BLOG: Enhancing Third-Party Risk Management with Cyber Risk Ratings

Organisations are relying more and more on third-party vendors to enhance their operations and stay ahead of the competition. While these partnerships bring numerous advantages, they also expose organisations to potential cybersecurity risks. Consequently, adopting an efficient third-party risk management strategy has become paramount for safeguarding sensitive data, preserving reputation, and ensuring business continuity.

By consolidating vast amounts of data from diverse sources, cyber risk rating platforms provide organisations with a comprehensive and objective assessment of a vendor’s cybersecurity resilience.

The Advantages of Cyber Risk Ratings in Third-Party Risk Management

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Traditional TPRM often relies on subjective assessments, leading to inconsistency and uncertainty. Cyber risk ratings, however, provide an empirical and data-driven approach that enhances decision-making processes. By leveraging real-time data and advanced analytics, businesses gain a clearer understanding of their vendor’s risk exposure.
• Proactive Risk Mitigation: Cyber risk ratings enable organisations to identify potential vulnerabilities and security gaps in their vendor ecosystem proactively. Armed with this knowledge, they can engage in meaningful conversations with vendors, demand improvements, and allocate resources where they are needed most, thus bolstering the overall security posture of the supply chain.
• Efficient Resource Allocation: TPRM requires significant resources, making it crucial to prioritise assessments. Cyber risk ratings offer a smart solution by classifying vendors based on their risk levels. Organisations can then focus their attention on high-risk vendors, streamlining the risk management process and optimising resource allocation.
• Vendor Performance Tracking: In the dynamic landscape of cybersecurity, a vendor’s risk posture can fluctuate over time. Cyber risk ratings facilitate continuous monitoring, providing organisations with up-to-date insights into a vendor’s security practices. Such real-time tracking empowers businesses to take swift action if a vendor’s risk profile undergoes unfavourable changes.
• Regulatory Compliance: With increasingly stringent data protection regulations worldwide, businesses face growing pressure to ensure their vendors comply with relevant standards. Cyber risk ratings offer a standardised benchmark to assess a vendor’s compliance with industry-specific regulations, helping organisations maintain regulatory alignment and avoid potential penalties.

Challenges and Considerations

While cyber risk ratings undoubtedly bring substantial benefits to third-party risk management, it is crucial to acknowledge certain challenges and considerations:

• Data Accuracy and Source Reliability: Cyber risk ratings heavily rely on the accuracy and credibility of data sources. Organisations must ensure that the rating provider utilises reputable sources and employs robust data validation techniques to avoid potential inaccuracies.
• Contextual Analysis: Cyber risk ratings provide an overall snapshot of a vendor’s security posture but may not capture specific nuances or context that could impact the actual risk. Hence, it is vital to combine these ratings with qualitative assessments and additional data for a comprehensive understanding.
• Continuous Improvement: TPRM is an evolving discipline, and organisations must continuously improve their risk management processes. Relying solely on cyber risk ratings may lead to complacency, so a holistic and adaptable approach is essential.

In conclusion, cyber risk ratings are a powerful ally in the realm of third-party risk management, providing organisations with valuable insights to assess and mitigate cyber risks effectively.

By leveraging data-driven decision-making, proactively identifying vulnerabilities, and optimising resource allocation, businesses can safeguard their critical assets and uphold their reputation. While cyber risk ratings are not a panacea, their integration into TPRM strategies demonstrates a commitment to maintaining a robust and secure vendor ecosystem in the face of an ever-evolving

How can Orpheus Cyber help?

At Orpheus Cyber, we have developed a unique and advanced approach to Third-Party cyber risk management, leveraging our expertise as a cyber threat intelligence company. Our methodology combines threat-led analysis with a comprehensive assessment of your Third Parties’ attack surface, resulting in highly accurate cyber risk ratings. With our approach, you can ensure continuous monitoring of your Third Parties, enabling proactive risk mitigation as threats and vulnerabilities evolve.

Key Features of Our Platform:

• Comprehensive Cyber Risk Ratings: Our platform provides accurate and up-to-date cyber risk ratings for all the organisations you wish to monitor. These ratings are derived from a thorough analysis of the threats they face and the vulnerabilities present in their attack surface.
• Intuitive Heat Map: We present the cyber risk ratings in an intuitive heat map format, making it easy for you to identify and prioritise organisations that pose the highest level of risk. This visual representation simplifies risk assessment and decision-making.
• Clear Display of Critical Vulnerabilities: We highlight the most critical vulnerabilities that your Third Parties have, providing a clear understanding of the risks they pose. These vulnerabilities are linked to our intelligence reports and Orpheus’ CVE scoring, offering insights into why they are problematic.
• Contextual Risk Analysis: Our platform provides risk context for the attack surface issues observed in your Third Parties. This allows you to collaborate with them to improve their security, ultimately reducing the risk to your organisation as well.

Benefits of Our Approach:

• Easy and Quick Setup: Our platform requires no input from third-party organisations, making it quick and easy to set up. Within hours, you can gain valuable insights into the cyber risk of the organisations you work with.
• Continuous Monitoring: Unlike point-in-time annual or quarterly reviews, our approach enables continuous monitoring of suppliers. This ensures that you stay informed about any changes in their risk posture promptly.
• Proactive Risk Mitigation: By having access to detailed scores and intelligence reports, you can work with your suppliers to reduce risk collaboratively. This approach goes beyond relying solely on their assurance, providing tangible actions for risk reduction.

At Orpheus Cyber, our threat-led approach to Third-Party cyber risk management empowers organisations to enhance their cybersecurity posture effectively. By deploying our expertise in cyber threat intelligence and continuously monitoring your Third Parties’ risk, we provide you with actionable insights to proactively mitigate risks and strengthen your overall security. With our user-friendly platform and clear risk context, working collaboratively with your suppliers to improve security becomes seamless, ultimately safeguarding your business.