Security Awareness Training for Third-Party Risk Management

Supply chain disruption can happen in an instant. All it takes is one click from an unaware third-party vendor. Include engaging cybersecurity training in your third-party risk management and see how easy it is to protect your data from breaches. 

98% of organizations worldwide are connected to breached third-party vendors. 

The top 2%? They're not “lucky,” they're just equipped with robust third-party risk management (TPRM).

Get a comprehensive TPRM that has a cyber security awareness training aspect. Without this, third-party contractors, suppliers, or vendors may leave sensitive information vulnerable to hackers.

Join the top 2%.

You can't protect if you can't detect.

Minimizing the human risk factor starts with building a strong overall relationship with all stakeholders within your third-party vendor risk management framework.

 

 

Say goodbye to:

  • Hours or days of downtime
  • Millions of dollars in lost revenue
  • Potential lawsuits due to non-compliance
  • Weakened cybersecurity posture
  • Irreparable reputational damage

By bolstering your TPRM with from Fortra Security Awareness Training, it’s easy to:

  • Keep critical operations online
  • Increase productivity and revenue
  • Achieve legal stability and performance
  • Build a robust cyber culture inside and out
  • Foster trust with your clients and prospects

Get a 30-minute demo now

Significantly Reduce Third-Party Risk with Security Awareness

Align your third-party risk management practices with effective cyber security awareness training to achieve a seamless, efficient business ecosystem — free of downtime and data breaches. 

Third-party risk management examples 

Regardless of your organization's reality, all security and business leaders must consider risk areas that can be amplified by increased reliance on third-party outsourcing. Various factors will influence your security team's direction, such as resources, scope, regional distribution, and how much third-party outsourcing is leveraged to attain business objectives. 

Some common examples of third-party risk factors include: 

Cybersecurity Risk

When you incorporate a third party into your business operations, you also add a potential conduit for a breach. This causes you to unknowingly take numerous forms of risk, especially in terms of cybersecurity. 

To ensure all parties keep cybersecurity best practices in mind, implementing a security awareness training program that educates all business units on unsafe online behaviors is imperative. 

Regulatory compliance risk

Compliance risk leads to losses and legal penalties caused by the third party's failure to comply with laws and regulations on cybersecurity.

For example, organizations serving EU consumers must comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) standards. In California, businesses that hit a certain revenue threshold must comply with the Consumer Privacy Rights Act (CPRA).

Financial risk

Security breaches are arguably the most pressing threats to financial stability for any organization. System-level vulnerabilities can amplify and spread quickly through a network of third-party contractors or suppliers, which impacts their collective ability to provide services.

Financial risks can come in the form of ransom from the attacker, which businesses may pay in a desperate attempt to get their data back. Beyond this, organizations hit with data breaches can suffer significant losses to their existing bottom line and future earning potential.

Operational risk

Operational risks include downtime, failed processes, and faulty systems that can disrupt business operations. A third party can be responsible for both internal and external operational risks. The former can be due to inefficient processes, people, controls, or systems, while the latter can be beyond their control, such as natural disasters and cyberattacks.

Reputational risk

Third parties can negatively impact your organization's reputation through various unfortunate ways, from subpar service, involvement in legal disputes, data security incidents, or misconstruing their association with your organization.

Your customers will not distinguish between your organization and any third parties you work with, so managing this risk is crucial to safeguard your valuable reputation effectively.

Strategic risk

A strategic risk refers to any area of your business strategy that does not align with the third party's actions or decisions. Ultimately, this leads to failed ventures that pose cyber security risks.

How to Use Third-Party Risk Management to Sidestep Data Breaches

Because of its importance to overall cybersecurity and data privacy compliance, an organization must be able to rely on its third-party risk management processes and standards across all its business units. However, there's no one-size-fits-all formula for success.

As a result, a successful TPRM policy or process can be comprised of several different tactics. Like risk factors and resource allocation, your strategy may depart from those used by other organizations in your region or industry.

Some essential elements of TPRM you should consider are:

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Evaluation

Evaluate the security and data protection practices of third parties before entering contracts with them or sharing information. This may be done via questionnaires or requests for audit reports.

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Continuous monitoring

Regularly monitor third parties' security and compliance posture to identify potential risks and ensure ongoing compliance. This may be done via technology or manual verifications.

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Incident response planning

Establishing a plan for responding to security incidents involving third parties, including communication protocols and escalation procedures. Having contact info and access to critical resources and the incident management team at the third party is crucial.

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Contract review and negotiation

Carefully review and negotiate contracts and non-disclosure agreements with third parties to ensure adequate security and data protection provisions are in place. Establishing templates and requirements ahead of time can facilitate the process.

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Cyber insurance

Purchasing cyber insurance to provide financial protection against losses due to third-party data breaches or other cyber incidents.

How to Complete a Risk Assessment in 3 Steps

By getting a detailed picture of your organization's reality via a risk assessment, you'll be able to build a robust risk management framework and select the right awareness training to minimize the human risk factor.

To complete a risk assessment, you must:

Identify

Identify the assets that require protection and their value.

Define

Define both the risk and threat and identify the cyberattack surface.

Evaluate

Evaluate whether the proper controls and safeguards are in place to protect crucial assets in the most efficient way

See What Makes Fortra Different

For more information on Fortra Security Awareness Training—and how you can bundle different cyber security solutions together to save even more—get started now.

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TPRM FAQs

Third-party risk management (TPRM) is the process of identifying, assessing, monitoring, and reducing risks associated with external organizations such as vendors, suppliers, contractors, partners, and service providers that have access to your systems, data, or business operations.

Organizations use TPRM to gain visibility into third-party risks, strengthen security and compliance, protect sensitive data, and ensure external partners meet established risk and governance requirements throughout the relationship lifecycle.

Third parties can introduce cybersecurity, operational, financial, regulatory, and reputational risks. An effective TPRM program helps reduce the likelihood and impact of disruptions, data breaches, compliance issues, and loss of customer trust.

TPRM is typically led by risk, security, compliance, procurement, or IT teams, but it is a shared responsibility across the organization. 

There is no single best framework for every organization. The right approach depends on your industry, risk profile, and regulatory requirements. Many organizations align their programs with established standards such as ISO 27001, NIST, or other governance and risk-management frameworks.

TPRM covers risks from all external parties, including vendors, suppliers, contractors, consultants, and partners. Vendor risk management is a subset of TPRM that focuses specifically on risks associated with vendors and suppliers.