How do you assess the security of third-party vendors or partners, and what measures do you take to mitigate risks associated with them?

When we work with third-party vendors or partners, we understand one thing very clearly — their security is our security. So, we don’t just trust anyone blindly. We start with proper checking — like going through their security policies, seeing if they have certifications like ISO 27001 or SOC 2, and checking if they’ve had any past data breaches.

We also send them a detailed security questionnaire to know how they handle data, whether they encrypt sensitive info, if they update systems regularly, and how they respond to any cyberattack. For critical vendors, we sometimes do technical checks like vulnerability scans or even penetration testing (with their permission, of course).

But checking once is not enough. We add strong rules in contracts — like data protection terms, how fast they must inform us if anything goes wrong, and even audit rights. We also make sure they get only that much access which is really needed — nothing more. Wherever possible, we isolate or limit the data they can touch.

Even after onboarding, we keep monitoring them — especially those vendors who have access to important systems or data. We check their security status regularly, and if there’s any news about their company facing any cyberattack, we act fast.

Technical Best Practices We Follow:

1. Zero Trust Policy – We never give full access by default; every request is verified.

2. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – All vendor accounts must use MFA for access.

3. Tokenized API Access – Vendors use secure, limited-scope tokens instead of permanent credentials.

4. SIEM Integration – Vendor activities are logged and monitored via our SIEM platform.

5. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) – Policies are in place to detect and block any sensitive data leakage.

n many more..

At the end, it’s not just about rules and policies. It’s about creating a bond of shared responsibility. We treat vendors like our extended team, because if they stay secure, we all stay secure.

When evaluating third party vendors security measures, in depth checking procedure that involves security surveys and examining their security protocols and practices is crucial to my work process. To minimize any risks involved with partnerships I establish stringent security demands through legal contracts and carry out routine inspections. Implementing access controls is another step to guarantee that vendors have the required level of entry, to our systems and information resources. Thereby lessening any potential vulnerabilities. 
 

To assess the security of third-party vendors, review their security policies, certifications (e.g., ISO 27001), and past security incidents. Conduct regular audits, require data protection agreements, and ensure they comply with industry standards. Mitigate risks by using encryption, limiting access, and having incident response plans in place.

We assess the security of third-party vendors and partners through a comprehensive risk management process that includes due diligence, contractual security requirements, and continuous monitoring. Before onboarding, we conduct vendor security assessments, reviewing their cybersecurity policies, compliance certifications, and past security incidents. We require adherence to frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, or NIST, depending on the sensitivity of the engagement. To mitigate risks, we enforce strong access controls, implement data-sharing restrictions, and regularly review vendor security postures through audits and threat intelligence monitoring. Additionally, we include security clauses in contracts to ensure vendors maintain high cybersecurity standards and promptly address vulnerabilities.

Honestly you can't and the obvious example is the recent issue with Crowdstrike, if copany of that size could have a security reprocutions, even though the essential issue isn't a security issue, it created a load of other security threats and issues. so you need to go with the trust in best available software with the best reputations out there. Nevertheless, you can always do some basic tests on your own like using wireshark to figure out where the data is being sent from that application and use filters for egress communications.

Assessing the security of third-party vendors starts with a thorough review of their practices. I typically begin with a detailed evaluation of their security policies, compliance certifications (like ISO 27001 or SOC 2), and track record with data protection. From there, I look at their access controls, incident response plans, and any history of breaches.

To mitigate risks, I recommend implementing strict contractual agreements, including clauses for regular audits and the right to review their security measures. Additionally, limiting their access to only the resources necessary for their role reduces exposure. Continuous monitoring and maintaining open communication channels ensure potential risks are identified and addressed quickly. This proactive approach minimizes vulnerabilities while fostering trust.

By enforcing a supplier relation policy which triggers a risk assessment. Unlike traditional approach which is based on certification, we found that discussion with vendor duty holders provides much more valuable insight not only what certifications and frameworks they utilise, but more important - how deep they actually understand them. More often than not - such interview reveal important security measures are present formally but not applied fundamentally. This is among upper level risks, as it would otherwise provide false sense of security.

If supplier demonstrate a reasonable threshold to be considered as low to medium risk for specific data categories being exchanged, various models are applied to protect business from security incidents. Some of them are:

• Data minimisation. - Ensuring only the data required to complete the lifecycle of product / service is being shared with supplier.
• Data Pseudonymization - if supplier can operate based on pseudominised data, we would model the process to disassemble data and provide generated psdueonimised content, which is assembled back upon supplier processing operation.
• Ensuring what we can control security measures are in place. Encryption in transit is something we can observe. Encryption at rest and data retention policy is something that requires periodic checks by human. We usually set a periods in which we ask the supplier to provide us with all data they have. From there it's evaluated if there are records stored for the longer periods of time - than initially communicated.
• Periodic evaluation. We trigger PIA at least yearly or in event of significant change - whichever comes first.
• Obtaining approval from supplier to conduct independent audits. While this is a least resort measure, in general, a supplier who is confident in their best practices when it comes to security would have no issue to allow independent review. Failure to comply / approve such request may come as a consequence of non-security related matters too, such as industry espionage, however we are not willing to take a risk of not being able to hire an independent third party auditor if we need too.

Finally, and most important, trust built over time. Security incidents happens. Establishing a relation based on ethical values and trust comes as equally important as technical and tactical measures. Keeping in touch and exchanging knowledge in regards to up-to-date security practices and opinions benefits both the supplier and our business and raise awareness, as well point to potential risks that could not be found utilising traditional methods - such as non-technical business logic vulnerabilities and frauds.