With flexible work environments now the norm, the use of endpoint devices has increased – whether your organization allows work-from-home days, hires freelancers, and collaborates through email and phone calls. Many employees require access to the corporate network to carry out their daily responsibilities, and endpoint devices allow employees to do just that. That said, endpoints have become one of the biggest attack vectors for cybercriminals since they are easier to target.

Not all cybersecurity vulnerabilities are created equal. Some vulnerabilities have the potential to bring the entire organization to a halt, such as in the case of ransomware. Meanwhile, other vulnerabilities may only create limited opportunities for exploitation, putting them lower on the list of things to patch.

As cyber attacks and security breaches have increased in recent years, managing digital supply chain risks is becoming more difficult. Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in the ecosystem of less secure suppliers and third-party vendors to gain access to larger institutions. These institutions need to look beyond their own cybersecurity maturity to be successful; cyber risks need to be identified across the ecosystem.

Cyber attacks and data breaches are top of mind for businesses around the world as attacks on vulnerable networks persist. It is more important than ever to ensure cyber security and resilience programs are in place for your business and third-party suppliers. The information and communications technology (ICT) supply chain is a globally-interconnected ecosystem that involves CT software, hardware, and services including suppliers, vendors, and contractors.

Leaders from the SEC, Cyber Threat Alliance, and National Association of Corporate Directors recently joined with SecurityScorecard to share their insights on the state of cybersecurity risk management today. Earlier this month, the New York Department of Financial Services (NY DFS) announced efforts to modernize their supervision process, with the creation of the Cybersecurity and Information Technology Baseline Risk Questionnaire (CIBRQ).

It might sound confusing at first, but knowing who your third parties also rely on for their day-to-day business operations is key to building out a smarter and more informed vendor risk management program. Commonly known as fourth-party concentration risk, the ability to determine the fourth-party vendors in your digital supply chain that serve a majority of your third-party vendors can help organizations avoid potentially catastrophic supply chain risk from such a dependency.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice. It was founded in 1901 to support science and technological development. For decades, it has provided guidance on computer security. In 2014, in cooperation with public and private sector experts, the NIST released its cybersecurity framework. The framework combines best practices and industry standards to help organizations deal with cybersecurity risks.