Vendor diversity provides zero-day resiliency by using multiple vendors for key IT components. Learn why this cybersecurity best practice minimizes risks from zero-day exploits.
Table of Contents
Question
Which of the following is a benefit of vendor diversity?
A. Patch availability
B. Zero-day resiliency
C. Secure configuration guide applicability
D. Load balancing
Answer
B. Zero-day resiliency
Explanation
Having a diversity of vendors for key IT components and services is an important cybersecurity best practice that provides zero-day resiliency.
Zero-day exploits target newly discovered vulnerabilities that a software vendor has just become aware of and hasn’t yet patched. By their nature, zero-days can be extremely dangerous since hackers can exploit the flaw before the vendor issues a security fix.
However, if an organization uses products from multiple different vendors to deliver the same essential functionality, a zero-day affecting one of those vendors will have less impact. Even if one vendor’s product is compromised, the other vendors’ products will likely not have that same vulnerability and can maintain operations.
For example, using firewalls from two or more vendors provides redundancy if a zero-day exploit is found in one firewall product. Key business functions can fail over to the unaffected vendor’s firewall.
In contrast, the other answer choices are not direct benefits of vendor diversity:
A) Patch availability – Vendor diversity doesn’t impact how quickly patches are made available, which depends on each vendor’s processes.
C) Secure configuration guide applicability – Configuration guides are vendor-specific. More vendor diversity means more distinct guides to follow.
D) Load balancing – While using multiple vendors can provide redundancy, true load balancing requires special configuration and is not an inherent result of vendor diversity.
Therefore, zero-day resiliency is the main benefit of utilizing a diversity of IT vendors from a cybersecurity perspective. It’s a critical best practice for minimizing risks from undisclosed, unpatched vulnerabilities.
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