Key Third-Party Risks to Watch in 2025

As 2025 unfolds, organizations find themselves grappling with an increasingly complex web of third-party risks. Driven by rapid technological advancements, geopolitical tensions, and heightened regulatory scrutiny, businesses must adopt innovative and resilient strategies to safeguard their operations. Is your team prepared to tackle third-party risks?

This blog explores the key emerging third-party risks for 2025 and provides actionable insights to strengthen your third-party risk management (TPRM) strategy.

2025 Third-Party Risk Trends

The three core risk domains we increasingly see are artificial intelligence (AI), operational resilience, and incident response. Within each domain are unique risks that organizations need to account for.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence (AI) stands as both a transformative technology and a potential risk minefield. While its integration promises efficiency and innovation, it also opens the door to new risks, including:

• Cyber Risks: AI systems are vulnerable to novel cyber threats, such as prompt injection attacks and data poisoning, which can compromise the integrity of AI models.
• Data Quality and Accuracy: Poor data quality can lead to inaccurate AI outputs, increasing operational risks.
• Ethical Concerns: Issues around ethical AI usage, data privacy, and algorithmic bias are under intense scrutiny.

Regulatory bodies around the world are responding to these challenges. For instance, the EU AI Act and NIST AI Risk Management Framework emphasize the need for governance, transparency, and accountability in AI deployments. These measures aim to foster trust in AI systems while mitigating the risks they bring to the table.

Operational Resilience

Operational resilience, too, is taking center stage. As supply chains grow more interconnected, the increased dependency on third and fourth-party vendors poses significant risks and challenges, such as:

• Supply Chain Stability: These dependencies create significant vulnerabilities where a single disruption can cascade across the entire operation.
• Concentration Risks: Over-reliance on a limited number of suppliers can severely impact business continuity.
• Infrastructure challenges: Infrastructure failures and outages, like the 2024 Crowdstrike incident, highlight the fragility of interconnected systems.
• Compliance Risks: Regulatory frameworks like the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) stress the importance of resilience planning and third-party oversight.

Ensuring business continuity and demonstrating regulatory compliance requires robust planning and proactive strategies.

Incident Response – Vendor Cybersecurity Threats

Equally pressing is the issue of incident response. Third-party data breaches are surging, with a reported 49% year-on-year increase. These breaches often stem from inadequate monitoring of vendors, leaving organizations vulnerable to ransomware, phishing attacks, and unauthorized data access. Alarmingly, TPRM programs actively manage only 33% of vendors, which can create significant blind spots.

Three areas of concern include:

1. Growing Threat Landscape: Ransomware attacks and data breaches increasingly target vendor ecosystems.
2. Communication and Recovery: Managing cyber incidents involving third parties necessitates seamless communication across all stakeholders and comprehensive recovery planning.
3. Regulatory Pressure: Directives like NIS2 in the EU outline clear guidelines for cyber incident preparedness, reporting, and recovery.

Proactive Strategies for Mitigating 2025 Third-Party Risks

Emerging risks in AI, operational resilience, and incident response demand proactive and adaptive strategies. Consider the following:

1. Centralize Data and Insights

Centralizing data from third-party vendors is no longer a luxury but a necessity. By bringing all third-party risk information into a unified platform, organizations can enhance transparency, streamline decision-making, and create a single source of truth. This consolidation allows risk management teams to spot trends and identify risks in real time.

2. Foster Cross-Functional Collaboration

Siloed teams hinder effective risk management. Cross-departmental collaboration—involving IT, Legal, Governance, and Risk Management—is essential for addressing complex third-party ecosystems. When decision-makers share a unified view of vendor risks, organizations can act decisively and minimize delays in their response.

3. Enhance Supply Chain Visibility

Supply chain visibility must extend beyond immediate vendors to include fourth parties and beyond. Advanced tools and technologies allow organizations to map and monitor their supply chain dependencies comprehensively. This visibility enables you to identify potential disruptions early, providing time to implement mitigation strategies.

4. Automate Ongoing Vendor Monitoring

Gone are the days when periodic vendor reviews sufficed. The rapid evolution of technology and regulation demands a continuous approach to monitoring. Automated tools allow organizations to track vendor performance, compliance, and emerging risks with unprecedented accuracy. Leverage external threat intelligence for comprehensive risk coverage. Continuous monitoring facilitates early warning systems, enabling proactive mitigation before minor issues escalate into significant problems.

5. Align with Global Regulatory Standards

Leveraging established frameworks like ISO 27001 and NIST CSF ensures alignment with global regulatory landscapes. These frameworks not only ensure compliance but also enhance resilience and communication strategies. For example, adopting ISO 27001 can streamline compliance efforts across multiple jurisdictions, reducing redundancies and enabling smoother audits. Organizations can strengthen their risk management capabilities by incorporating regulatory compliance into existing processes without overhauling entire systems.

Key Takeaways

• Emerging risks in AI, operational resilience, and incident response demand proactive and adaptive strategies.
• Centralizing third-party data, leveraging continuous monitoring, and aligning with established frameworks are crucial for effective risk management.
• Regulatory compliance should integrate into existing processes, reducing the need for drastic overhauls.

Next Steps

The third-party risk landscape in 2025 is both challenging and full of opportunities. Organizations that proactively address emerging risks, leverage advanced technologies, and foster collaboration will be better equipped to thrive in this dynamic environment.

Investing in robust TPRM strategies today can safeguard your business against tomorrow’s uncertainties. Don’t wait for risks to materialize—act now to build resilience and trust in your third-party relationships.

Optimize your TPRM strategy for 2025. Contact us or request a demo today to learn how our solutions can help you stay ahead of the curve.