Vendor Risk Management Program

A vendor risk management (VRM) program documents the processes and procedures an organization needs to implement an effective third-party risk management policy.

VRM programs should ideally outline an incident response plan and detail elements covering the entire vendor lifecycle, such as:

Vendor risk assessments

• Vendor onboarding

• Vendor offboarding

Vendor Risk Management Program Best Practices

1. Identify your supply chain attack surface

2. Prioritize your high-risk vendors

3. Assess third-party regulatory compliance 

4. Practice continuous monitoring

Key takeaways

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    VRM programs help organizations identify and mitigate risks across the third-party and fourth-party attack surfaces.
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    VRM programs are important because organizations are always responsible for upholding the security of their sensitive data, regardless of who has access to it.
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    Organizations can use vendor risk management automation to monitor and manage third and fourth-party risks in real time.
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