Third-party vendor data breaches are becoming an epidemic for organizations that themselves have solid information security programs. The Ponemon Institute has proven year over year in its survey that the cost of third-party data breaches increases with each survey. Many struggle with how exactly to hold third-party vendors accountable and enforce the same rigid standards and controls that they consume internally. The big question is: how do organizations prevent third-party vendor data breaches?

The average cost of a data breach is now nearly $4 million and the unfortunate truth is third-parties are a significant source of cyber risk. This is why cybersecurity vendor risk management (VRM) has become a top priority for CISOs, Vice Presidents of Security, and other members of senior management, even at the Board level. In addition to financial costs, there are increased regulatory and reputational costs.

Every day third-party data breaches and data leaks inundated our news cycle. And for good reason, the average cost of a data breach is nearly $4 million globally. This has led to organizations looking for ways to reduce cyber risk and prevent data breaches. Vendor risk management (VRM) is now a top priority for CISOs and other members of senior management, even at the Board level.

Every day the news is filled with third-party data breaches and data leaks. And for a good reason, they often expose the protected health information and personally identifiable information of thousands or even hundreds of millions of people. For context, the Ponemon Institute estimates that the average cost of a data breach is nearly $4 million globally.

If the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused your enterprise to make a sudden, rapid switch from an on-premises-centered business model to a diverse, dispersed network of ad-hoc home offices, you may have let security and privacy measures slide a bit.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) represents an information security standard designed for organizations that store, process, or transmit credit cards and are exposed to cardholder data. The card brands themselves have advocated for the PCI standard which is administered by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). Given organizations are interested in compliance, many ask the question “what are the PCI DSS Security Audit Procedures”?

The Factor Analysis of Information Risk (FAIR) framework was developed by Jack Jones. FAIR is a risk management framework championed by the open group that enables organizations to analyze, measure, and understand risk. The FAIR model evaluates factors that contribute to IT risk and how they impact each other while breaking down risk by identifying and defining the risk model. FAIR is most often used to establish probabilities for the frequency and magnitude of data loss.

Outsourcing, digitization, and globalization are three of the largest trends in the last 30 years. They've brought new products and services, increased specialization, lower costs, and improved access. But they've also introduced significant cyber risk. Particularly the risk of data breaches and data leaks. For perspective, a recent study by the Ponemon Institute put the average cost of a data breach at $3.92 million. The unfortunate truth is third-parties cause a lot of data breaches.

Outsourcing, digitization, and globalization have brought us new products and services, allowed for increased specialization, lowered costs, and improved access but they've also introduced significant cyber risk. Particularly the risk of data breaches and data leaks. And with the average cost of a data breach reaching close to $4 million dollars according to a recent study by the Ponemon Institute, it pays to prevent them. The unfortunate truth is third-parties cause a lot of data breaches.

The amount of cyber risk the average organization is taking on has never been higher, a big part of it in the form of third-party and fourth-party risk. A household name reporting a data breach or data leak feels like a daily occurrence. And with the average cost of a data breach reaching close to $4 million dollars according to a recent study by the Ponemon Institute, organizations are looking for new ways to prevent them. The unfortunate truth is third-parties cause a lot of data breaches.