Too often, cybersecurity weakness is ignored when companies are looking to secure third-party business relationships. (Shutterstock)
A recent study of 600 IT and security decision-makers revealed that though 60% of organizations have formal third-party risk policies, 44% of them have experienced a significant breach caused by a vendor. This is disturbing in itself, revealing a major discrepancy between the third-party policies organizations espouse and those policies' effectiveness. But what's more, only half of firms discontinued their relationship with the guilty vendor, and 69% did not change the risk policies that had just failed them.
The Ponemon Institute found that on average, companies share confidential and sensitive information with approximately 583 third parties. That figure seems staggering, but this one is more so: Only 34% of companies keep a comprehensive inventory of their third parties. As companies increasingly outsource aspects of their business to third parties, their risk profile becomes increasingly complex.
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