vendor-risk

name

vendor-risk

description

ACTIVATE when integrating a new service, API, SaaS tool, SDK, npm/pip/maven package, Docker image, or any third-party dependency — or when discussing suppliers, vendors, processor agreements, or supply chain security. Also activate on imports from unknown packages or adding external webhooks/endpoints. Ensures every new vendor or dependency is assessed against the org's critical assets, data residency, and NIS2 Art. 21(2)(d) supply chain requirements.

Vendor Risk Management

Every new integration is a supply chain decision. No vendor gets access without assessment.

Storage

• Vendor assessments: .compliance/vendors/VND-YYYY-NNN-slug.json — one file per assessment
• Approved vendor summary: profile.json → suppliers[] — kept in sync after approval

Vendor assessment record

One JSON per vendor assessment. Created on first contact, updated through lifecycle.

{
  "assessment_id": "VND-2026-001-hubspot",
  "vendor_name": "HubSpot",
  "status": "proposed | under-review | approved | conditional | rejected | offboarded",
  "assessed_at": "ISO 8601",
  "assessed_by": "agent | user",
  "type": "saas | infra | service | library | api",
  "data_shared": ["klantdata", "email", "contactgegevens"],
  "criticality": "critical | important | standard",
  "touches_critical_assets": ["Klant-administratiedata (CRM)"],
  "checks": {
    "dpa_signed": false,
    "hosting_location": "EU (Ireland)",
    "hosting_compliant": true,
    "certification": "SOC2 Type II",
    "access_scope": "API read/write to CRM contacts",
    "least_privilege": true,
    "exit_strategy": "CSV export available"
  },
  "decision": "approved | conditional | rejected",
  "decision_reasoning": "Why this decision was made",
  "conditions": ["DPA must be signed before go-live"],
  "review_date": "ISO 8601 — next scheduled review",
  "timeline": [
    { "timestamp": "ISO 8601", "action": "what happened", "actor": "who" }
  ]
}

Vendor lifecycle

1. Identify

When the agent detects a new vendor (user mentions a tool, code imports a new SDK, API call to unknown service):

• Check profile.suppliers — is this vendor already known?
• If unknown: flag immediately and start the assessment

2. Assess

Check	Question	Fail =
Data flow	What data does this vendor access or receive?	If it touches a critical asset → criticality = critical
DPA/processor agreement	Is a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) signed?	Required if personal data is shared (GDPR Art. 28)
Hosting location	Where is data stored/processed?	If org has data residency constraints → check compliance
Security posture	Does the vendor have ISO 27001, SOC2 Type II, or equivalent?	No certification for critical vendor = HIGH risk
Access scope	What systems/APIs does the vendor need access to? Least privilege?	Broader than necessary = flag
Exit strategy	Can you extract your data and switch vendors?	Vendor lock-in on critical asset = risk

3. Decide

Outcome	When	Action
Approve	All checks pass, DPA in place, hosting compliant	Add to profile.suppliers with status "approved"
Conditional	Minor gaps (e.g. DPA pending, certification in progress)	Approve with deadline for remediation, flag for follow-up
Reject	Fails data residency, no DPA possible, touches critical asset without security posture	Do not integrate. Log decision via audit-logging

4. Monitor

• Set contract_review_date — review vendors annually at minimum, critical vendors every 6 months
• When a vendor's certification expires or a breach is disclosed: re-assess
• Track vendor incidents — if a vendor reports a breach, start incident-management lifecycle

5. Offboard

When a vendor relationship ends:

• Revoke all access (API keys, accounts, network access)
• Verify data deletion or return per DPA terms
• Set offboard_date and status: "offboarded"
• Log via audit-logging

Triggers for the agent

The agent flags a vendor risk event when:

• Code imports a new external dependency (pip install, npm install, new API client)
• User discusses integrating a new SaaS tool
• Code makes HTTP calls to a domain not in the approved supplier list
• A vendor's contract_review_date is past due
• The agent discovers an undocumented data flow to an external service

Agent instructions

1. When a new vendor or service appears in conversation or code, check profile.suppliers. Unknown = create assessment record in .compliance/vendors/ and start the lifecycle.
2. Cross-reference vendor data access against profile.critical_assets. Touches a critical asset = criticality=critical.
3. Check data residency constraints from profile.constraints. Flag hosting location violations.
4. For every vendor decision, log an ADR via audit-logging (policy_ref: "NIS2 Art. 21(2)(d)").
5. On approval: add vendor to profile.suppliers and set review_date.
6. Remind about overdue reviews based on review_date.
7. On offboard: verify access revocation, update assessment record, set status "offboarded".