Outsourcing to third-party vendors is now standard practice for most organizations. At a cost, these suppliers maintain software, protect networks and cloud-based information, provide supplies, and offer technical expertise.
However, for these vendors to effectively deliver their services, they need access to some or all of your systems and the data they hold. This access might expose your business to cybercrime, financial fraud, reputation damage, non-met standards, and operational hazards.
Crucially important for information security and data integrity is the need for the cyber protection team to ensure strong control over suppliers. A critical phase within this framework is the issuance of a supplier risk management matrix used by every subcontractor.
Implementing a Vendor Risk Assessment Template
The supplier risk assessment template, also called vendor risk questionnaire, is an all-purpose document that makes it easy for third-party entities to understand what you do, needs, and prerequisites from them. This tool helps ensure that suppliers receive the right directions.
As you and your management team refine these protocols, consider using the following suggestions as a guide:
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- Consult resources throughout your company to understand the full scope of your cyber security and compliance landscape;
- Consider industry-specific regulatory requirements;
- Compose a set of questions that touches on all relevant aspects of the various stakeholders. Additionally, inquire about some aspects that may assist in understanding the importance of suppliers in your business operations.
- Develop an information security scorecard template that rates vendors with a low, medium, or high-risk score.
In addition, you may create specific assessments to assist in comparing vendors that perform a certain function.
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Sample Third-Party Risk Assessment Questionnaire
Questionnaires on their own can never serve as the only way of overseeing or ensuring that standards are adhered to; however, they are very helpful in providing top management with an overview of the extent to which the security safeguards installed in third-party firms are effective.
What matters you choose to discover depends in part on your particular business and industry. You may wish to include some of the following:
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- Who is responsible for cybersecurity?
- What processes are implemented to classify various assets in the organization?
- Have you ever suffered a breach? If yes, how did you take care of it?
- What cyber security measures do you currently have in place?
- Do you hire external companies to perform security tasks? If yes, what companies, for what purposes, and what level of access do they get?
- Have you accounted for all hardware and software and configured them securely?
- How do you sustain and assess the degree of security of hardware, software, and computer networks?
- Do you employ any systems to monitor threats automatically?
- What types of access control measures are in place?
- How have you made sure susceptible data is kept secure?
- What steps do you take to plan and monitor for a cyber security incident, and what would you do if one occurred?
- Do you regularly test for weaknesses via vulnerability scans and penetration testing?
- Describe how remote mobile access to your network is managed.
- What communications protocols will you use to transmit information about a data breach should one occur?
TrustNet’s Vendor Cybersecurity Risk Management Services
To maintain your company’s integrity and security, managing cybersecurity risks from vendors is a must. TrustNet provides the resources you need to overcome these challenges.
— Prioritization and Risk Tolerance
We help you develop your organization’s priorities, constraints, and risk tolerances to support informed cyber risk management decisions.
— Process Management
Identify, develop, assess, and manage vendor risk management processes with input from all organizational stakeholders to ensure a comprehensive approach.
— Risk Assessment
Identify, prioritize, and evaluate suppliers and third-party partners of information systems, components, and services within your cyber supply chain.
— Contractual Obligations
Implement measures to meet Information Security and Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management contractual requirements within your supplier and third-party ecosystem.
— Ongoing Assessments
Regularly assess, audit, and review test results to ensure vendors and third parties comply with established security standards.
— Breach Response and Recovery
Manage vendor breach responses and recovery processes efficiently to minimize impact.
— Continuous Monitoring
Automated supplier risk assessments and ongoing cybersecurity monitoring ensure that suppliers continuously meet their contractual obligations.
Ensuring Strong Vendor Relationships and Security Through Effective Risk Management
As you develop your vendor security assessment questionnaire and other risk management protocols, remember that they are flexible and customizable endeavors. As the cybersecurity landscape or your corporate priorities shift, you can tweak the third-party risk assessment template and process accordingly.
Far from being a meaningless exercise, investing time and resources and partnering with experts like TrustNet to construct an effective vendor risk management process can lead to positive relationships with your vendors and enhanced security for your valuable digital assets.
