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Third Party Risk in Cybersecurity Risk Management

Third Party Risk in Cybersecurity Risk Management

$349.00
Toolkit Included:
Includes a practical, ready-to-use toolkit containing implementation templates, worksheets, checklists, and decision-support materials used to accelerate real-world application and reduce setup time.
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This curriculum spans the full lifecycle of third-party cyber risk management, comparable in scope to a multi-phase advisory engagement supporting the design, implementation, and evolution of an enterprise-wide vendor risk program aligned with operational, technical, and regulatory demands.

Module 1: Defining Third-Party Risk Governance Frameworks

  • Selecting between centralized, federated, or decentralized governance models based on organizational complexity and risk appetite
  • Establishing clear ownership of third-party risk across legal, procurement, information security, and business units
  • Integrating third-party risk management into the enterprise risk management (ERM) framework with documented escalation paths
  • Developing risk tolerance thresholds for different vendor tiers (critical, significant, standard)
  • Aligning governance structure with regulatory requirements such as NYDFS, GDPR, and SEC rules
  • Creating a vendor risk steering committee with defined roles and decision rights for high-risk engagements
  • Documenting policies for vendor onboarding, ongoing monitoring, and offboarding with audit trails
  • Implementing governance metrics such as percentage of vendors assessed, remediation timelines, and control gaps

Module 2: Vendor Categorization and Risk Tiering

  • Designing a risk scoring model using data sensitivity, system criticality, access privileges, and geographic footprint
  • Assigning vendors to risk tiers (e.g., Tier 1: critical infrastructure, Tier 3: low-risk SaaS) with corresponding assessment rigor
  • Adjusting tier classifications based on changes in vendor scope, contract renewals, or incident history
  • Validating risk tier assignments through cross-functional reviews involving business owners and IT
  • Mapping vendor tiers to required due diligence activities, audit frequency, and contractual obligations
  • Handling edge cases such as vendors with multiple services across different risk levels
  • Automating tier assignment using integration with procurement and IAM systems
  • Reconciling discrepancies between business perception of risk and objective risk scoring outputs

Module 3: Due Diligence and Pre-Engagement Assessment

  • Selecting assessment instruments: SIG, CAIQ, internal questionnaires, or hybrid models based on vendor type and risk tier
  • Customizing due diligence checklists to include cloud security, data residency, and supply chain transparency requirements
  • Validating vendor responses through evidence collection (e.g., SOC 2 reports, penetration test summaries)
  • Conducting on-site or virtual audits for Tier 1 vendors with access to core systems or sensitive data
  • Assessing subcontractor and fourth-party risk exposure during vendor evaluation
  • Coordinating technical validation activities such as vulnerability scans or configuration reviews with vendor cooperation
  • Documenting exceptions and compensating controls when vendors fail to meet baseline security requirements
  • Integrating due diligence outcomes into procurement approval workflows to enforce gating

Module 4: Contractual Risk Mitigation and SLAs

  • Negotiating security-specific clauses including right-to-audit, breach notification timelines, and data ownership
  • Defining acceptable encryption standards for data in transit and at rest within service agreements
  • Establishing SLAs for incident response, patching cadence, and system availability with enforceable penalties
  • Incorporating cyber insurance requirements and minimum coverage amounts based on vendor risk tier
  • Requiring vendors to disclose use of AI/ML systems and associated data handling practices
  • Ensuring data localization and cross-border transfer mechanisms comply with regional regulations
  • Specifying decommissioning requirements, including data destruction certification and access revocation
  • Managing contract renewals with updated security requirements reflecting evolving threat landscapes

Module 5: Continuous Monitoring and Threat Intelligence Integration

  • Selecting external monitoring tools for vendor security posture (e.g., BitSight, SecurityScorecard, UpGuard)
  • Setting risk score thresholds and escalation procedures for downward trends or sudden drops
  • Correlating vendor monitoring data with internal threat intelligence and attack surface management tools
  • Validating vendor patch management effectiveness through public vulnerability databases and exploit feeds
  • Monitoring for vendor involvement in public breaches or dark web data leaks
  • Integrating vendor monitoring alerts into SIEM and SOAR platforms for coordinated response
  • Conducting periodic reassessments based on monitoring findings, not just fixed schedules
  • Managing false positives from external ratings by validating findings with vendor engagement

Module 6: Incident Response and Vendor-Related Breach Management

  • Defining notification requirements for suspected or confirmed vendor-related incidents with time-bound SLAs
  • Establishing joint incident response playbooks with critical vendors for coordinated containment
  • Validating vendor forensic capabilities and data retention policies during incident investigations
  • Conducting post-incident reviews to assess vendor root cause analysis and remediation plans
  • Triggering reassessment or contract renegotiation following a material security incident
  • Coordinating legal and regulatory reporting obligations involving third-party breaches
  • Testing vendor IR coordination through tabletop exercises for high-risk relationships
  • Documenting incident history in vendor risk profiles to inform future engagement decisions

Module 7: Regulatory Compliance and Audit Coordination

  • Mapping vendor controls to compliance frameworks such as ISO 27001, NIST CSF, and HIPAA
  • Preparing for regulatory exams by compiling vendor risk documentation and due diligence records
  • Responding to auditor findings related to third-party oversight gaps or control deficiencies
  • Ensuring vendors provide timely access to audit reports (SOC 1, SOC 2, ISO) and evidence
  • Managing multi-jurisdictional compliance requirements for global vendors
  • Coordinating vendor audit schedules to reduce operational burden and duplication
  • Addressing gaps in vendor compliance through compensating controls and increased monitoring
  • Updating vendor risk policies in response to new regulations such as DORA or CMMC

Module 8: Exit Strategies and Offboarding Controls

  • Enforcing data return and destruction timelines during contract termination
  • Validating revocation of system access, API keys, and privileged credentials
  • Conducting exit reviews to confirm fulfillment of contractual security obligations
  • Preserving audit logs and incident history for litigation or regulatory purposes
  • Managing transition risks when migrating services to a new vendor
  • Assessing residual risk from data remnants or undocumented integrations
  • Updating asset and configuration management databases to reflect decommissioned services
  • Documenting lessons learned for future vendor lifecycle management improvements

Module 9: Metrics, Reporting, and Executive Oversight

  • Designing KPIs such as percentage of high-risk vendors with updated assessments and remediation rates
  • Generating risk heat maps that show vendor concentration by risk level, geography, and technology
  • Reporting vendor-related findings to board and executive leadership with risk context
  • Aligning reporting frequency and detail with audience (operational, management, board)
  • Integrating vendor risk data into enterprise dashboards with other cyber risk indicators
  • Using trend analysis to identify systemic issues across vendor segments or business units
  • Justifying resource allocation for vendor risk programs based on exposure reduction metrics
  • Conducting benchmarking against peer organizations to assess program maturity

Module 10: Emerging Technologies and Future-Proofing Vendor Risk

  • Evaluating security implications of vendors using generative AI in service delivery
  • Assessing risks from vendors embedded in software supply chains (e.g., open-source dependencies)
  • Managing risks associated with vendor use of multi-cloud and hybrid infrastructure
  • Implementing controls for vendors providing IoT or OT services with limited patching capabilities
  • Addressing zero-trust adoption challenges in vendor access management
  • Requiring vendors to disclose use of quantum-vulnerable cryptography and migration plans
  • Planning for increased regulatory scrutiny on critical infrastructure third parties
  • Developing adaptive assessment templates to incorporate new threat vectors and technologies
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