In fact, research suggests that almost 60% of all cyber breaches occur through third parties. So, working with third parties can actually put your organization at risk. Who are these third parties exactly? How can you work with them without exposing your organization to unwarranted security risks? We are going to answer some of these questions in this article.
Stick around to find out more.
Q. Who Are Third Parties?
A. Third parties are any suppliers, vendors, or business associates that you work with in the course of your business; these range from raw materials providers to external partners who help you in running your business smoothly and without any hitches.
Q. What Is Third Party Risk Assessment?
A. Third party risk assessment involves evaluating a third-party provider’s security measures before embarking on a business relationship with them. This means making sure that they adhere to all the security norms and standards that are in line with the security policies followed by your organization.
Q. Is Third Party Risk Assessment Actually Necessary?
A. Without a doubt! Third-Party Risk Assessment is one of the essential activities that must be carried out before you enter into a contract with a third party. As mentioned above, third parties form a vulnerable attack surface which malicious parties are quick to exploit in order to infiltrate your organizational infrastructure. Therefore, they should be properly vetted before you associate with them.
Q. Is It Possible To Do The Assessment In-House?
A. In case you have the required personnel to perform the activity properly then you can obviously deploy your own team to take care of the assessment process. Otherwise, it’s best if you take the help of professionals who have prior experience of doing the job. To know more about Third Party Vendor Risk Assessment, check out our resource here.
Q. Will I Get Proper Returns On My Investment?
A. Certainly! Even though third-party risk assessment requires certain amounts of resources to carry out, the benefits that you get, both monetary and otherwise are worthwhile to justify this upfront cost.
Conclusion
We sincerely hope the above has served to answer some of your questions about third party risk assessments. The next time you need to seek the help of third-party providers, be sure to keep all this in mind and take the required steps to ensure that your organizational security remains rock solid.
