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Glossary Defense & Monitoring Updated Jun 12, 2026

Third-Party Risk

The security risk introduced by vendors, partners, and service providers who access your systems or data.

Also known as vendor risk third-party cyber risk supplier risk

Third-party risk is the cybersecurity exposure created when external vendors, contractors, and partners connect to your systems. Questionnaires and compliance certifications help, but they rarely reveal that a vendor employee's laptop was infected last week and their VPN credentials are for sale.

Infostealer monitoring across your own domain and key vendor domains closes a major visibility gap in third-party risk programs. When a supplier's stealer log contains credentials for your environment, you can respond before those credentials are used in an attack.

Explore supply chain cases in our DPRK supply chain investigation and cloud credential breaches.

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