Contractors team up all the time: joint ventures on large public work, mentor-protege arrangements, teaming agreements for design-build pursuits. These arrangements bring together different companies with different systems, security habits, and risk tolerance. Sensitive information, including pricing, financials, personnel details, and owner data, has to move between them.
Without deliberate planning, a venture can inherit the weaker partner's security posture. Here is how to approach it.
Agree on security early
Security should be part of the venture agreement discussion, not an afterthought once files are already flowing. Cover:
- Which party hosts the shared project environment
- Which security standards apply, and how compliance will be shown
- Who is responsible for incident detection and notification
- How quickly one partner must tell the other about a suspected incident
- How costs of response will be shared
- What happens to data when the venture ends
Even a one-page security addendum can clarify expectations. Have your attorney review the language.
Choose a neutral workspace
Avoid scattering project files across both companies' email and personal storage. Instead:
- Set up a dedicated project workspace in an approved platform
- Create named accounts for individuals from each company
- Assign roles by function, such as estimating, accounting, field operations, and legal
- Keep each company's internal documents outside the shared space
A single, controlled space makes it easier to audit, back up, and later close.
Control access by need
Not everyone from either company needs to see everything. Define groups and restrict folders.
- Financial and bonding information to finance staff only
- Pricing details to those involved in estimating
- Owner correspondence to project leadership
- Personnel and insurance information to HR or risk staff
Require MFA for all accounts, including those of your partner's employees, and review the user list at regular intervals.
Verify partner security
You are trusting your partner with sensitive information, so ask reasonable questions.
- Do they use MFA on email and project platforms?
- Are their devices encrypted and updated?
- Do they train staff on phishing and payment fraud?
- Do they have backups and an incident response plan?
- Do they have cyber liability insurance?
Offer the same information about your own practices. Mutual transparency builds trust.
Beware of payment and identity fraud
Joint ventures involve large payments and many changes of contact. Fraudsters may impersonate a partner's accounting staff and ask for a change in wire instructions. Agree that any change in banking details between the partners is verified by phone using a previously known number and approved by two people on each side. Share a verified contact list for both companies.
Plan for the unusual
Think about scenarios.
- A partner's email is compromised and the attacker sends convincing messages to your team
- A shared account is used from an unexpected location
- A partner employee leaves and retains access
- An owner asks about the security of the venture's systems
Decide in advance who is called, how quickly, and who can suspend access.
Handle data at the end
When the venture ends, agree on how project data will be archived and who retains copies, in line with contract and legal requirements. Then:
- Remove all user accounts from the shared workspace
- Archive final records to controlled storage
- Revoke integrations and shared links
- Confirm both parties delete or secure working copies
- Document the closeout
Do not leave a dormant project space with live accounts. It becomes a hidden risk.
A hypothetical example
Consider a hypothetical joint venture between a 200-person general contractor and a 30-person specialty firm. The larger company hosts the project environment with MFA required. The smaller firm has no managed devices, so the partners agree it will use company-issued laptops provided through the venture for access. The arrangement raises the baseline without demanding a rebuild of the smaller company's IT.
Smaller partners
If you are the smaller partner, expect questions and prepare answers. A short security summary of your practices, backed by evidence such as MFA enforcement and backup tests, strengthens your position and may help you win future teaming opportunities.
Where Ironfield Cyber helps
Ironfield Cyber helps contractors prepare for partnerships, from security addendum language to secure shared workspaces and partner access reviews. If you are entering a joint venture, we can help you set up a practical security approach that fits both sides.