BLOG: The Benefits of Third-Party Cyber Risk Ratings Over Self-Reported Data

As the world becomes increasingly reliant on technology, the risks associated with cyberattacks are becoming more prevalent and severe. While organisations take significant measures to protect their systems, the risks posed by third-party vendors cannot be overlooked. Self-reported data can be unreliable and subjective, whereas third-party cyber risk ratings provide a more accurate and objective view of an organisation’s cybersecurity posture, particularly concerning its vendor ecosystem.

The significance of third-party cyber risk ratings cannot be overstated. These ratings provide a more comprehensive and dynamic view of an organisation’s cybersecurity posture. By aggregating data from a variety of sources, including threat intelligence, regulatory data, and other third-party sources, cyber risk ratings allow organisations to gain a better understanding of their overall cybersecurity risk and identify potential areas for improvement.

One of the primary benefits of third-party cyber risk ratings is that they provide a benchmark against which organisations can measure themselves and their vendors. This is especially important in the context of vendor management, where organisations need to assess the cybersecurity risk associated with their third-party vendors. Third-party cyber risk ratings offer an objective measure of vendor risk, enabling organisations to make more informed decisions about their vendor ecosystem.

Another advantage of third-party cyber risk ratings is their potential to help organisations reduce cyber insurance costs. By providing a more accurate and objective view of an organisation’s cybersecurity risk, third-party cyber risk ratings enable organisations to negotiate better cyber insurance rates and coverage.

Lastly, third-party cyber risk ratings can aid organisations in complying with regulatory requirements. Many regulations require organisations to assess and manage cybersecurity risks associated with their vendors. Third-party cyber risk ratings provide an objective measure of vendor risk, making it easier for organisations to comply with these regulatory requirements.

In conclusion, the benefits of third-party cyber risk ratings over self-reported data are significant. By providing a more comprehensive and objective view of an organisation’s cybersecurity posture, third-party cyber risk ratings enable organisations to identify potential areas for improvement, benchmark themselves and their vendors, gain a competitive advantage, reduce cyber insurance costs, and comply with regulatory requirements. As such, third-party cyber risk ratings should be an essential component of any organisation’s cybersecurity risk management strategy.

How can Orpheus Cyber help?

At Orpheus Cyber, we understand the importance of a comprehensive and accurate approach to third-party cyber risk management. That’s why we have developed a unique, threat-led approach that combines our expertise as a cyber threat intelligence company with an assessment of the attack surface of your third parties to deliver an accurate cyber risk rating. This approach allows for continuous monitoring of your third parties as both the threats they face and their attack surface changes over time.

Our platform provides a heat map of all the organisations you wish to monitor, highlighting those that pose the highest level of risk. We also display the most critical vulnerabilities that your third parties have, linking them to our intelligence reports and Orpheus’ CVE scoring to highlight why they are problematic. By providing the risk context of the attack surface issues we can see your third parties have, we make it easy to work with them to improve their security and, by association, yours.

One of the benefits of our approach is that it requires no input from third-party organisations, making the platform quick and easy to set up. Within hours, our clients can review the cyber risk of those they are working with. Continuous monitoring of suppliers reduces risk to the organisation when compared to point-in-time annual or quarterly reviews.

Access to the detail behind the scores means that clients can work with their suppliers to reduce the risk and confirm this work has taken place, rather than relying on their assurance alone. At Orpheus Cyber, we are dedicated to helping organisations manage their third-party cyber risk with accuracy and efficiency. Our threat-led approach to cyber risk management is the key to protecting your business from cyber threats and ensuring long-term success. Learn more here.