What steps can you take to secure your organization's supply chain from cybersecurity threats?

In alignment with NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) guidelines, initiate a meticulous assessment of your organization's supply chain risk. Utilize NIST's risk management framework, considering factors such as system interdependencies, data flows, and the overall cybersecurity posture of suppliers. Conducting a thorough risk assessment ensures compliance with NIST standards and provides a foundation for implementing targeted and effective cybersecurity measures in accordance with the organization's risk tolerance and objectives. A comprehensive risk assessment forms the foundation for targeted and effective cybersecurity measures.

This requires a multifaceted approach encompassing proactive measures, risk assessments, and continuous monitoring. Begin by implementing a robust vendor risk management program, thoroughly evaluating the security practices of suppliers. This involves assessing their cybersecurity policies, practices, and incident response plans. Request transparency about their supply chain security measures, including how they vet their own vendors.

To keep your organization's supply chain safe from online threats, you can start by checking how secure your suppliers are. Make sure your contracts clearly say they need to be really careful with cybersecurity. Regularly double-check that everyone involved, including your employees and suppliers, knows how to spot and report anything suspicious. Use strong passwords and extra security steps for important systems. If something goes wrong, have a plan to fix it fast and work together with your suppliers. Keep an eye on everything that's happening, update your computer programs, and make sure all the important information is locked up tight.

Supply chain cyber risk management requires visibility and governance over the entire ecosystem. Establish a mandatory third party security assessment (TPSA) program subjecting vendors with access to confidential data or mission critical systems to audits verifying effective controls prior to onboarding.

Establish clear contractual agreements with suppliers regarding cybersecurity expectations, incorporating clauses that mandate adherence to specific security standards. Regularly review and update these agreements to stay current with evolving threats and industry best practices.

Clearly define security requirements and expectations for all entities within the supply chain. Establish robust contractual agreements that outline specific cybersecurity measures, adherence to industry standards, and reporting obligations. Clearly communicating expectations ensures a shared commitment to cybersecurity across the supply chain and sets a baseline for security standards.

Being real and upfront with your suppliers is key when it comes to establishing security requirements. Contracts must be implemented with regular follow up through audits, or vendor assessments to document the security program requirements as well. Ensure all expectations are made clear during the initial negotiating process.

Standards and certifications such as ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials (Plus), and TISAX are all fantastic and inexpensive ways to verify that a company you wish to work with takes security seriously. You can also add maintenance of such certifications as a requirement to your agreement.

Implementing supply chain security controls is essential. Use encryption for sensitive data in transit and at rest, employ multifactor authentication, and regularly update and patch systems to address vulnerabilities. Conduct thorough security audits of your supply chain partners to identify and rectify potential weaknesses. Continuous monitoring is a must for early detection of anomalies or suspicious activities. Use threat intelligence services to stay informed about emerging threats and leverage security information and event management (SIEM) systems to analyse and correlate data across your network.

Implementing robust security controls and tools is essential for fortifying the supply chain against cybersecurity threats. This includes deploying advanced threat detection systems, encryption protocols, and access controls. Regularly update and monitor these security measures to adapt to evolving threats. The integration of security controls establishes a proactive defense mechanism against potential breaches.

When it comes to reporting incidents your vendors should appoint a security point of contact to alert you when they have an incident and that SPOC has to keep you updated through out the incident response process.

Educate staff about the risks associated with supply chain attacks, showing the importance of vigilance, recognising phishing attempts, and adhering to cybersecurity best practices. Establish an incident response plan that specifically addresses supply chain compromises. Ensure that your team is well-prepared to swiftly and effectively respond to and mitigate any security incidents originating from the supply chain.

Security awareness training among staff cannot be overstated. Aside from the boilerplate phishing, best practices & elicitation detection techniques; the staff should have the know-how on the critical areas of the supply chain and perform the prioritization & escalation of the threats in a proper manner. However, the establishment of a third-party risk management team and an integrated testing lab for uncovering hidden bugs are contingent measures, best implemented based on the organization's specific needs and available resources.

You also need to set up compliance reviews with your vendors after they attest to your security requirements. Why?? This will help you check if the said implemented controls are still effective and aswell as any required improvement. The frequency of these compliance reviews can be based on your organisation policy.

I often received contracts requiring specific cybersecurity measures to be implemented to move forward with a contract. Are you SOC2 Type 2? Do you have this measure enabled, etc etc? Most of the time, it was self-attested and rarely asked to be validated. Every once in a while, we would be asked at renewal for updated information on our latest security policies, but it was rare. My takeaway is that when working with supply chain and third-party vendors, we must have them do more than just self-attest. We should consistently run passive scans and evolve our security requirements for third parties.

After assessing and engaging with a third party, it is crucial to establish continuous monitoring and review as integral components of your third-party security practices. Regular evaluations help in identifying vulnerabilities, assessing potential risks, and remaining informed about changes in the third party's security practices and posture. Furthermore, continuous monitoring supports the adherence to contractual security requirements, enabling organisations to promptly address any deviations with the third party.