Third-party vendors are increasingly relied upon by businesses in the majority of industries to support crucial business operations, yet opening up a company’s internal networks to third parties exposes them to cyber dangers and data breach threats. In fact, a data breach involving sensitive information has occurred in more than 50% of companies using third-party providers. There is no doubt that management is aware of the limitations they operate under, particularly when it comes to counting on third-party suppliers to provide essential goods and services, given the present supply chain issues affecting various industries as well as the health of the economy.
Risk to cybersecurity. All different kinds of businesses can be affected by ransomware, which disables their systems and renders them useless. Ransomware assaults that make headline news, like the Colonial Pipeline hack, show that other businesses are also affected by cybersecurity threats. For businesses that needed fuel to deliver goods or run equipment, even a single component of the vital infrastructure supporting fuel distribution had a significant impact on the supply chain.
Risk assessments and security questionnaires. Third-party risk assessments use vendor questionnaires and threat intelligence to help organizations determine the level of risk individual vendors pose to a business.
Third-party attestations as due diligence. For key vendors handling funds or information, asking for a third-party attestation from a trusted third party such as a CPA firm may provide additional due diligence to your risk management efforts.
Continuous monitoring. Organizations can improve their ability to identify and mitigate vendor risk before it becomes problematic by implementing continuous risk monitoring tools.