Every organization uses vendors.  Cloud storage. Payroll software. A legal firm that handles contracts. An agency that manages marketing. A SaaS tool for the engineering team added last quarter.  Every one of those relationships carries vendor security risks. And for most organizations, managing that risk falls to a team that wasn’t necessarily hired to do it: procurement, operations, legal, or … Read more

Trust theater is what happens when every part of your vendor risk process looks rigorous; forms are filled out, boxes are checked, dashboards are green, but none of it would actually hold up if something went wrong.  It’s not always obvious from the inside. Here are five signs it might be happening in your program:  1. Every Vendor Comes Back “Low Risk”  If your risk … Read more

NIS2 Has Redefined What “Good” Third-Party Risk Management Looks Like NIS2 has not introduced third-party risk management as a new concept. Instead, it has redefined the expected baseline of maturity. Under traditional cybersecurity and vendor risk programs, third-party risk management was typically built around periodic assessments. Organizations maintained supplier inventories in spreadsheets, sent annual security … Read more

If you work in security, compliance, or procurement, you’ve probably lived on both sides of the vendor risk table without even labeling it that way.  Some days, you’re evaluating a vendor before signing a contract. On other days, you’re the one being evaluated, filling out a security questionnaire because a customer wants proof you can be trusted.  These are two different jobs. Most platforms … Read more

NIS2 is no longer a future requirement. As of June 2026, 23 out of 27 EU Member States have transposed the NIS2 Directive into national law, allowing national authorities to begin enforcement activities. While implementation timelines may vary across jurisdictions, the direction is clear: organizations within the scope of NIS2 are expected to demonstrate compliance … Read more

Ask most compliance teams what NIS2 or DORA requires for third-party risk, and you’ll get a version of the same answer: “We need to assess our vendors and document it.”  Technically true. Practically incomplete.  Both regulations were written in direct response to a pattern regulator kept seeing companies with strong internal security getting compromised through a vendor, supplier, or service provider nobody scrutinized closely … Read more

Every vendor risk platform on the market wants to tell you the same story: fill out this questionnaire faster, get approved faster, move on with your day.  It sounds great. It’s also solving the wrong problem.  The Speed Trap  Somewhere along the way, the TPRM industry decided that the biggest pain point in vendor risk management was time. So, the … Read more

For years, third-party risk management (TPRM) has followed a familiar pattern. A supplier isonboarded, completes a security questionnaire, shares a few certifications, and passes arisk assessment. The results are documented, filed away, and often not revisited until thenext annual review. Suppliers continuously change their infrastructure, software, personnel, and securitycontrols. New vulnerabilities emerge daily, threat actors … Read more