left many partners uncertain about their potential exposure.
While disruptions to licensing availability have drawn the most attention, subtler - yet potentially more severe - risks continue to remain unnoticed.
Lateral Movement and Privileged Access Risk
Distributors like Ingram Micro often configure access to an organisation’s cloud services during the licensing process – potentially without explicit visibility or awareness from the organisation (e.g. via an IT Service Provider or an internal IT admin). A common example involves Microsoft 365 licensing, which can be accompanied with Granular Delegated Admin Privileges (GDAP) to the organisation’s Microsoft 365 tenant.
This often-privileged access allows Ingram Micro to deliver management and support services. However, in the event of a security breach, it becomes a high-risk access vector – one that could enable lateral and privileged movement across hundreds or even thousands of connected environments.
Data Exposure Threat
In addition to privileged access, Ingram Micro stores a range of customer data – from contact and licensing details to billing and support records. In a breach scenario, this data could be leveraged for fraudulent transactions or exploited to launch targeted phishing or impersonation campaigns, posing as Ingram Micro in an attempt to manipulate or extract further information from affected organisations.
Given the potential for lateral movement, privileged access abuse and social engineering, organisations should act decisively – not wait for full disclosure. While the nature of the incident is still unfolding, there are practical, immediate steps that can help reduce risk and strengthen control.
What Should Organisations Be Doing Right Now?
- 🗣️ Inform relevant personnel in your organisation to ensure they are aware of the incident and the potential implications, including follow-on social engineering campaigns.
- 🔍 Review and assess all Ingram Micro integrations, particularly those involving delegated administrative access or APIs (e.g., GDAP).
- 🚫 If the risk is deemed high, temporarily revoke access – after evaluating any operational impact.
- 📈 Perform an initial audit of authentication activity over recent weeks to identify potential indications of compromise.
- 👁️ If access cannot be temporarily revoked, ensure real-time monitoring is in place for all authentication activity involving Ingram Micro until the situation is fully clarified.
Moving Forward: Strengthening Third-Party Governance
This incident serves as a timely reminder of the importance of mature third-party governance. As organisations increasingly rely on vendors for cloud services, licensing, integrations, and support, the associated risks go well beyond simple access.
Effective third-party governance isn’t just about controlling privileges – it’s about building a comprehensive view of each vendor’s role in your environment and the potential risks they introduce.
Organisations should aim to establish governance frameworks that include:
- Clear visibility into all third-party relationships and dependencies
- Formalised risk classifications based on service criticality, data handling, and integration depth – accompanied by mitigating controls
- Continuous monitoring, auditing, and reassessment – not just point-in-time reviews
- Defined incident response protocols that account for third-party involvement
The Ingram Micro incident may eventually pass, but the lesson it offers is enduring: third-party risk is business risk. Building resilience means treating third-party governance as a foundational element of cyber security – not just during incidents.
