Page 62 - Cyber Defense eMagazine RSAC Special Edition 2025

essential to maintain operational consistency. Organizations use a tiered method to distribute their focus
appropriately while retaining control over vendor relationships.

Conducting Due Diligence

A strong TPRM strategy needs thorough due diligence to maintain its effectiveness. Organizations need
to evaluate vendor qualifications before beginning the onboarding process.

• Vendors that hold ISO 27001 or SOC 2 Type II certifications or adhere to the NIST framework
show their dedication to data security principles and regulatory compliance.
• Organizations need to check that vendors maintain strong systems for vulnerability management
and disaster recovery and backup testing as part of their incident response and continuity plans.
• Analyzing a vendor's historical compliance with industry standards and regulations shows their
dedication to risk management strategies.
• Analyzing a vendor’s subcontracting network uncovers hidden risks throughout the supply chain.

Both financial stability and insurance coverage maintain vendor reliability during crises by fulfilling their
commitments.

Secure Vendor Contracts

Vendor agreements establish a legal protection framework and define necessary security measures
along with compliance and risk management requirements. Current security risks cannot be addressed
solely by using standard contract templates. Organizations should ensure their contracts include:

• The data protection stipulations in the vendor contracts should match both security best practices
and existing legal requirements.
• Service-level agreements must establish clear benchmarks for system availability and uptime as
well as stipulate procedures for incident response.
• Audit provisions enable organizations to conduct inspections of vendor operations to verify
compliance.
• Contracts should contain terms for termination in situations where vendors do not comply with
security standards or regulatory requirements.

These elements help organizations establish defined accountability metrics and lower their risk exposure.

Continuous Monitoring

Organizations typically struggle with maintaining ongoing supervision. The landscape of vendor risks
changes constantly because of emerging threats and operational shifts or updated legal requirements so
regular risk assessments become vital.

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