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 episode, we are focusing on Supply Chain Risk and Due Diligence—two critical areas that have moved to the forefront of cybersecurity strategy in recent years. The rise of global connectivity, digital service dependencies, and outsourced production has created more efficient supply chains, but it has also exposed organizations to serious security risks. From the software your business depends on, to the components inside your devices, to the logistics companies delivering your materials, every link in the supply chain can introduce new vulnerabilities.
High-profile breaches involving compromised software updates, counterfeit hardware, and supplier mishandling of sensitive data have shown that even organizations with strong internal controls can be compromised by weaknesses in their extended ecosystem. As a future Certified Information Systems Security Professional, your role will involve understanding, assessing, and mitigating these supply chain risks, often in collaboration with procurement, legal, and operations teams.
Let us begin by understanding what supply chain risks are and why they matter. Supply chain risk refers to vulnerabilities that originate through your external partners. These include product manufacturers, cloud providers, shipping services, subcontractors, and software vendors. Each of these parties may touch your operations or data—and if they are compromised, your organization could suffer the consequences.
Common threats include counterfeit components that undermine system integrity, malicious code inserted into software during development or distribution, insiders within third-party organizations leaking information, or suppliers suffering breaches that expose your data. You might also encounter risks related to regulatory non-compliance or operational disruption due to supplier failures. These risks are not hypothetical—they are real, frequent, and increasingly sophisticated.
To protect against these threats, organizations must take a strategic approach to managing supply chain risks. This starts with visibility. You cannot protect what you do not see. Mapping your supply chain, identifying critical suppliers, and understanding who has access to what is the foundation of supply chain risk management.
Once you know who your suppliers are and how they interact with your systems and data, the next step is due diligence. Supply chain due diligence means carefully vetting your suppliers to ensure they are secure, stable, and compliant before formalizing a business relationship. This is more than a quick scan of their website or a casual reference check. It is a structured, repeatable process that assesses cybersecurity posture, operational reliability, and regulatory alignment.
Typical due diligence activities include security questionnaires that ask about policies, incident history, encryption standards, and training practices. You might conduct background checks, financial reviews, or request audit reports. In higher-risk relationships—such as those involving data hosting, development, or payment processing—you may perform on-site visits or request third-party certifications like I S O 27001.
A risk-based approach helps prioritize effort. You do not need to conduct a full audit of every supplier. But for critical vendors—those that touch sensitive data or deliver core services—you should apply deeper scrutiny. Comprehensive due diligence ensures you understand a supplier’s weaknesses before they become your liabilities.
Once due diligence is complete and a vendor is selected, the next step is implementing robust supply chain security controls. These controls formalize expectations and provide enforcement mechanisms. The most important control is the contract. Every agreement with a supplier should include clear, enforceable terms related to cybersecurity.
Contracts should define security requirements, including data protection obligations, encryption standards, and access controls. They should mandate breach notification timelines, specify responsibilities for incident response, and allow for security audits or third-party reviews. Termination clauses should clarify what happens to your data and systems if the relationship ends or the vendor is acquired.
To ensure consistency, your organization should develop standard security baselines for suppliers. These baselines set minimum control expectations and may reference frameworks like the N I S T Cybersecurity Framework or I S O standards. Requiring suppliers to meet these baselines helps align security expectations across your entire ecosystem.
Secure procurement processes should incorporate these requirements from the beginning. Security teams should participate in supplier evaluations, helping identify red flags and shape contract terms. This involvement shifts security left—embedding it into the early stages of vendor selection instead of reacting to issues after contracts are signed.
Certifications, independent audits, and continuous assessments help verify compliance. While trust is important, verification is better. A secure supply chain depends on repeatable validation—not assumptions or optimism.
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Let us now talk about managing supply chain risk on an ongoing basis. Risk does not end after onboarding—it evolves. Continuous monitoring is essential to detect emerging risks, compliance failures, or incidents. Organizations should track key metrics, conduct regular reviews, and engage with suppliers to maintain visibility.
This might include collecting vulnerability scan results, reviewing security reports, or assessing compliance with service level agreements. Metrics such as issue resolution times, audit completion rates, and incident volumes provide insight into supplier performance. Trend analysis helps detect deterioration in posture and supports early intervention.
Threat intelligence and regular risk assessments should also be part of your strategy. New vulnerabilities, geopolitical events, or emerging threat actors can change a supplier’s risk profile. By maintaining current intelligence and integrating it into your supply chain oversight, you improve your ability to respond before problems escalate.
Incident response plans should include specific procedures for supply chain events. If a vendor is breached, how will you be notified? What access must be revoked? Who manages the investigation? Having predefined processes for supply chain incidents improves reaction time and helps maintain control under pressure.
Communication is key. Open, transparent collaboration with suppliers fosters trust and enables shared progress. A healthy relationship allows you to escalate concerns, work through incidents, and implement new controls without resistance. Vendors that understand your security goals are more likely to support them.
To be truly effective, supply chain risk management must be integrated into your organization’s broader governance and risk frameworks. This means aligning processes with enterprise risk management, ensuring that supply chain issues are tracked alongside operational, financial, and compliance risks.
Cross-functional collaboration is essential. Security cannot manage supplier risk alone. Procurement teams negotiate contracts. Legal teams review terms. Operations teams monitor performance. Executive support is needed to resolve conflicts, allocate resources, and enforce standards. When all departments understand the importance of supply chain security, you get better results across the board.
Training and awareness are also important. Employees who interact with vendors—such as buyers, project managers, or technical liaisons—must understand their role in managing supplier risk. They should be trained on secure procurement practices, contract red flags, and escalation procedures. Security is everyone’s job, and third-party oversight is no exception.
Executive support also drives success. When senior leadership prioritizes supply chain security, it receives the funding, staffing, and authority needed to succeed. Leadership can also help embed security into vendor scorecards, procurement policies, and corporate strategy. This alignment ensures that risk management decisions support business objectives and risk appetite.
Finally, let us focus on continuous improvement. Supply chain security must evolve with the organization, the threat landscape, and the technologies in use. Post-incident reviews are particularly valuable. If a supply chain issue occurs, analyze what happened, what was missed, and what changes are needed to prevent recurrence.
Audits and self-assessments help identify weaknesses in processes and controls. These findings should be used to update risk management frameworks, assessment tools, and contract templates. Supplier feedback is also useful—some vendors may suggest better communication methods, assessment techniques, or collaboration models.
Technology can also enhance your efforts. Automated monitoring tools provide near-real-time insights into supplier security, compliance alerts, and access logs. Advanced analytics help prioritize attention and predict potential problems based on trends or anomalies. Integrating these tools into your supply chain management platform streamlines oversight and supports smarter decisions.
A continuously evolving program does more than reduce risk. It builds resilience, fosters trust, and supports long-term strategic goals. By staying ahead of changes, collaborating with partners, and learning from experience, you create a security foundation that supports sustainable growth and operational integrity.
Thank you for joining the CISSP Prepcast by Bare Metal Cyber. Visit baremetalcyber.com for additional episodes, comprehensive CISSP study materials, and tailored certification support. Enhance your understanding of Supply Chain Risk and Due Diligence, and we'll continue supporting your journey toward CISSP certification success.