You probably have no idea which companies help deliver the products you buy online. Why would you?

When you order something, it shows up at your door a few days later. That’s usually the most that you think about it.

A recent cyberattack against global shipping company CEVA Logistics shows why the companies working quietly behind the scenes can matter much more to your personal data than you might expect.

What Happened?

In late July 2026, CEVA Logistics experienced a cyberattack that disrupted eight of its European warehouses. Unfortunately, CEVA handles order-processing systems for other companies. Several businesses. including major clients like Steam, subsequently had to warn customers that the information associated with their orders may have been compromised.

For some customers, the potentially exposed information included names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and order details. Those customers did not necessarily have an account with CEVA or knowingly hand their information over to the company, but the leak affected them nevertheless. Their data was simply involved as part of completing an order.

Companies rarely handle everything themselves anymore. Like this incident shows, they rely on outside organizations for payroll, cloud storage, shipping, payment processing, customer support, software, benefits, and countless other services.

Your Data Travels More Than You Think

Every time sensitive information moves to one of those vendors, another organization becomes responsible for protecting it. It’s called third-party risk, and it has become a major compliance concern as we all have to engage with third parties during our day-to-day jobs.

Third party involvement in breaches has risen 60% from the last year. In other words, protecting your own network is no longer enough.

Data privacy responsibilities do not simply disappear when information is handed to another company. Therefore you need to understand which vendors have access to sensitive information, why they need it, and how they protect it. That’s why your superiors limit unnecessary access and only provide you with the security privileges that you need to complete your job.

Imagine if you shipped a package and the delivery provider asks for your name and address to get the package to you. That’s standard information. Does it also need your payment information, account password, or complete customer profile? Probably not!

Limiting information to what is actually necessary reduces how much data can be exposed if that vendor ever gets hacked.

You Play a Role in Third-Party Risk, Too

You probably do not choose your company’s payroll provider or negotiate contracts with software vendors.

You can still introduce third parties into the equation.

Signing up for an unapproved file-sharing website, connecting a new app to your work account, or uploading a company document to an online tool can give another organization access to company data.

That is why your workplace may require approval before you install software or use a new online service.

Those rules are not there just to make things difficult! They give the company an opportunity to determine whether a vendor can safely handle its information before sensitive data starts flowing there.

What You Can Do to Prevent Data Exposure

The easiest way to protect your data and devices? Stick with the tools your organization has approved.

• Don’t upload work files to random websites just because they offer a convenient feature.
• Avoid connecting applications to your work accounts without permission.
• Pay attention to what information an app requests before granting access.
• If you need a tool that your company does not currently provide, ask your IT team first.

Slowing down to question third party access privileges could prevent company data from ending up outside of the network and putting your devices at risk.

Conclusion

Your information does not necessarily stay with the company you originally gave it to, as the incident with CEVA demonstrates. Data moves. It travels between applications, vendors, service providers, and other third parties every day. Every additional stop creates another place where that information has to be protected.

Good cyber-compliance therefore requires more than securing your own computer. It also means being careful about where you send information and which tools you trust with it.

You may never know every company that handles your data behind the scenes. At work, you can at least make sure that you are not adding another one without permission.