The challenge of third-party risk

Where is the weakest link in your supply chain?

Third-party suppliers are integral to your operational success, but they can also be your biggest liability. A breach at a supplier can expose your data, disrupt your business, and damage your reputation.

Without clear oversight of their security measures, your organisation is left vulnerable to cascading risks that's outside your field of vision and control. This lack of stringent cyber risk assessment for suppliers puts your company in a precarious position, where an incident outside your walls can still result in costly compliance violations, operational downtime, and reputational damage.

You lack control over third parties

When relying on external vendors, businesses often lack insight into the security protocols those suppliers employ. This lack of transparency can lead to significant vulnerabilities, as organisations are unable to verify that their partners meet robust cybersecurity standards or follow best practices. You could have mitigated risks in your business, yet are completely exposed via a third party.

You have compliance concerns

If a third-party supplier suffers a data breach, your organisation may still be held accountable for compliance failures. From GDPR to industry-specific regulations, businesses face hefty fines and sanctions if their partners compromise sensitive data, even if the breach originates outside of their direct control. Do you have suppliers who have access to your customer or client data?

You become dependent on suppliers

Many companies overlook the importance of a supplier’s business continuity and disaster recovery strategies. If a third party lacks a solid plan, their vulnerabilities can quickly become your liabilities in the face of a breach or an exposure. A supplier’s unpreparedness for cyber incidents could leave your operations at risk, impacting service delivery and overall business resilience.

Critical data breached

Your IT service provider experiences a ransomware attack, and their systems go offline. Because your business relies on them for hosting critical applications, your operations come to a standstill. Customer services are disrupted, deadlines are missed, and your reputation takes a hit. Without an incident response plan or alternative supplier arrangements, recovery could take weeks.

Misconfigured system

A marketing partner you work with stores customer data on a poorly secured server or laptop. Hackers exploit the vulnerability, stealing sensitive client information. Even though the breach occurred in the supplier's environment, your business is legally responsible for protecting customer data under GDPR. The result? Regulatory fines, lawsuits, and lasting reputational damage.

Lack of compliance

You onboard a supplier without verifying their compliance with industry regulations. Later, during a routine audit, authorities discover the supplier is violating key security standards. Since you failed to ensure their compliance, your business faces fines and the cost of bringing systems up to regulatory standards. Additionally, your clients may lose trust in your ability to protect their interests.

Map out your third-party relationships today

Manage a list of all your suppliers, partners and vendors who have access to your systems, data or infrastructure. Identify the nature of their access, and which areas of your business could be impacted if they were breached.

Review contracts and agreements this week

Audit contracts and agreements you have with your vendors and find clauses related to data protection, cybersecurity standards, and breach notification responsibilities. Begin conversations with high-risk vendors to understand their security practices.

Assess and rank supplier risks this month

Conduct risk assessments of your vendors, focusing on those with the most critical access to sensitive data or systems. Use questionnaires and external audits to evaluate their position. Then rank suppliers based on the potential impact.

Start ongoing monitoring and governance ASAP

Establish governance processes and continuous monitoring for these supplier risks, including regular reviews and expectations for incident response. Provide your internal team with training and resources to catch vulnerabilities or breaches early.

Implementing Zero Trust frameworks

A Zero Trust approach allows organisations to secure their digital ecosystem, ensuring that all parties—internal and external—must verify before accessing resources. Zero Trust solutions provide layered security and robust access controls, reducing the risk of unauthorised access through third-party connections.

Enhancing supplier due diligence

By incorporating cyber risk assessments and continuity planning into your supplier evaluations, your business can make informed decisions about potential partners. Supplier risk management platforms allow a due diligence process that includes security standards and crisis preparedness assessments, helping you mitigate risks from the outset without it becoming overwhelming.

Achieving recognised cybersecurity certifications

Attaining certifications like ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials/+ strengthens your overall security posture and sets a high standard for partners. We are standing by to guide organisations through these certifications, reinforcing their cyber defences and ensuring they’re working only with suppliers who share the same commitment to security.

Risk management

Secure frameworks that protect your data from unauthorised access

Cyber and information security consultancy

Expert cyber insights to navigate threats and strengthen resilience

Cyber essentials and cyber essentials plus

Certifications that enhance your cybersecurity posture

From our blog

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November 19, 2024 by Conosco

You are worried about suppliers and third-party risk

Mitigating supplier risks in your cybersecurity strategy

Where is the weakest link in your supply chain?

You lack control over third parties

You have compliance concerns

You become dependent on suppliers

Doing nothing is not an option

Critical data breached

Misconfigured system

Lack of compliance

Actions you should take

Map out your third-party relationships today

Review contracts and agreements this week

Assess and rank supplier risks this month

Start ongoing monitoring and governance ASAP

Addressing the challenge

Implementing Zero Trust frameworks

Enhancing supplier due diligence

Achieving recognised cybersecurity certifications

Speak to an expert and remove the pain of supplier risk management from your business.

Our portfolio of solutions that solve this challenge

Risk management

Cyber and information security consultancy

Cyber essentials and cyber essentials plus

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