Certified: The CISSP Prepcast

Welcome to The Bare Metal Cyber CISSP Prepcast. This series helps you prepare for the ISC squared CISSP exam with focused explanations and practical context.
In this milestone episode, number one hundred, we are focusing on a topic that is more relevant than ever in today’s interconnected digital ecosystem—assessing third-party and vendor risk. Organizations of all sizes increasingly depend on external providers for services, infrastructure, applications, and data processing. These relationships can improve efficiency and scalability, but they also introduce new security concerns. Your organization’s cybersecurity is only as strong as its weakest partner. That is why understanding and managing third-party risk is essential for Certified Information Systems Security Professionals and for building resilient, compliant, and secure enterprises.
Let us begin by understanding what third-party and vendor risk actually is. When your organization works with an external partner—whether that is a cloud service provider, software vendor, consultant, or logistics partner—there is a potential for risk. This risk may come from the way the vendor handles your data, the level of access they have to your systems, or the possibility that their own security weaknesses could become your problem. Third-party risk includes threats to confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your systems or data, introduced not by your own employees or infrastructure, but by external entities you do business with.
Vendor risk assessment is not optional in today’s regulatory landscape. Standards like the General Data Protection Regulation, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard require organizations to demonstrate due diligence in managing third-party risks. If a vendor suffers a data breach and your customers’ information is exposed, your organization may still be held accountable. That is why assessing and managing third-party risk is not only about protecting your brand and your operations—it is also about meeting compliance obligations and avoiding legal consequences.
Effective risk assessment starts by ensuring that external partners adhere to your organization’s internal policies, contractual obligations, and applicable regulations. This is done through a structured process that evaluates their security controls, operational practices, and response readiness. Proper third-party risk management helps prevent data breaches, ensures compliance, reduces the likelihood of supply chain disruptions, and builds a more resilient enterprise. In short, understanding third-party risk helps organizations protect their assets, meet regulatory requirements, and create trustworthy vendor relationships.
Let us now walk through the steps for conducting effective vendor risk assessments. Start by clearly defining your assessment criteria. What are you measuring? Are you looking at data encryption standards, incident response capabilities, or physical security of vendor data centers? Your assessment should be aligned with your organization’s risk appetite, business goals, and compliance requirements.
Next, evaluate the vendor’s security posture. This might involve asking the vendor to complete a security questionnaire, reviewing documentation such as their policies or audit results, or performing on-site assessments. In some cases, especially with cloud providers or critical partners, a third-party audit or certification like I S O Twenty Seven Thousand One may be requested as evidence of their practices.
Make sure you assess critical control areas such as how the vendor protects data, manages user access, handles incidents, and ensures business continuity. Evaluate whether the vendor has conducted recent risk assessments of their own, what security training they provide to their employees, and how they manage subcontractors and downstream providers.
Prioritize your assessments. Not every vendor introduces the same level of risk. A vendor that handles sensitive customer data or has administrative access to your systems is far riskier than a vendor providing office supplies. Use criteria like data sensitivity, system access, and business criticality to decide which vendors need the most scrutiny.
Finally, document the results. Record what was found, what was missing, and what remediation actions are required. Share your findings with relevant stakeholders—legal, procurement, I T, and leadership—so that decisions can be made based on facts, not assumptions.
Vendor risk management is not a one-time activity. Once a vendor is approved, that does not mean the risk disappears. Continuous management is essential. Risks change over time. A vendor that was low risk last year might have since been acquired, suffered a breach, or changed service providers. That is why it is important to establish processes for ongoing monitoring and reassessment.
Continuous third-party risk management includes regularly scheduled assessments, alerts on vendor-related news or threat intelligence, and review of compliance artifacts such as audit reports or certifications. Some organizations use automated tools that monitor vendor security ratings based on publicly available data or cybersecurity intelligence feeds.
This ongoing oversight also helps satisfy regulatory requirements. Whether you are subject to GDPR, HIPAA, or other frameworks, regulators expect that organizations are actively monitoring third-party compliance—not just performing due diligence at the time of onboarding.
By managing these risks proactively, organizations are better prepared to handle incidents involving external providers. When a vendor suffers a security event, having an up-to-date risk profile, clear communication protocols, and pre-established contingency plans allows for a quicker, more coordinated response. This resilience not only helps maintain operations but also strengthens trust with customers, regulators, and business partners.
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Let us now talk about implementing effective vendor risk management practices. Start by creating a formal vendor risk policy. This policy should define roles and responsibilities, the types of assessments to be conducted, the criteria for vendor selection, and the conditions under which a vendor may be rejected or subject to additional controls.
Use standardized frameworks to guide your evaluations. These might include the N I S T Risk Management Framework, the Shared Assessments program, or customized questionnaires developed in partnership with compliance and legal teams. Automation can streamline this process. Vendor management platforms can distribute surveys, track responses, schedule reassessments, and maintain a centralized repository of assessment records.
Clearly communicate your security expectations to vendors. These should be written into contracts, service-level agreements, or data processing agreements. For example, require encryption of data in transit and at rest, stipulate breach notification timelines, and define minimum standards for user access controls. If expectations are not explicitly communicated and contractually agreed upon, enforcement becomes difficult.
Conduct follow-up assessments and audits. Vendor risk is not static, and controls that were once effective may degrade over time. Annual assessments, surprise audits, and incident simulations help keep vendors aligned with your requirements and maintain awareness of evolving risks.
Educate your internal teams. Procurement officers, project managers, and business units must understand how to evaluate and manage vendor risk as part of their responsibilities. Security cannot own this process alone—it must be distributed across the organization.
Now let us turn to the technical and procedural controls that support third-party risk management. Implement strict access controls for any data or systems that vendors can access. Use least privilege principles and monitor access with robust logging and alerting. Encrypt all sensitive data that is shared with or processed by vendors. Ensure secure communications using protocols like T L S and manage keys appropriately.
Set up secure platforms for exchanging files and conducting assessments. Do not rely on email for sharing sensitive information. Use document management systems with role-based access and tracking. Create a centralized vendor management system or database to track assessments, contracts, risk levels, and compliance status.
Conduct periodic audits not only of your vendors but of your own vendor management processes. Make sure you are consistently applying your policies, updating records, and following through on remediation requirements. Maintain a secure archive of vendor risk records. You may need to reference these during audits, breach investigations, or contract renegotiations.
As with every area of cybersecurity, continuous improvement is essential. Review your vendor risk program regularly. Use insights from past incidents, audit findings, and stakeholder feedback to adjust your policies, frameworks, and tools.
Stay informed about changes in the threat landscape and in your regulatory environment. A new type of supply chain attack may require you to update your criteria for evaluating software vendors. A new regulation may require more detailed documentation or faster breach notification procedures.
Work across departments. Third-party risk management is a shared responsibility. Involve procurement, legal, compliance, security, and business operations. Cross-functional collaboration ensures that risk is evaluated from multiple angles and that vendor decisions are aligned with business priorities.
Provide regular training. Everyone involved in selecting, managing, or interacting with vendors must be aware of security requirements and risk management procedures. This includes contract negotiators, system integrators, and help desk personnel. Awareness ensures consistency, accountability, and resilience.
Thank you for joining the CISSP Prepcast by Bare Metal Cyber for our 100th episode. Visit baremetalcyber.com for additional episodes, comprehensive CISSP study resources, and personalized certification support. Deepen your understanding of Third-Party and Vendor Risk Management, and we'll consistently support your journey toward CISSP certification success.