This article appeared in Cybersecurity Law & Strategy, an ALM publication for privacy and security professionals, Chief Information Security Officers, Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Corporate Counsel, Internet and Tech Practitioners, In-House Counsel. Visit the website to learn more.

recent study of 600 IT and security decision-makers revealed that though 60% of organizations have formal third-party risk policies, 44% of them have experienced a significant breach caused by a vendor. This is disturbing in itself, revealing a major discrepancy between the third-party policies organizations espouse and those policies’ effectiveness. But what’s more, only half of firms discontinued their relationship with the guilty vendor, and 69% did not change the risk policies that had just failed them.