Third-party risk management (TPRM) has come a long way — but far too many organisations are still relying on static scores, spreadsheets, and stale assessments to evaluate their suppliers.
In 2025, that simply isn’t good enough.
✅ Cyber threats move faster than audit cycles
✅ Regulatory scrutiny is growing
✅ Supply chains are increasingly complex
✅ Insurers and boards are demanding live evidence
If you’re still managing vendor risk with annual questionnaires or security rating scores alone, your weakest link might already be breaking.
The Static Score Problem
Security Rating Services (SRS) like BitSight, UpGuard, and SecurityScorecard provide surface-level signals. But those signals are too often out of date, out of context, and out of sync with real-world threats.
Here’s why:
🕒 Delayed updates – A “clean” score might reflect data weeks or months old
🔍 Lack of integration context – Scores don’t tell you how that vendor connects into your network
📦 Limited granularity – “Unpatched software” is vague — what software? What’s exposed?
📉 Poor framework alignment – Most SRS outputs don’t map to ISO 27036, DORA, or NIS2
⚠️ Tier 2 & Tier 3 blind spots – Static scores rarely look beyond your direct suppliers
A BitSight ‘A’ score may look fine — until you find out the vendor’s RDP port has been open to the world for three weeks.
Scores are not strategy. And in the current climate, they’re not even risk management.
What Actionable TPRM Actually Looks Like
To move from rating to managing risk, you need more than a dashboard. You need:
🔁 Continuous monitoring – Risk isn’t static, and your assessments shouldn’t be either
📑 Evidence-based assessments – Vulnerability scans, mapped controls, and insurance-ready reports
🔗 Full supply chain visibility – Including Tier 2/3 suppliers and service dependencies
📊 Sector-aligned benchmarking – So you know if your exposure is normal — or dangerous
📣 Supplier engagement – Tools that help vendors fix issues, not just receive red flags
This turns TPRM from a tick-box exercise into a real-time control system — one that improves resilience, not just compliance.
🎯 Frameworks Now Demand It
If you’re working under any of the following, you’ll already know that “we send out questionnaires” no longer cuts it:
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✅ NCSC CAF – Focus on continuous assurance, not one-time evaluation
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✅ ISO 27036 / ISO 27001 – Emphasise tiered risk classification and external dependencies
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✅ DORA – Mandates real-time monitoring for ICT supply chain
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✅ NIS2 – Requires evidence of dynamic third-party oversight
These frameworks require you to show how you detect, respond to, and track changes in vendor risk — not just how you once assessed it.
Comparison: Static Scores vs Strategic Risk Management
| Legacy TPRM | Modern TPRM |
|---|---|
| Annual questionnaires | Continuous assessments |
| Static SRS scores | Live risk scoring with context |
| One-size-fits-all audits | Tiered, risk-based supplier profiling |
| Siloed reviews | Integrated dashboards for GRC, legal, and tech |
| Spreadsheet evidence | Framework-mapped, audit-ready reporting |
| Focus on compliance | Focus on resilience, performance, and uptime |
Red–Amber–Green scoring won’t stop ransomware. Actionable insight might.
🧠 The “Actionability Gap” Is Your Exposure
Traditional tools might tell you a vendor has a 620 score. But:
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What does that mean in business terms?
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Is it better or worse than their peers?
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What controls are missing?
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What should they fix first?
Cyber Tzar closes this actionability gap by turning raw signals into meaningful steps — and giving you the data to act with confidence.
How Cyber Tzar Makes TPRM Actionable
Cyber Tzar enables businesses to:
✅ Continuously scan vendor infrastructure for exposures
✅ Map Tier 1–3 suppliers and dependencies
✅ Benchmark vendors by risk, sector, and geography
✅ Generate remediation guidance and track improvement
✅ Provide shareable, audit-ready reports mapped to DORA, NIS2, ISO 27036, and Cyber Essentials
Our platform doesn’t just rate vendors — it helps you manage them in line with operational risk and compliance need.
📡 Want to upgrade your TPRM from static to strategic?
Start with a live supplier scan today at cybertzar.com
