How To Improve Your Cybersecurity Through Vendor Risk Management

 

The National Cyber Security Centre recently issued an alert to the academic sector following a flood of attacks against the cybersecurity systems of UK schools, colleges and universities. During this time, when almost every organisation, company and individual is transitioning to the online space, defending your security systems against cyber threats is very much a necessity.

In this process, one overlooked aspect is the third parties and vendors we work with.

If we are to stay ahead of cybersecurity challenges, we must consider every angle of the work we do and understand if we’re tempting cybercriminals with low-hanging fruit. At any point, we need to identify the weakest point at which an attacker can gain access to our systems, including through our vendors.

You need to proactively reach out to third-party vendors and identify the security systems they have in place to prevent cyberattacks. You must also look into their controls, responses and push for risk mitigation and management.

In this post, we explore what you can do to improve your cybersecurity through vendor risk management.

Avoid a universal approach to vendor security

Just as there are different types and sizes of businesses, company needs and vendor relationships vary greatly.

This means that when creating a cybersecurity strategy that accounts for the different vendors and partners you work with, you need to consider these factors and avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to vendor risk management.

An effective vendor risk management system can reduce your risks and lead to operational efficiencies. This can be achieved by:

●      Reducing the time required to onboard new vendors

●      Continuously monitoring third-party risk profiles

●      Scaling security programmes and initiatives (as the vendor and partner ecosystem grows)

In this process, ensure that company needs, objectives, budgets, regulatory requirements, and the nature of its relationships with vendors are addressed in any strategies targeting vendor risk management.RiskXchange is a leader in cybersecurity ratings management We support over 100,000 organisations when it comes to enterprise and third party risk management