What Is a Vendor-Managed Asset?

A vendor-managed asset is an element of a company’s IT infrastructure controlled and managed by a vendor, so the company has no direct control over the asset. These assets may be known or unknown, and they can introduce serious vulnerabilities into the company’s network. Attack surface management solutions provide visibility into vendor-managed assets, how they’re connected to first-party assets, whether there are vulnerabilities, and how an exploit could impact the company’s first-party assets.