Third-party risk must always be on the radar from a cybersecurity standpoint. That being the case, it is important that security and IT teams understand and are familiar with the third-party risk management (TPRM) life cycle.
This life cycle is generally understood as a structured process implemented as a means of assessing, managing, and mitigating the risks associated with third-party vendor relationships. Dark web monitoring plays a role in some of the life cycle’s key phases.
Phase #1: Planning and Identification
The first phase in the life cycle is typified by planning and identification. An organization defines its risk appetite and criteria for third-party relationships. Existing relationships are analysed and assessed for risk. In addition, a complete inventory of the existing vendor relationships is compiled for ongoing analysis.
Once vendor data is gathered and fed into the pipeline, it is time to begin planning. Specifically, it’s time to establish processes and evaluation methods by which third-party vendors will be held accountable.
Phase #2: Vendor Selection
Vendor selection is the second phase of the TPRM life cycle. Organizations conduct their due diligence before selecting new vendors for onboarding. Likewise, due diligence is necessary to determine those existing vendors that will be retained. Any vendors wishing to do business with the organization must demonstrate that they meet security, compliance, and performance standards.
Phase #3: Risk Assessment
All vendors must be subjected to regular risk assessments. Organizations should be looking at cybersecurity, operational, financial, and reputational risks. Aligning risks with regulatory requirements and/or industry standards helps to quantify them so that vendors can be assigned meaningful risk scores.
Note that dark web monitoring can play a role in this phase by identifying existing threats against vendors. Identifying a potential threat via dark web sources automatically makes a vendor more risky.
Phase #4: Third Party Risk Management
The fourth phase, risk management, is realized through implementation of various strategies for mitigating identified risks. Strategies could be anything from security controls to contractual safeguards.
In addition to prevention strategies, organizations should be developing response plans during this fourth phase. Response plans are necessary due to the fact that no cybersecurity strategy is 100% full proof.
Phase #5: Continuous Dark Web Monitoring
Ongoing dark web monitoring is the key to the entire TPRM life cycle. What is accomplished during the previous four phases is of little value if an organization is not continuously monitoring the dark web for threats.
Organizations should also be continually monitoring their vendors. They should be paying attention to vendor compliance and cybersecurity posture. Of course, monitoring performance is a given. Monitoring should continue throughout the entire organization-vendor relationship.
Phase #6: Secure Termination
The final phase is to safely and securely terminate relationships with vendors who, for whatever reason, won’t be continuing. Termination includes revoking system access, securely transferring relevant data, and securely deleting the rest. The entire process should be documented for future reference.
Why Dark Web Monitoring Is So Important
DarkOwl, an industry leading organization that offers third-party risk analytics, makes the case that dark web monitoring is an integral part of several phases of the TPRM life cycle. Monitoring keeps organizations abreast of any threats related to third-party vendors. This matters because vendors are often the weakest links in the cybersecurity chain.
Likewise, monitoring vendors helps security teams connect the docs between vendor weaknesses and threats identified on the dark web. Between the two, they provide the basis on which organizations can protect themselves throughout the life cycle, regardless of the number of vendors in the system at any given time.
