Ensuring Transparency: Consent and Information Use in Third-Party Risk Assessments

In this final post of my series on third-party risk management, we’re diving into an essential element: Terms and Consent. While gathering information from vendors through risk assessment questionnaires is crucial, ensuring transparency about how that information is used and protected is equally important.

If you’ve followed along with my previous posts, we’ve already explored:

1. Third-Party Risk Management: Why It’s Critical for Your Business

2. Third-Party Risk Assessment: The Essential Questionnaire

3. Comprehensive Third-Party Risk Assessment Questionnaire

Now, we’ll focus on how information exchange in these assessments is governed by proper consent practices. Additionally, I’ll introduce some solution tools that can help streamline third-party risk management and simplify the process of tracking consent and compliance.

Terms and Consent Sample

Use of Information and Affirmative Consent

When your company (collectively referred to as "You" and "Your") provides information during a third-party risk assessment, it is collected solely for [Insert Company Neme] compliance with relevant legal requirements (the "Relevant Law"). This data will not be used for any other purpose. By responding to our questionnaire, you agree that we may gather, store, process, and transmit your information to the Company.

We may verify your responses with other external sources when necessary. You also have the right to access the information we store about you and correct any errors. Your data is protected by applicable data protection laws, ensuring confidentiality and security throughout the process.

Solution Tools for Third-Party Risk Management

Managing third-party risks and ensuring compliance can be challenging without the right tools. Thankfully, several platforms help automate and streamline this process, making it easier to manage vendor risk assessments and track consent. Here are three popular tools:

1. OneTrust

OneTrust is a leading tool for third-party risk management, providing automated workflows for vendor risk assessments, due diligence, and ongoing monitoring. It helps businesses ensure that vendors meet security, privacy, and compliance standards.
Benefits:

• Centralized platform for managing vendors and tracking consent.

• Automated assessments and real-time risk monitoring.

• Compliance with regulations like GDPR and ISO 27001.

2. Prevalent

Prevalent is another widely-used solution that specializes in third-party risk management, offering both assessment automation and continuous monitoring. It helps businesses gain visibility into vendor risks and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
Benefits:

• Integrated risk management and assessment platform.

• Continuous vendor monitoring with risk scoring.

• Tools for mapping vendor risks to compliance frameworks like ISO and SOC 2.

3. Vanta

Vanta automates security compliance, including third-party risk management, by continuously monitoring vendors' compliance with standards such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA. It simplifies the process of managing and documenting vendor security practices.
Benefits:

• Simplifies security audits and compliance reporting.

• Continuous vendor risk monitoring.

• Automated evidence collection and audit readiness.

Disclaimer:
Please note that I am not a representative of any of these tools, and my recommendations are based solely on market research. I cannot be held responsible if any of these solutions do not meet your specific needs or criteria. It’s important to assess your own requirements and perform due diligence before choosing a vendor risk management tool.

Conclusion

As we wrap up this series, it's evident that third-party risk management goes beyond just evaluating security practices. It requires clear communication, transparency, and the right tools to manage vendor relationships effectively. By incorporating terms and consent agreements, as well as using tools like OneTrust, Prevalent, and Vanta, you can ensure both compliance and trust in your vendor partnerships.

I hope this series has equipped you with the knowledge and resources to tackle third-party risks with confidence. If you have any questions or need further guidance, feel free to contact me.