Third-Party Risk Assessment: The Essential Questionnaire
Your Guide to Evaluating Third-Party
THIRD-PARTY RISK MANAGEMENT
In my previous blog, I discussed in detail the importance and benefits of conducting third-party risk assessments, along with how they help safeguard your organization and ensure compliance with standards like ISO 27001. If you missed it, feel free to check out the full article for a deeper understanding of why this is a critical process for your business.
This questionnaire serves as a practical tool to help you evaluate your vendors across several key areas, including data security, compliance, and business continuity. Use these questions to gain insights into potential risks and ensure your vendors meet your security and compliance requirements.
Below is a set of essential questions that will guide you in assessing the security and risk management practices of your third parties.
Third-Party Risk Assessment Questions
Information Security and Privacy Questions
Does your organization maintain a security program, and if so, which standards and guidelines does it follow?
Do you have documented information security policies and procedures?
Does your information security and privacy program cover all operations, services, and systems that process sensitive data?
Do you have a formal information classification procedure? Please describe it. How would sensitive data be categorized?
e.g., Confidential, Restricted, Internal, Public.
Who is responsible for managing your information security and privacy program?
Please provide a link to your public information security and/or privacy policy.
What user authentication techniques are you implementing to prevent unauthorized access?
Do you implement any Data Loss Prevention (DLP) strategies to defend against exfiltration?
How do you ensure only the minimal level of required personal information is collected and processed? How do you define “minimal level”?
Physical and Data Center Security Questions
Provide details of physical access control methods to prevent unauthorized access to facilities (such as door locks, RFID cards/fobs, and other access controls).
How are physical access controls authorized and audited (Are policies and procedures in place)?
Are there policies and procedures required for documenting repairs and modifications to physical components of the facility that are related to security?
Are your data centers certified by any industry standards (e.g., ISO 27001, SSAE 16)?
How do you ensure the security of any personal data transferred between physical devices?
How often do you conduct physical security audits?
Web Application Security Questions
Are your Internet-facing websites protected by SSL encryption? If yes, which versions of TLS are supported?
How often do you perform periodic vulnerability scans on your information technology systems, networks, and supporting security systems?
How do you track end-of-life web server software and outdated web dev libraries?
Are third-party connections to your network monitored and reviewed to confirm only authorized access and appropriate usage?
e.g., VPN logs, server Event Logs, system, application, and data access logging, automated alerts, and regular review of logs or reports.
What types of data processing activities do you perform for different types of users (visitors, customers, etc.)?
Infrastructure Security Questions
Are systems and networks isolated or segregated logically and/or topologically based on function?
Do you have a written network security policy?
Have you ever experienced a data breach? If so, what was the impact, and how was it addressed?
How do you ensure the maintenance of your server operating systems through patching?
Do you maintain logs of security events?
How do you protect employee devices from ransomware and other types of malware?
What security measures are in place for defending against malware injections, ransomware attacks, and other malicious threats?
How do you ensure secure configurations for all network devices, including routers, switches, and firewalls?
Do you have a disaster recovery plan in place? How often is it tested?
How often do you review and update firewall rules and configurations?
Conclusion
This questionnaire provides a robust foundation for evaluating the security practices and risk posture of your third-party vendors. Use it to identify potential weak points, ensure regulatory compliance, and make well-informed decisions about your vendor relationships. By actively managing third-party risks, you can protect your organization from costly breaches and disruptions.
If you need further guidance or assistance with implementing this questionnaire, I’d be happy to help. Feel free to reach out to me at contact@naimahmad.de for support!