Why Organizations Can’t Ignore Vendor Risk Assessment in Today’s Cyber-Threat Landscape

In an era where digital ecosystems extend far beyond a company’s internal network, enterprise cybersecurity is no longer solely about firewalls and endpoint protection. It’s about the unseen connections, the suppliers, service providers, cloud vendors and subcontractors who form part of the operational supply chain. One critical practice at the heart of this challenge is vendor risk assessment: the process of evaluating the risks that third parties pose to an organisation’s data, operations and reputation.

The rise in supply-chain attacks and third-party breaches means that vendor risk is now business risk. According to the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), managing external dependencies is a key component of cyber resilience. When a vendor with access to internal systems or sensitive data is compromised, the fallout can be swift, severe and far-reaching.

The Expanding Threat Surface Through Vendor Networks

Modern organisations often rely on dozens ...