3 minute read
How to manage third-party cyber-risk across your organization
Businesses increasingly rely on external suppliers and partner organizations to operate. With cyberthreats increasing, here’s how your organization can prepare and stay resilient.
Key takeaways
- Whether or not a data breach originates internally or from a third party, companies need to build and test a response plan.
- A fundamental task of third-party management is data protection: What data is most critical to your organization, and who has access to it?
- Effective oversight of third parties depends on strong policies that emphasize collaboration and cybersecurity as a shared goal.
Expanding supply chains and complex digital workflows are connecting most organizations to a dynamic ecosystem of partner organizations, contractors and vendors who share sensitive data and maintain access to business systems. In addition to improving its own cybersecurity posture and employee awareness, the modern business must also grapple with the cyber-risk posed by third parties — and the often-unseen networks of suppliers and partners third parties depend on to operate.
Cyber incidents involving any type of third party are less common than those that target businesses directly, but they’re trending upward.1 A report found that at least 29% of data breaches originated with third parties and supply chains in the fourth quarter of 2024. The threat is greater in certain industries, such as healthcare, in which 35% of data breaches involved a third party during the same period.2
Data breaches represent only one part of the security risk. Third parties that share or use a company’s systems can introduce vulnerabilities through oversight or poor security practices. Mishandling of sensitive data can also significantly increase the risk of violating regulatory guidelines in many industries.
Managing third-party cyber-risk requires an in-depth exploration of how your company connects to other entities, what digital services it relies on and how entwined they are with critical business operations.
Here are 7 steps for building or reinforcing a third-party risk management plan:
Create incident response plans. Your company should work with suppliers and partners that have the greatest access to your systems and data to document steps to take during and after a cyber incident, including communications and reporting protocols and identifying stakeholders.
Identify, track and govern your most valuable data. Your company should create systems and policies that help identify who is using critical data, such as intellectual property and customer information, and set controls that protect data in transit, in use and in storage.
Measure third-party risks. Your company should undertake a full risk assessment associated with third parties and identify those that could present the most serious threat to your company’s data or reputation in the event of a cyber incident.
Evaluate third-party security standards. Conduct assessments of your most important partners and service providers and the security controls they provide for your company’s assets. These evaluations should also consider any data privacy regulations or other compliance considerations.
Bind security protocols to contracts. Be proactive in building security requirements into supplier contracts and service level agreements, including protocols for reporting potential security incidents and remedial steps third parties are obligated to initiate in the event of an actualized cyberthreat.
Maintain oversight of third-party security. Cybersecurity requires continuous monitoring and updates to tool sets and protocols as needed. Build performance reviews and key performance indicators into your company’s most important third-party contracts. Stress collaboration during the review process to frame cybersecurity as a shared objective.
Refer to industry best practices and intelligence when reassessing third-party risk. The threat landscape is constantly evolving. Risk profiles of key third parties should be regularly evaluated and adjusted based on new data about existing or emerging threats. Your company should reevaluate third-party risk assessments whenever it changes its own security protocols or learns about new cyberthreats.
1 Prevalent, “The 2024 Third-Party Risk Management Study.”
2 Security Scorecard, "Global Third-Party Cybersecurity Breaches," 2024.
