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Module · External Attack Surface Management (EASM)

Know Your Vendors' Risk. Before It Becomes Yours.

Third-party risk management is the work of finding, assessing and monitoring the cyber risk that comes with your vendors and suppliers. Brandefense is third-party risk management software for continuous vendor risk monitoring. It discovers, watches and scores your entire vendor network, maps vendor attack surfaces and watches dark web signals for early signs of a breach. Your team can act before a supplier becomes your next breach.

  • Constant vendor attack surface monitoring
  • AI-powered dynamic risk scoring
  • Predictive supply chain risk intelligence
  • Helps support DORA & NIS2 rules
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brandefense@easm-ops:~ Example data
$ easm.scan --portfolio=critical-vendors
[CRIT]file-transfer.example :: leaked logins :: grade F
[HIGH]support-desk.example :: remote access exposed :: grade D
[MED]payroll.example :: one open finding :: grade C
[+]48 vendors :: graded A-F :: owners notified
$

Why Is Third-Party Risk Still Not Solved Fast Enough?

The average organization works with hundreds of vendors. Each one is a possible way in. Yet most third-party risk management programs still rely on annual questionnaires, static risk scores and manual review cycles. These methods were outdated the moment they were designed.

Where Traditional TPRM Falls ShortBrandefense Third-Party Risk Management with Dark Web Intelligence
Annual questionnaire scores are outdated the moment they are submitted.Vendor risk is scored continuously from external reconnaissance, beyond static questionnaires.
Static risk scores don't change between assessment cycles, even as threats evolve.Scores update as each vendor's security posture changes.
No visibility into vendor attack surfaces between periodic review cycles.Attack surfaces are mapped daily with real-time change detection.
Dark web exposures go undetected for months. These include credentials, leaked data and IAB listings.Dark web exposures surface before public disclosure. These include credentials, leaked data and IAB listings.
Compliance evidence is point-in-time, not continuous. This falls short of what modern regulators expect.Audit trails log every monitoring cycle. This produces constant DORA and NIS2 evidence.

How Do You Know Every Vendor's Risk and Control Supply Chain Exposure?

An AI-powered third-party risk intelligence service. It moves beyond static questionnaire scores toward constant, predictive vendor risk management.

Capabilities

Third-Party Risk Management Capability Deep Dives.

Vendor Risk · Vendor Risk AssessmentExample

Map Every Vendor's Attack Surface. Automatically. Continuously.

Brandefense automatically finds and maps the external digital footprint of every vendor in your network. This covers domains, subdomains, IP ranges, certificates, open ports and cloud assets. Questionnaire-based reviews capture a single point in time. Brandefense third-party risk management watches vendor attack surfaces around the clock. It alerts your team the moment a vendor's exposure changes.

  • Automated vendor asset discovery: domains, subdomains, IPs, cloud assets and open ports
  • DNS, SSL/TLS, WHOIS and port-based constant review
  • Third-party asset discovery covering assets hosted by partners and vendors
  • Daily discovery cycles with real-time change detection
  • Risk-scored vendor inventory, always current, no manual effort
  • Dark web monitoring for vendor credential leaks, data dumps and breach disclosures, surfaced before public notice
Examplevendor.example → 214 assets mapped
Vendor Risk · AI-Powered Risk ScoringExample

Dynamic Risk Scores That Reflect Reality. Not Last Year's Questionnaire.

Brandefense replaces static risk scores with a scoring engine that updates constantly. It runs on large language models (LLM) and real-time threat signals. Every vendor gets a risk score in context. It reflects current exposure, recent incidents, dark web mentions and active threat intelligence. Dark web signals feed the score directly, including initial access broker (IAB) listings, stolen credential markets and ransomware group victim posts about vendors. Your team gets an accurate view of third-party risk at any moment.

  • LLM-powered semantic risk analysis: understands context, not just keywords
  • Dynamic score updates as vendor security posture changes
  • Multi-signal scoring: attack surface findings, threat intelligence, dark web signals and historical breach data. Dark web signals cover credential leaks, IAB listings and ransomware mentions
  • Risk severity rating (Critical, High, Medium, Low) aligned with real-world exploitability
  • False positive minimization via multi-source validation
Examplesupport-desk.example → B → D
Vendor Risk · Predictive Supply Chain RiskExample

Stop Reacting to Supply Chain Breaches. Start Anticipating Them.

Brandefense third-party risk management goes beyond reports what has already happened. AI-powered forecast models study patterns in vendor behavior, threat actor campaigns, sector-specific attack trends and past breach data. They spot third-party risks before they happen. Dark web intelligence feeds directly into the model, because threat actors often signal their plans hours or days before an attack. Your team gets early warning, with time to act before a vendor becomes a breach vector.

  • AI forecast models trained on supply chain incident patterns and threat actor behavior
  • Early warning signals for vendors showing pre-breach risk indicators
  • Sector threat campaign tracking: finance, energy, telecom, government and manufacturing
  • Trending risk score analysis to identify vendors with worsening security posture
  • Time-series anomaly detection across vendor networks
  • Dark web early warning: IAB listings, ransomware group mentions and stolen access sales targeting vendors are detected before public disclosure
Examplefile-transfer.example → IAB listing
Vendor Risk · Compliance & Audit ReportingExample

Continuous Evidence. Audit-Ready Reports. Helps support DORA and NIS2 requirements.

Brandefense third-party risk management generates constant, detailed, time-stamped evidence of vendor risk oversight. Every monitoring cycle, every risk score update and every fix action is logged with full audit trails. This produces the recorded evidence that regulators and auditors typically ask for. Your team has the evidence ready for a DORA audit, a NIS2 review or an ISO 27001 third-party review. This helps support those rules. It is not assembled under pressure.

  • Constant vendor risk monitoring with recorded oversight trails, helping support DORA rules
  • Third-party risk reports that helps support NIS2 rules: ongoing evidence of control, not point-in-time snapshots
  • Ready-made compliance report templates for regulatory and internal security reviews
  • Full audit trail for all vendor risk score changes and fix actions
  • Executive-ready dashboards summarizing third-party risk posture for board-level reports
ExampleQ3 report → 48 vendors, A–F
How It Works

From Annual Questionnaire to Continuous Intelligence. Automatically.

  1. 01 Discover Brandefense automatically finds and lists all vendors in your network. It maps their external attack surfaces without needing vendor help or manual input. This covers domains, IPs, cloud infrastructure, open services and certificates.
  2. 02 Monitor & Assess Vendor assets are watched in real time across 8 security domains, including DNS, email, SSL/TLS and infrastructure. Supplier credentials leaked in dark web dumps are flagged and scored. They are shown on the vendor risk dashboard.
  3. 03 Score & Predict Brandefense's AI scoring engine creates a risk score in context for each vendor. It combines attack surface findings, live threat intelligence, dark web signals and forecast models. Scores update as conditions change.
  4. 04 Alert & Report Risk alerts and compliance reports arrive through the Brandefense vendor risk dashboard, SIEM/SOAR integrations and API. They come with audit trails, fix recommendations and evidence packages. These help support DORA and NIS2 rules.
Integrations

Brandefense Third-Party Risk Management Delivers Risk Intelligence Where Your Team Works.

An API-first design sends third-party risk intelligence straight into your existing GRC, SIEM, SOAR and ticketing workflows. There are no manual exports and no separate portals.

  • Vendor Risk DashboardCentralized vendor risk overview with drill-down.
  • REST APIProgrammatic access for custom integrations and automation.
  • SIEM IntegrationReal-time risk alerts in your security operations workflow.
  • SOAR IntegrationAutomated response playbooks triggered by vendor risk events.
  • GRC Platform ConnectorsRisk evidence directly into your governance and compliance tools.
  • WebhooksReal-time event streaming to any endpoint.
Who It Is For

Built for Every Stakeholder Who Owns Vendor Risk.

  • 01CISOStrategic third-party risk oversight and board reports.
  • 02Risk & Compliance OfficersConstant evidence and audit trails that help support DORA and NIS2 rules.
  • 03Procurement & Vendor ManagementSecurity posture view before and after onboarding.
  • 04SOC TeamsReal-time alerts on vendor security incidents.
  • 05Finance & BankingHelps support DORA supply chain rules.
  • 06Energy & UtilitiesCritical infrastructure vendor security.
  • 07Telecom & TechnologyComplex multi-tier supplier networks.
  • 08Government & DefenseStrategic supply chain risk management.
Alerting

When Exposure Needs Action.

Pick an alert type to preview the first steps of its How To Defend playbook, then open the full playbook.

Back To Attack Surface Management All Playbooks →

Need a full vendor-risk program? See ThreatWatch, our separate TPRM product.

This alert means something changed in a supplier's outside-facing exposure, or a dark web signal now mentions it. It is a lead, not proof of a breach. First check that the signal is real…

  1. 01SOC analystOpen the alert from the Brandefense third-party risk module and note the signal type, the source, the date and which supplier asset it names
  2. 02SOC analystCheck that the signal belongs to this supplier and is new
  3. 03Vendor managerLook up what data and access this supplier has
  4. 04Security leadAssign the supplier a tier, such as high, medium or low, based on data and access
Open The Playbook

A supplier named on a ransomware leak site may have lost data that includes yours, and attackers may hold access that reaches you. First list what data and access that supplier has. Then limit…

  1. 01SOC analystOpen the alert from the Brandefense third-party risk module and save the listing, date, group name and any sample files
  2. 02Vendor managerPull the contract and list what data, systems and accounts the supplier has
  3. 03IT adminList every connection to the supplier, such as VPN tunnels, API keys, service accounts, shared mailboxes and single sign-on trust
  4. 04Security engineerLimit or cut the riskiest connections and block unused ones
Open The Playbook

A leaked credentials alert means a working login for your staff or customers has appeared in a dark web dump, stealer log or combo list. Attackers feed these pairs into credential stuffing, then take…

  1. 01SOC analystOpen the alert from the Brandefense dark web monitoring module and record the exact email, source and date
  2. 02SOC analystDecide if the account is an employee, a customer or a service account
  3. 03IT adminForce a password reset and end all active sessions for the account
  4. 04IT adminCheck that MFA (a second proof of identity at login) is on, and review recent sign-ins
Open The Playbook
Related Research

Related Research.

Explore All Research →
Key Takeaways
  • Third-party risk management means finding, assessing and monitoring the cyber risk your vendors bring.
  • Brandefense discovers vendors, maps their attack surfaces and scores them constantly instead of once a year.
  • Monitoring is external and non-intrusive, so it does not depend on vendor help.
  • Reports are built to support DORA and NIS2 oversight with audit trails.

Questions About Third-Party Risk Management.

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Updated 28 Sep 2026
  • What is Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM)?

    Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) is the process of identifying, assessing and constantly monitoring the cybersecurity and operational risks posed by external vendors, suppliers and partners. Brandefense automates and modernizes TPRM. It replaces annual questionnaire cycles with constant, AI-powered vendor risk monitoring. It gives companies real-time view into their entire third-party network.

  • Why is TPRM critical for organizations today?

    Supply chains have become a primary attack vector. Threat actors more and more target vendors and partners as entry points into larger companies. At the same time, regulations such as DORA and NIS2 now expect constant oversight of third-party cyber risk. Traditional TPRM built on annual questionnaires and manual reviews is no longer enough for either security or compliance.

  • How does Brandefense approach Third-Party Risk Management?

    Brandefense takes a constant, external reconnaissance method to TPRM. It does not rely on questionnaire answers from vendors. Brandefense automatically finds and maps every vendor's external attack surface. It watches the surface around the clock and scores risk in real time with AI-driven analysis. This gives companies an always-current, fact-based view of their third-party risk exposure.

  • Does Brandefense third-party risk management help support DORA and NIS2 requirements?

    Yes. Brandefense third-party risk management helps support regulatory rules for constant third-party risk monitoring. These include the EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and the NIS2 Directive. Both require companies to show ongoing oversight of third-party cyber risk. Brandefense provides constant evidence gathering, audit-ready reports and a recorded vendor risk posture. It supports your compliance work but does not by itself make an organization compliant.

  • How does Brandefense monitor vendor risk without requiring vendor cooperation?

    Brandefense works through external, non-intrusive reconnaissance, using the same techniques an attacker would use. It studies the visible from outside digital footprint of each vendor. This covers domains, subdomains, open services, certificates, IP ranges and more. From this it builds and keeps updating a risk profile for each vendor. It needs no vendor input, API access or questionnaire.

  • What types of organizations use Brandefense third-party risk management?

    Brandefense third-party risk management is used by companies with complex vendor networks and high regulatory exposure. They are mainly in financial services (DORA), energy and utilities (critical infrastructure), telecommunications, manufacturing, government and defense. Main users include CISOs, Risk and Compliance Officers, Procurement and Vendor Management Leads, and SOC teams. These teams are responsible for third-party security incidents.

  • How does Brandefense detect vendor credential leaks on the dark web?

    Brandefense constantly watches dark web sources for vendor credential leaks, data dumps and breach disclosures. It surfaces them before public notice. Dark web signals go straight into each vendor's risk score. They include initial access broker (IAB) listings, stolen credential markets and ransomware group victim posts about vendors. Threat actors often signal their plans there hours or days before an attack. Security teams get an early warning window to act before a compromised supplier becomes a breach vector.

  • What is a vendor attack surface?

    It is the external digital footprint of a vendor. This covers domains, subdomains, IP ranges, certificates, open ports and cloud assets. Brandefense discovers and maps it automatically, without requiring vendor help or manual input.

  • How often is vendor risk updated?

    Continuously. Vendor assets are monitored around the clock with daily discovery cycles and real-time change detection. Risk scores update as conditions change, instead of waiting for the next annual questionnaire.

  • Which tools can Brandefense send vendor risk alerts to?

    Brandefense delivers risk intelligence through its dashboard, a REST API, SIEM and SOAR integrations, GRC platform connectors and webhooks. Alerts reach the workflows your team already uses.

  • What should I do if a supplier appears on a ransomware leak site?

    Start by listing what data, systems and accounts that supplier has. Then limit or cut the riskiest connections and rotate shared secrets. Ask the supplier in writing for facts, and warn staff about phishing that may use the leaked data. The How To Defend playbook on suppliers on a leak site has the full steps.