Don’t let third-party risk become your next cybersecurity breach

Companies often make the mistake of seeing cybersecurity in isolation. Similar to an operational supply chain, a company’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities go beyond its own digital footprint. Every third-party supplier, whether contractors or cloud providers, extends your company’s network and, by default, the potential entry points into your system for cybercriminals.

What this means is that a company must protect itself from the inside-out and the outside-in. A cybersecurity solution without third-party risk management can be compared to a house that has a state-of-the-art burglar alarm, 24/7 security monitoring and response, secure fencing and access control – but the home’s backdoor is always left wide open.

Third-party risk management (TPRM) is a crucial step in any company’s cybersecurity solution, as this prevents external entry points leading to data breaches, financial loss, regulatory fines, or even operational shutdowns. In fact, third-party breaches are a growing cybersecurity threat. Last year, 30-35% all company data breaches were from vendor compromises.

According to the 2025 Security Scorecard on global third-party cybersecurity incidents, the following industries are specifically being targeted:

• Critical infrastructure: Energy and utilities face a 46,7% third-party breach rate;
• Technology: The tech sector is experiencing disproportionately high rates of third-party breaches;
• Healthcare: The healthcare industry has a large share of third-party breaches in comparison to total vendor incidents; and
• Retail and hospitality: At 52,4%, this sector is becoming the most vulnerable industry for third-party attacks.

With most companies’ data supply chain expanding and an increasing number of cybercriminals exploiting third-party’s weak security links, organisations must proactively start protecting their businesses with improved vendor security.

Securing your entire data supply chain

Third-party risk management starts even before a new supplier is appointed, continuing throughout the vendor lifecycle. After vetting potential vendors, an in-depth third-party risk assessment must be completed to identify and secure entry points into your company’s internal systems.

This is not a once-off process, as vendor security should be continuously evaluated during any onboarding processes of a new supplier. Existing third-party suppliers must be consistently monitored for vulnerabilities, even after agreeing and complying to a Service Level Agreement regarding cybersecurity measurements.

Should a third-party breach occur despite these security procedures and preventative measures, an incident response plan must be in place. A cybersecurity incident response plan is a structured, predefined, detailed process that ensures well-thought-out steps are in place that can be followed in a high-pressure situation. These guidelines are there to minimise damage, restore normal business activity faster, meet regulatory requirements, and prevent future cybersecurity incidents from occurring.

If your cybersecurity solution doesn’t currently protect vulnerable customer data exposed through third-party entry points and access to sensitive company information through third-party vulnerabilities, don’t wait another day before taking preventative measures.

Speak to a third-party risk specialist at Dotcom Cybersecurity by reaching out via email on info@dotcomsecurity.co.za or calling us on (+27) 12 003 6596.