In a landscape where trust is everything, membership organisations must go beyond internal controls and address the cyber risks introduced by their suppliers.
This case study explores how a national membership body — which we’ll refer to as [Membership Org Name] — transformed its approach to third-party risk management (TPRM), following rising concerns from members, insurers, and auditors.
The result? Stronger supplier visibility, improved resilience, and a model that can be replicated by other associations, federations, and trade groups.
The Problem: Growing Supplier Exposure, Little Control
[Membership Org Name] supported over 10,000 member businesses with services ranging from compliance tracking and training portals to industry advocacy and policy updates.
Their digital ecosystem included:
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A third-party platform for professional development
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Outsourced CRM and mailing list tools
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Shared resource libraries managed by a web agency
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Event registration and payment services
Despite handling member data and facilitating sensitive workflows, the organisation lacked a centralised view of its supplier risk.
⚠️ Some suppliers had no cybersecurity certifications.
⚠️ Several were hosted abroad without clear data protection contracts.
⚠️ No consistent process existed for onboarding or monitoring vendor risk.
The Turning Point
A near-miss: A trusted IT partner experienced a ransomware incident that temporarily disrupted DNS records, causing email outages and delayed payment confirmations for hundreds of members.
Though no data was exfiltrated, the incident shook confidence and exposed how little visibility the membership body had into supplier-level risk.
The Response: Building a Supplier Risk Programme
With the support of Cyber Tzar, [Membership Org Name] took the following steps:
🔍 1. Conducted a full supplier audit
They created an inventory of all vendors — from strategic partners to niche freelancers — and logged their:
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Access to systems
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Data handling responsibilities
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Compliance certifications (e.g., Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001)
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Hosting jurisdictions
🧪 2. Ran vulnerability scans on key supplier infrastructure
Without needing intrusive access, Cyber Tzar scanned public-facing assets to detect expired certificates, outdated platforms, or exposed admin panels.
📊 3. Prioritised high-risk vendors for review
Vendors that handled member data or controlled member-facing portals were prioritised for remediation or contract review.
📄 4. Updated onboarding and contract clauses
They revised procurement processes to include:
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Minimum cybersecurity standards
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Breach notification timelines
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Right to audit clauses
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Data protection addendums aligned to UK GDPR
🔁 5. Introduced ongoing supplier monitoring
Rather than annual reviews, the organisation now receives quarterly dashboards from Cyber Tzar showing supplier hygiene and emerging risks.
The Impact
✔️ 100% of core vendors now meet a defined security baseline
✔️ Supplier visibility improved across all departments
✔️ Members have greater trust in platforms and communications
✔️ Insurers responded favourably, reducing cyber premium volatility
✔️ The organisation now trains similar bodies on implementing this model
How Cyber Tzar Supports Membership Organisations with TPRM
Cyber Tzar enables membership bodies to:
✅ See supplier risk clearly — even without direct access to their systems
✅ Monitor vendor exposure continuously
✅ Benchmark supplier performance against sector standards
✅ Produce board-ready reports to track improvements
✅ Reduce aggregate cyber risk across their entire member ecosystem
Whether you represent 100 members or 100,000, your suppliers are part of your attack surface. We help you manage it.
🤝 Want to see how your vendor ecosystem compares?
Start a supplier scan today at cybertzar.com
