Mismanaged or unmanaged supplier risks have an adverse impact on a company’s bottom line. Still, most third-party risk management programs aren’t as mature as we’d anticipate given the interconnectedness of today’s digital ecosystems. If mitigated, Third-party cyber incidents weigh astronomically on a company’s finances and reputation.
Cybercriminals constantly update their approach and create new malware based on existing security measures to infiltrate networks. As with anything pertaining to cybersecurity, third-party cyber risk management (TPCRM) isn’t something you can “set and forget”. Supply chains must join forces and evolve their TPCRM programs to combat the uptick in threat complexity.
Growing Supply Chains Demand More from Today’s TPCRM Programs
Legal and compliance professionals have identified a 2.5x increase in high-risk third parties over the past four years alone. As companies ramp up the number of organisations in their supply chains, existing and emerging privacy regulations such as GDPR and Canada’s Digital Charter Implementation Act are implementing greater third-party risk monitoring expectations from organisations.
Cyber risk management tools have evolved from a simple letter grade to a conglomerate of information. The increase of components provides a highly accurate view of risk. Therefore, those who are still functioning on legacy risk management systems may not have a holistic view of the critical risks within their supply chain.
How to Take Supplier Due Diligence to the Next Level
Fifty-nine percent of companies are not actively monitoring third-party risks during each stage of the supplier lifecycle. Initial due diligence when onboarding a new supplier is important, but taking it to the next level with constant cyber risk monitoring is what will keep organisations from becoming the next data breach victim.
For example, if a supplier was assessed pre-COVID-19, their security posture has the potential to be drastically different than originally assessed. Cyber risk monitoring is a critical part of the maturity process at all stages, especially when it comes to those organisations with access to sensitive data.
Although the amount of resources required will vary depending on the size of your cyber ecosystem, developing an asset-focused mindset to create your roadmap for supplier risk assessments (VRAs) will prioritise specific aspects of risk to simplify the process. To simplify VRAs, teams should focus on the following steps:
- Start with domain specifics and analyse the supplier
- Identify the goal of the supplier security assessment
- Determine the methodology
- Allocate the appropriate resources
- Minimise disruption
If notified of a supplier vulnerability, action can be taken to reassess and update them within your third-party risk report. This can also reduce assessment costs because the process will be scaled and only completed when necessary.
The Role of Compliance in Third-Party Risk
Forty-two percent of companies are using spreadsheet-based questionnaires to review compliance standards among their third parties, and most (65%) are unsatisfied with the process they have in place.
Maturing your third-party cyber risk management program with new systems and processes can alleviate stress among your team, especially with more than 30% of organisations having 1,000+ suppliers.
Consider an automated approach to analysing compliance questionnaires. Automation greatly reduces the amount of time spent reading and analysing questionnaires and produces accurate standards-based results.
Sophisticated cyber risk monitoring solutions, such as those offered by DVV Solutions and Black Kite, can significantly streamline TPCRM program maturity and be operational in a matter of days.
Three Ways Black Kite can Help Mature Your TPCRM:
1. Findings Filter:
The findings filter will help narrow the scope of cyber vulnerabilities by prioritising severity based on specific suppliers that may put you more at risk for a third-party breach.
2. Strategy Report:
The strategy report outlines the most effective strategy for attack remediation. It analyses each component of a cyber rating to put the data into comprehensible context. The report is downloadable and easy to share across a company and with suppliers. The strategy report is a great resource to determine the next steps in your cyber risk management process.
3. Workflow engine:
The workflow engine automates alerts to specific findings from the Black Kite platform. Workflows are customisable to the triggers and conditions you want to be notified of. The automated workflow scales how your team manages cyber risk because there is no need to enter the platform on a daily basis with notifications set for critical vulnerabilities.
Get Your Free Cyber Risk Rating
See how simple and effective Third-Party Cyber Risk Management can be with DVV Solutions and Black Kite. Register Now and receive a complimentary Technical, Financial, and Compliance rating of your company or any supplier in your ecosystem.
Or for more information on how DVV Solutions and Black Kite can help mature and scale your TPCRM program:
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This article has been developed from an original blog post by Black Kite Technologies and is shared with their kind permission.