Cybersecurity and Third‐Party Risk

Third‐party risk (or supply‐chain security) are not new disciplines, and there have been frameworks, regulatory directives, professional certifications, and organizations that all attest to its maturity. Cybersecurity could be considered more mature, since it has been around in some form since computing came of age in the 1970s. Nowadays, it´s even more complex in terms of frameworks, disciplines, certifications, regulatory guidance and directives, and avenues of study. Why do the surveys, time after time, indicate that well over 50 percent of organizations do not perform any type of Third‐Party Risk Management (TPRM), and even fewer have anything other than an ad hoc cybersecurity due diligence program for vendors? Reasons for this lack of attention and collaboration can be found in hundreds, if not thousands, of breaches and security incidents that were the result of poor third‐party oversight and a lack of any due diligence and due care for the vendors´ cybersecurity.

This book is designed to provide a detailed look into the problems and risks, then give specific examples of how to create a robust and active Cybersecurity Third‐Party Risk Management program. It begins by covering the basics of the due diligence processes and the vendor lifecycle, with models and illustrations on how to create these basic but necessary steps. Then it goes more in depth about the next parts in the creation of a mature program: cyber legal language, offshore vendors,
connectivity security, software security, and use of a predictive reporting dashboard.