When we think about cybersecurity, we often think about what is happening inside our own organisation.
Our employees. Our systems. Our passwords. Our data.
But businesses don’t operate in isolation anymore.
We work with suppliers, consultants, software providers, contractors, partners and service providers. We give them access to our systems, our information and sometimes even our customers.
And that made me think:
What happens when the risk is not yours, but you are still affected by it?
This is where Third Party Risk Management comes in.
A company can have strong security controls and still be exposed because of one of its third parties.
Think about it like your house.
You can have a strong gate, an alarm system and cameras. But if you give someone a spare key, part of your security now depends on how they look after that key.
The same thing happens in business.
You might have invested heavily in protecting your organisation, but your supplier may not have the same level of security. Their systems could be outdated. An employee could accidentally expose sensitive information. Or they could become the target of a cyberattack.
And if your organisations are connected, their problem can quickly become your problem.
Trust is not enough
The difficult part is that we often choose our third parties because we trust them.
We have worked with them for years. They deliver on time. They have a good reputation. We have a signed contract.
But trust should not replace due diligence.
Before giving a third party access to your environment, you should understand what they have access to, what information they can see and how they protect it.
More importantly, this should not be a once-off conversation.
Businesses change. Systems change. People change. The level of access a third party has today might be very different from what they had two years ago.
That means third party risk needs to be continuously managed
So, where do we start?
It starts with asking better questions.
Who are our third parties?
What do they have access to?
What information are we sharing with them?
How are they protecting it?
What happens if they experience a cyber incident?
And perhaps one of the most important questions:
Do we actually know where our biggest third-party risks are?
Third Party Risk Management is not about being suspicious of everyone you do business with.
It is about being intentional about who you trust and understanding the risk that comes with that trust.
Because cybersecurity is no longer just about protecting the four walls of your organisation.
It is about understanding the entire ecosystem around you.
And sometimes, the risk you need to worry about most is the one you didn’t hire.
You simply gave it access.