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March 7, 2024 by James Zeits | Leave a Comment
Achieving third-party compliance as part of your Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) program is never an easy feat. Many companies have standards that they hold their third-party partners to, however it can often be a challenge to get those third-parties to make the compliance changes required in order to do business. In this article, we outline […]
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February 13, 2024 by James Zeits | Leave a Comment
In the course of performing security assessments for our clients, we came to the realization that many were struggling with the sheer volume of assessments they were being asked to perform. More assessments means more data, and handling a lot of data at once that lives between spreadsheets and emails can be chaotic and leads […]
January 31, 2024 by Rachael Tubbs | Leave a Comment
Are you struggling to coordinate efforts between the security team and business stakeholders? Vendor relationship management is a crucial component in the assessment process. Business units see security teams as red tape, causing delays and getting in the way of business overall. Yet, business stakeholders are often essential to helping security teams move swiftly and […]
January 30, 2024 by Rachael Tubbs | Leave a Comment
Are your assessors burdened with manual work and need a clear path to streamlining vendor security? A significant component of vendor security is performing vendor risk assessments. Control sets are essential to evaluating vendors’ security posture and compliance when performing vendor assessments. At the start of the vendor assessment process, you must tailor control sets […]
January 25, 2024 by James Zeits | Leave a Comment
Are you currently contracting vendors without a risk assessment process? The third-party risk management lifecycle is a common term describing the stages of risk companies must manage with their third parties throughout their relationship. Understanding the third-party risk management lifecycle can help your business map out each stage efficiently to ensure you take a holistic […]
January 24, 2024 by James Zeits | Leave a Comment
Are you increasingly concerned with vendor risk and don’t have a vendor risk management checklist? In today’s digital landscape, keeping data secure is more than just the measures your company takes to keep hackers out. With an increasing number of vendors that your organization incorporates into its IT ecosystem, it’s essential to perform regular vendor […]
Are you unsure which types of vendor risk could affect your organization? Outsourcing critical operations to third-party vendors saves businesses money and increases efficiency. However, there are also inherent risks involved with outsourced services. Companies must understand and manage those risks holistically by developing a comprehensive vendor management program. It’s essential to take a risk-based approach […]
January 19, 2024 by James Zeits | Leave a Comment
Are you unsure which third-party risk management regulations you must follow to avoid risk? In today’s competitive business landscape, most companies must collaborate with many third-party partners, vendors, and suppliers to keep operations running smoothly and strengthen their bottom line. However, these third parties also create risks that can harm the organization’s operations, financial standing, […]
January 18, 2024 by James Zeits | Leave a Comment
Third-party vendors bring the necessary expertise and services to your company and are a vital part of any business ecosystem, but they can also introduce cyber risk. Business partnership requires trust, so creating a new vendor questionnaire is essential so your potential vendors abide by your security practices. Only then can you evaluate the risk […]
January 10, 2024 by James Zeits | Leave a Comment
Are you struggling to determine tracking metrics for your Vendor risk management (VRM) department? Vendor risk management metrics allow organizations to track departmental performance and align vendor risk initiatives with KPIs and KRIs. The large size of third-party ecosystems, constant changes among suppliers, and scale-related challenges make it hard to manage VRM. And when it […]
January 10, 2024 by Rachael Tubbs | Leave a Comment
Is manually writing vendor risk assessment reports slowing down and over-complicating your Vendor Risk Management process? Once assessors complete an assessment, they write a report detailing any gaps or vulnerabilities for vendor remediation. While this is a crucial step during vendor assessments, creating these reports is time-consuming. In our experience, the time needed to create […]
Are you still using a singular vendor assessment questionnaire to qualify all your vendors? Security teams know that a singular questionnaire template won’t fit every vendor. However, a lot of organizations are using a one-questionnaire-fits-all approach. A well-designed vendor assessment questionnaire helps gather essential information about potential vendors, enabling you to decide whom to partner […]
January 3, 2024 by Rachael Tubbs | Leave a Comment
Are you struggling to wrap your head around creating a vendor remediation plan? Managing a vendor remediation plan can sometimes feel like juggling a dozen balls at once for those involved in vendor risk assessments. With so many stakeholders in the mix, communication challenges, and the need for meticulous tracking, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. […]
January 3, 2024 by James Zeits | Leave a Comment
Are you concerned about ensuring project security while outsourcing project work? You often share confidential information when partnering with a third party or vendor for a project. Suppose your organization works with several vendors and has many ongoing projects. In this case, it is more complicated for all stakeholders to determine which vendors work on […]
August 16, 2023 by James Zeits | Leave a Comment
Vendor Risk Management is an interesting space. Everyone does it differently, there is no right or wrong and vendors exist in a wide range of services. When building or operating a Vendor Risk program, it at least means you have identified one thing: using third-party vendors comes with some level of risk to your business. […]
August 9, 2023 by James Zeits | Leave a Comment
One of our clients is a prototype security team for a global electronics manufacturer. This team provides on-site facility compliance for branded products and handles supply chain vendors, destruction, and tracking of intellectual property like blueprints. The Challenge Initially, the prototype security team was coordinating all of their vendor risk management operations through email and […]
Today, information technology (IT) plays a critical role for businesses, and if it’s not handledaccordingly, this results in increased IT risk, and thus, increased risk for the entireorganization. It is important to identify risks to your IT systems and data, take measures to reduce or managethose risks, and develop an adequate response plan in the […]
Procurement policy provides fundamental guidance to the business on best practices in conducting procurement for goods and services. Its purpose is to establish procedures for the business for procurement of all goods and services. Procurement policy also ensures that all goods and services procured are obtained for the best possible prices, at the required specifications […]
Running a business comes with different types of potential risks. These risks can arise from malpractices, lack of efficiency in operations, cyber-attacks, exposed vulnerabilities in your firewall, failed internal control processes, loss of key people, external events, and more. Some of these can destroy a business, while others can cause severe damage to business operations […]
Every business has risks that are unique to its environment. Business risk can result from significant conditions, events, circumstances, or actions that could negatively affect a company’s ability to achieve its goals and objectives and implement its strategies. Regardless of the industry, the success of any business depends on how well they manage their risks. […]
In today’s interconnected world, companies of all sizes make outsourcing a key component of their business model. Outsourcing work to third-party contractors helps businesses in all industries be responsive and agile in a disruptive environment and may even provide them with a competitive advantage. When you work with third parties, they also pose additional risks […]
The majority of businesses today deal with third-party vendors and service providers that are an essential part of their business ecosystem. But although third-party relationships are crucial to the success of any business, they come with a significant amount of risk that can cost an organization — in reputation, legal fees, and lost revenue. That’s […]
When you decide to work with external vendors, you agree to take on any potential threats and risks posed by those third parties, as well as their digital operations. All vendors pose some level of risk to your organization, especially financial, operational, reputational, and cyber risks because they have access to your sensitive data and […]
While many companies have internal security policies in place, they overlook the importance of having clear, standardized, and actionable third-party risk management policies and procedures. A vendor management policy is an essential part of a company’s larger compliance risk management strategy. It’s the best practice for companies that work with sensitive data or seek to […]