A professional streaming platform for content creators to host, manage, and monetize educational video courses in a secure, sleek marketplace.

Third-Party Cybersecurity Risk Assessment and Auditing

Preview locked — enroll to start watching.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

Third-Party Cybersecurity Risk Assessment and Auditing

Assess vendor risk. Test security controls. Report defensible conclusions.

by eSafeguards Consulting Inc. · all levels · specialized · 12–15 hours · Premium

Who this course is for: Beginners entering cybersecurity GRC; cybersecurity and GRC professionals; third-party and vendor risk analysts; internal and IT auditors; information security analysts; compliance and risk professionals; procurement and vendor-management professionals; privacy and data-protection professionals; business owners responsible for technology vendors; and consultants performing vendor risk assessments.

A practical, self-paced professional course covering the assessment and auditing of cybersecurity risks and controls associated with third-party technology service providers — from vendor intake and inherent-risk tiering through control testing, audit workpapers, findings, and remediation validation.

Progress from beginner to advanced as you assess and audit the cybersecurity risk of third-party technology providers. You will identify vendor risk, calculate inherent risk and tier vendors, scope risk-based assessments, run security questionnaires and vendor interviews, evaluate evidence and SOC 2 / ISO 27001 assurance, test controls with documented sampling, write defensible findings and audit workpapers, and validate remediation. The course is built around a single evolving case study — SecureOps Managed Services — and a persistent Assessment and Audit Workbench. A risk assessment identifies and evaluates cybersecurity exposure; an audit independently tests whether controls are appropriately designed and operating effectively; a compliance review evaluates adherence to specified requirements; and a questionnaire response alone is never sufficient evidence that a control operates effectively.

What you'll be able to do

Explain how third parties create cybersecurity risk.
Differentiate between a cybersecurity assessment, audit and compliance review.
Collect vendor intake and business-context information.
Calculate inherent risk and assign a vendor tier.
Determine when a questionnaire, evidence review or formal audit is required.
Scope a risk-based third-party cybersecurity assessment.
Design and evaluate vendor security questions.
Conduct a vendor clarification interview.
Request and evaluate relevant cybersecurity evidence.
Review SOC 2 reports and ISO 27001 certifications.
Distinguish between missing evidence and a failed control.
Evaluate control design and operating effectiveness.
Develop a risk and control matrix.
Write step-by-step cybersecurity audit procedures.
Select and document audit samples.
Test third-party cybersecurity controls.
Document audit workpapers and exceptions.
Rate risks and write defensible findings.
Recommend approval, conditional approval, remediation, escalation, risk acceptance or rejection.
Validate remediation and close findings.
Prepare an executive assessment or audit report.

Course modules

Module 1: Third-Party Cybersecurity Risk Fundamentals

Level 1 — Foundation. Understand what a third party is, how technology vendors create cybersecurity risk, and the difference between a risk assessment, an audit, and a compliance review.

Module 2: Vendor Intake, Risk Tiering and Assessment Triggers

Level 1 — Foundation. Classify vendor information and access, calculate inherent risk, assign a vendor tier, and determine when a questionnaire, evidence review, or formal audit is required.

Module 3: Planning and Scoping the Cybersecurity Assessment

Level 2 — Practitioner. Define assessment objectives, scope, control domains, exclusions, and evidence requirements for a risk-based third-party cybersecurity assessment.

Module 4: Security Questionnaires and Vendor Interviews

Level 2 — Practitioner. Design clear, testable security questions, run a vendor clarification interview with professional skepticism, and document follow-up.

Module 5: Evidence and Independent Assurance Review

Level 2 — Practitioner. Evaluate evidence for sufficiency, reliability, and currency, and review SOC 2 and ISO 27001 assurance reports including scope, exceptions, and bridge letters.

Module 6: Risk Analysis, Findings and Assessment Decisions

Level 2 — Practitioner. Distinguish missing evidence from failed controls, rate risk, develop defensible findings, and recommend approval, remediation, risk acceptance, or rejection.

Module 7: Planning a Third-Party Cybersecurity Audit

Level 3 — Advanced Audit Practice. Plan a risk-based third-party cybersecurity audit: objective, criteria, scope, risk-and-control matrix, and engagement memorandum.

Module 8: Testing Third-Party Cybersecurity Controls

Level 3 — Advanced Audit Practice. Test control design and operating effectiveness using inquiry, inspection, observation, reperformance, and technical validation, with documented sampling.

Module 9: Audit Working Papers, Findings and Reporting

Level 3 — Advanced Audit Practice. Complete audit workpapers, develop findings (condition, criteria, cause, consequence), and prepare an executive audit report.

Module 10: Remediation Validation and Ongoing Assurance

Level 3 — Advanced Audit Practice. Validate remediation evidence, close or retest findings, and design an ongoing assurance and continuous-monitoring plan.

Course updates

Frequently asked questions

No. The course begins with fundamentals and progresses to advanced audit practice, so learners can start without previous vendor-risk or auditing experience.