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Last updated on Apr 4, 2025
  1. All
  2. IT Services
  3. Cybersecurity

You’re considering a new third-party vendor. How do you assess their cybersecurity risks?

When you're considering a new third-party vendor, it's essential to evaluate their cybersecurity measures to protect your business. Here's how you can effectively assess their risks:

  • Request their cybersecurity policies: Ensure they have up-to-date security protocols and compliance certifications.

  • Conduct a risk assessment: Evaluate their potential vulnerabilities and how they might impact your business.

  • Check their incident response plan: Confirm they have a robust plan for handling data breaches and other security incidents.

What strategies have you found effective in assessing vendor cybersecurity? Share your thoughts.

Cybersecurity Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity

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Last updated on Apr 4, 2025
  1. All
  2. IT Services
  3. Cybersecurity

You’re considering a new third-party vendor. How do you assess their cybersecurity risks?

When you're considering a new third-party vendor, it's essential to evaluate their cybersecurity measures to protect your business. Here's how you can effectively assess their risks:

  • Request their cybersecurity policies: Ensure they have up-to-date security protocols and compliance certifications.

  • Conduct a risk assessment: Evaluate their potential vulnerabilities and how they might impact your business.

  • Check their incident response plan: Confirm they have a robust plan for handling data breaches and other security incidents.

What strategies have you found effective in assessing vendor cybersecurity? Share your thoughts.

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28 answers
  • Contributor profile photo
    Contributor profile photo
    Alexia Wong

    Tuition teacher. Earned Community Top Voice Badge in Teaching in '23 and Community Top Voice Badge in Cybersecurity in '24.

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    To assess their cybersecurity risks, you need to first know if they are a trustable and credible organization or not. This is so that you would know the chances of them causing a cybersecurity threat or falling for one. You need to then conduct a risk assessment on this company. This is so that you would know how vulnerable they are towards a cyber attack which would of course affect you. You need to also ask them for their detailed plan on how they handle cyber threats. This is so that you would know if they are capable of handling such situations or not.

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    Max Liashenko

    Director of Services & Innovation / IT Service Management / Digital Transformation Leader / Industry 4.0 | 5.0 Expert

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    When assessing the cybersecurity risks of a third-party vendor, it’s crucial to consider: 1) Security Policies: Request documentation of their cybersecurity policies and certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2) 2) Technical Measures: Ensure they use encryption, access controls, vulnerability management, and a solid incident response plan 3) Compliance: Confirm adherence to relevant regulations like GDPR or HIPAA 4) History: Check their past cybersecurity incidents and reputation 5) Third-Party Risks: Understand their reliance on subcontractors and supply chain security 6) Monitoring: Assess their continuous monitoring and regular security reporting 7) Legal: Include security clauses in contracts to define responsibilities in case of breaches

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    Dr. Seema Shah

    From Overwhelmed to Empowered | Training Professionals & students to Lead Confident, Purposeful Lives

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    Assess risks by reviewing the vendor's security policies, compliance certifications, and past breach history. Evaluate their data handling practices, access controls, and incident response plans. Conduct audits or questionnaires and ensure they meet your security standards before onboarding.

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    Harry Waldron, CPCU

    Associate Consultant @ Voyage Advisory

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    3rd party VENDOR SECURITY must meet all organizational security/privacy TECH controls. They must also legally promise to follow all POLICIES when they become system users. Key 3rd party security/privacy needs include: * Vendors actually need a HIGHER LEVEL of security than normal users * Security can NEVER be neglected, as MAX controls are needed in 2025 * Legal T&C in contracts are sometimes specified * End-to-end encryption company/vendor fit into cloud/network * All internal/external users must abide by security policies * RISK MGT & special mitigations are needed where controls fall short (VDI) * Vendor accounts must be highly restricted (so vendor "A" cannot see the data of vendor "B") * Monitoring & audits help ensure compliance

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    3
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    Contributor profile photo
    The Hood And Efits Foundation Limited

    Financial Consulting, Career Development Coaching, Leadership Development, Public Speaking, Property Law, Real Estate, Content Strategy & Technical Writing.

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    Third-party risk management. Analyzing procurement data for different aspects of your company’s business can give you a more holistic view of the risk landscape. Working with your legal department, you can also determine the scope of third-party contractual relationships. Vendor risk assessment. Your third parties can be exposed to significant risk from their own vendors. You may even have multiple third parties that share the same fourth-party vendor, potentially elevating your risk exposure. Establish governance and monitoring protocols. Increased regulatory scrutiny of cyber risk, including new proposed SEC rules for incident disclosure and laws relating to incident reporting, require careful and serious attention by CISOs and boards.

    Like
    3
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