Trust, But Verify: How to Assess Third-Party Cyber Risk [Part 3 of 6]

You’ve mapped your vendors. Now it’s time to ask the hard questions: How secure are they? What risks do they pose to your organization?

Third-party risk isn’t just about who you work with—it’s about how well they protect your data, systems, and reputation.

Why It Matters

A vendor’s security posture can:

Due diligence isn’t optional—it’s essential.

How to Assess Third-Party Cyber Risk

Here’s a practical framework:

Tier your vendors by risk
- Data sensitivity
- System access
- Business criticality
Send tailored security questionnaires
- Data protection
- Access controls
- Incident response
- Compliance certifications
Request supporting evidence
- Pen test results
- Security policies
- Audit reports
Use continuous monitoring tools
- External risk ratings
- Breach history
- Dark web exposure
Review contracts and SLAs
- Security clauses
- Breach notification timelines
- Right-to-audit provisions

Pro Tip: Automate Where You Can

Manual assessments don’t scale. Consider using a TPRM platform to streamline onboarding, scoring, and monitoring.

Let’s Talk

How does your organization assess third-party cyber risk today?Are you using questionnaires, automated tools, or both?

Next week: “From Chaos to Control: Building a TPRM Framework.”

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