Five signs your vendor relationship needs a security review

Third-party vendors are one of the most common paths for a security incident to reach your organisation. Here are five practical signals it's time for a formal review:

1. The vendor handles personal or financial data on your behalf.

2. You've never seen evidence of their security controls, only their marketing claims.

3. Their access to your systems has grown since onboarding, without a corresponding review.

4. They've had a publicly reported incident, even one that didn't involve you directly.

5. Your contract with them doesn't mention data-protection or breach-notification obligations at all.

None of these alone means a vendor is unsafe — but together they're a reasonable trigger for a structured third-party risk assessment.