Product Experience (PX) technologies are software solutions designed to help businesses understand and improve how users interact with their products. These platforms collect and analyze user behavior data within the product, such as feature usage, clicks, and navigation patterns. This data helps companies identify pain points, optimize user journeys, and enhance overall user satisfaction. Popular PX vendors include Pendo, Gainsight PX, and WalkMe.   

Why It's Important to Know If Your Organization Uses these Technologies:

It's crucial for organizations to know whether PX technologies are being used within their infrastructure, both sanctioned and unsanctioned, for several reasons:

• Data Privacy: PX platforms collect and process extensive user data, including personally identifiable information (PII). Organizations must ensure compliance with relevant data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA). Unsanctioned use can lead to non-compliance and potential data breaches.

• Security Vulnerabilities: PX platforms, especially cloud-based solutions, can have vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit. These vulnerabilities can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive user data, product functionality disruption, or malicious code injection into your product. Regular security audits and updates are essential to mitigate risks.

• Third-Party Risks: PX platforms often integrate with other systems and may rely on third-party services. Organizations should assess the security practices of these third-party vendors to ensure they meet the organization's security standards.

• Data Governance: Understanding which PX technologies are in use, sanctioned and unsanctioned, allows organizations to establish comprehensive data governance policies and procedures. This helps ensure user data is handled consistently and securely across the organization.

Pendo and Cybersecurity Concerns:

Pendo is a leading PX platform. While Pendo prioritizes security, organizations should be aware of potential risks associated with any cloud-based platform:

• Data Breaches: Pendo stores and processes sensitive user data in the cloud. Organizations must ensure that Pendo's security practices are adequate and regularly reviewed. 

• Data Minimization: Ensure Pendo is configured to collect only the necessary data to minimize the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information.

• Access Controls: Enforce strong access controls and authentication measures to prevent unauthorized access to Pendo data and functionality.

ThreatNG: Identifying and Managing Risks from Product Experience Technologies

ThreatNG can be crucial in identifying and mitigating the risks associated with PX technologies like Pendo.

• External Attack Surface Management (EASM): ThreatNG continuously scans the internet to discover all externally visible digital assets associated with your organization. This includes identifying any instances of PX platforms integrated into your products. ThreatNG can help assess the security posture of these integrations and identify potential vulnerabilities or misconfigurations.

• Digital Risk Protection (DRP): ThreatNG monitors the dark web, social media, and other online channels for mentions of your organization, brands, or sensitive data. This includes detecting any leaked credentials or discussing potential security flaws in your PX platforms.

• Security Ratings: ThreatNG provides a comprehensive risk score by analyzing your organization's external attack surface and digital risk profile. This score includes an assessment of the security posture of the PX platforms used by your organization.

Example Workflow with Complementary Solutions:

1. ThreatNG Discovery: ThreatNG identifies a Pendo integration in your product that exposes sensitive user data due to a misconfiguration.

2. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Integration: ThreatNG sends an alert to your SIEM platform, triggering an incident response workflow.

3. Vulnerability Management Integration: ThreatNG alerts your vulnerability management solution, which prioritizes the remediation of the identified misconfiguration based on its risk level.

Overall Benefits:

By implementing ThreatNG, organizations can:

• Gain Visibility: Discover all instances of PX technologies your organization uses, both sanctioned and unsanctioned.

• Mitigate Risks: Identify and address security vulnerabilities, data breaches, and compliance issues related to PX technologies.

• Enhance Security: Continuously monitor and improve the security posture of PX platforms and integrations.

• Ensure Compliance: Verify that all PX tools comply with relevant regulations and internal policies.

Improve Product Experience: Leverage the insights from PX technologies to enhance user experience while ensuring data privacy and security.