Why Audit Your Business Partners’ Security Posture?
An audit of your business partners’ information security posture is an essential part of an effective IT risk management program. When conducted with an experienced partner like Oxford Consulting Group, third party auditing and management can provide the following benefits:
- A highly-visible reminder of your organization’s policies to your business partners
- A readily-understood measure for the effectiveness of your information security controls
- The detail necessary to show regulatory and policy compliance to the various stakeholders (regulators, external auditors, board of directors, decision-makers)
- A better understanding of security controls across your organization, which leads to improved implementation of security strategies
Our Third Party Auditing Services
Oxford Consulting Group can help you measure and improve the effectiveness of your information security controls with your business partners. Our third party auditing and management services include:
| Security questionnaires development | We develop questionnaires that are tailored for your business while ensuring consistency across all in-scope entities. |
| Onsite interviews and site visits | We conduct onsite interviews with business partners, associates and suppliers. In addition, we assess their security and data handling practices by conducting site visits of their facilities, data centers and storage facilities.We compile and analyze questionnaire responses and assessment results, which we summarize in our report to you. |
| Policy and procedure reviews | We’ll review your policies and procedures to identify gaps in compliance and areas of opportunity. In addition, we’ll review contracts and other documentation—such as agreements, work obligations, or statements of work—related to your business partner relationships, to ensure they are consistent with your desired security and data handling practices. |
| Vulnerability testing and analysis | We can perform vulnerability testing targeted at your business partner(s). You’ll be able to identify and address areas of weakness before they become a problem. |
Your Partner for Third Party Security Audits
A third party security audit may cause business partner employees apprehension, as they can show that they have failed to absorb or implement your policy directives. However, these audits can just as easily demonstrate how well your business partners are fulfilling your contractual requirements.
With this in mind, it’s important to leverage an experienced partner like Oxford Consulting Group to protect the business partner relationship, conduct an audit in the most professional manner, understand the sensitivity of the process, and know the pitfalls to avoid.
Contact Oxford today to discuss how our third party auditing and management program can help you.
