Third Party Risk Management in 2025: A Comprehensive Guide

Updated August 25, 2025

What is Third Party Risk Management?

Third-party risk management evaluates and tracks the security hygiene of every vendor or partner that touches your systems or data. By vetting, contractually enforcing, and continuously monitoring suppliers, you prevent someone else’s breach from becoming your own.

Core Categories of Third Party Risk Management Solutions

Vendor Risk Scoring

Vendor Risk Scoring evaluates third-party suppliers, partners, and service providers for security weaknesses. Continuous monitoring helps reduce the risk introduced by external relationships.

OneTrust TPRM

SecurityScorecard

Panorays

Assessment Management Platforms

Assessment Management Platforms centralize compliance and security audits. They track requirements, streamline evidence collection, and reduce the manual effort of demonstrating security posture.

OneTrust TPRM

SecurityScorecard

Panorays

## Category Overview ### Introduction Every organization runs on third parties—vendors, SaaS platforms, and cloud providers. These dependencies introduce systemic risk. Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) frameworks are evolving in 2025 to address regulatory scrutiny, supply chain attacks, and the reality that a vendor’s breach can quickly become your own. Continuous monitoring, contractual rights, and vendor testing are now as important as internal controls. ## Quarterly Trends & News | Theme | Update | |---|---| | **Stricter oversight** | Financial services must maintain registers of ICT vendors under DORA and prove resilience of critical suppliers. | | **Supply-chain accountability** | NIS2 requires supplier risk management and shared liability for breaches. | | **Disclosure spillover** | Public companies must disclose material incidents even when rooted in a vendor’s environment. | | **Continuous monitoring** | External telemetry (e.g., leaks, misconfigurations) augments traditional vendor questionnaires. | | **Fourth-party awareness** | Organizations begin mapping dependencies beyond their immediate vendors. | ## Common Terms & Definitions | Term | Definition | |---|---| | **C-SCRM** | Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management across the full vendor lifecycle. | | **Critical ICT Provider** | Third parties designated as systemically important under EU rules. | | **Register of Arrangements** | Inventory of all third-party service contracts required by regulators. | | **Right to Audit** | Contractual clauses granting inspection of vendor security practices. | | **Fourth-Party Risk** | Risks introduced by a vendor’s subcontractors. |

Key Considerations

Quick tips, recommendations, and trade-offs

Upside Downside

Supply Chain Visibility

Maps which vendors and tools your business depends on

Continuous Monitoring

Tracks partner systems for breaches and risks in real time

Contract Controls

Adds security clauses to vendor agreements and SLAs

Shallow Checks

Vendor self-assessments may not reflect real practices

Resource Heavy