Key steps to scaling automated compliance while maintaining security

In this Help Net Security interview, Vivek Agarwal, Privacy Program Manager at Meta Platforms, shares insights on strategies for reducing time to market, improving vendor onboarding, and updating privacy requirements to ensure compliance across third-party contracts.

From leveraging automation and AI-driven tools to streamline vendor onboarding to practical strategies for updating thousands of contracts with evolving privacy requirements, this interview explores actionable solutions for organizations aiming to build scalable compliance frameworks.

What are organizations’ most common challenges when scaling automated compliance programs across large vendor portfolios?

Scaling automated compliance programs across large vendor networks is no small endeavor. While automation promises efficiency, organizations often stumble over several key hurdles when trying to expand these programs.

The first major challenge is technical – getting all the pieces to work together smoothly. Organizations need to pull data from countless sources: vendor questionnaires, risk ratings, internal reviews, and more. Making all this data play nicely together requires careful mapping and standardization. When data comes in different formats or isn’t consistent, it becomes much harder to spot and address potential risks.

The operational side presents its own headaches. Getting vendors onboarded and actively participating in the program takes time and effort. Even with automation, conducting thorough risk assessments isn’t quick or easy. And if vendors drag their feet or provide incomplete information, it can throw a wrench in the whole process.

Then there’s the challenge of making these programs fit each organization’s unique needs. Every business has its own risk tolerance and regulatory requirements to consider. Configuring automated systems to handle these specific needs isn’t simple – it requires deep expertise and considerable resources.

Managing change across a large vendor portfolio is another significant challenge. When new regulations come out or risk assessment criteria change, organizations need to update their processes quickly and effectively. This means clearly communicating changes to everyone involved and making sure they understand what’s needed. Poor handling of these changes can lead to confusion and mistakes. For example, companies struggled to adapt to changing GDPR requirements for vendors quickly, resulting in fines. By implementing a change management framework, they could have ensured timely updates and reduced compliance risks.

Finally, there’s the ever-present question of money. Running these programs properly requires adequate staff and funding. Many organizations struggle to justify these investments, even though the cost of not being compliant could be far higher. For instance, a tech company I collaborated with initially prioritized rapid product shipping over investing in compliance programs. However, after facing multiple fines from various regulatory bodies and suffering reputational damage, they realized the cost of non-compliance far outweighed the investment. By dedicating resources to compliance, they significantly reduced risks and improved overall efficiency.

Success really comes down to having a solid strategy: investing in technology that can grow with you, building strong relationships with your vendors, and making sure your team is well-trained and supported. Getting all of these pieces of the puzzle right is critical for maintaining effective compliance as your vendor network grows.

What strategies can organizations use to reduce the Time to Market for vendor risk assessments?

Speed is key when assessing vendor risks, and there are several practical ways to cut down the time it takes while still maintaining thorough oversight. The key is taking a smart, layered approach that matches the depth of assessment to the actual risk level of each vendor.

Start by sorting vendors into three tiers. Your highest-risk vendors need a comprehensive review, while medium-risk vendors can use standardized questionnaires, and low-risk vendors can complete simpler self-assessments. This prevents wasting resources on deep dives where they’re not needed. For instance, a financial institution can classify its payment processing vendor as high-risk, requiring an on-site audit, while its office supply vendor is low-risk, needing only a self-assessment.

You can streamline the process further by having vendors fill out initial questionnaires about their business, compliance status, and potential risks. This gives you the basic information needed to guide more detailed evaluations. Using established frameworks like NIST or ISO also helps – they provide ready-made criteria that are widely accepted in the industry.

Modern technology can speed things up considerably. Automation and AI tools can gather vendor data quickly and flag potential issues that need human attention. Building a library of vendor risk profiles also pays off over time – you’re not starting from scratch with each assessment, and you can track how vendor risk levels change.
Clear communication is essential throughout the process. Having dedicated contacts and regular check-ins keeps things moving and helps address any issues quickly. It also builds better relationships with your vendors, making future assessments smoother.

When all these pieces work together, you get faster vendor onboarding without compromising on risk management. You can make better-informed decisions about your vendors while using your resources more efficiently. The end result is stronger vendor relationships and better protection for your organization.

How can automation and AI-driven tools contribute to speeding up vendor onboarding without compromising security?

Automation and AI tools can significantly speed up vendor onboarding while also keeping security standards high. Think of these tools as a smart assistant that handles the time-consuming parts of the process, freeing up your team to focus on critical decision-making.

The heavy lifting really starts with data collection. Instead of manually gathering vendor information, automated systems can pull in everything from financial records to security certifications through online forms and direct system connections. This not only saves time but also reduces the chance of human error in data entry.

AI takes this a step further by analyzing vendor risk profiles much faster than any human could. It sorts through vast quantities of data to find potential issues from a history of data breaches to suspicious activity patterns. When something concerning is found, it flags it for human review, which ensures important issues don’t slip through the cracks.

Traditionally one of the biggest bottlenecks, contract review becomes much more manageable with these tools. Advanced language processing can quickly scan through complex legal documents, highlighting any unusual terms or missing clauses that need attention. This can turn days of legal review into hours.

Perhaps most importantly, these systems keep working even after a vendor is onboarded. They continuously monitor for new risks or changes in vendor behavior, allowing your team to respond quickly to emerging threats rather than waiting for the next scheduled review.

The results can be remarkable. I’ve seen companies cut their vendor onboarding time by three-quarters while actually improving the accuracy of their risk assessments. Contract reviews that used to take weeks can now be completed in days.

By embracing automation and AI, organizations can achieve remarkable results, such as in one of the companies I worked with, it led to 75% reduction in vendor onboarding time, 90% accuracy in data collection, and 70% reduction in contract review time.

When implemented thoughtfully, automation and AI don’t just speed things up – they create a more thorough and reliable vendor management process that can scale with your business while keeping security at the forefront.

What practical steps can organizations take to update privacy requirements across thousands of third-party contracts?

Keeping thousands of vendor contracts up to date with privacy requirements is a massive headache for organizations, especially in the ever-evolving regulatory landscape, including GDPR, CCPA, and emerging data protection laws. Failure to comply can result in significant fines, reputational damage, and loss of customer trust. Here’s what I’d recommend to organizations:

Start by getting organized. Map out all your existing contracts and create template privacy language you can use across the board. This saves you from reinventing the wheel each time.

Technology can help shoulder some of the burden. Contract analysis software can quickly flag which agreements need attention, letting you focus first on vendors who handle your most sensitive data.

You’ll need to bring your vendors along for the ride. Keep communication lines open about what’s changing and why. The smoothest path is often to work these updates into natural renewal cycles, though sometimes you’ll need separate amendments.

The work isn’t done once contracts are signed. Regular check-ins ensure vendors actually follow through on their privacy commitments.

Breaking it down into these steps makes a daunting task more manageable. The goal is protecting sensitive data without grinding business to a halt.

What key metrics should C-level executives focus on to monitor and communicate third-party risk?

When it comes to third-party risk, C-suite leaders need clear visibility into what matters most. Here are the metrics that tell the real story:

Risk spread is crucial – know how many of your vendors fall into high, medium, and low-risk buckets. This shows where your biggest exposures lie and where to focus resources.

Keep tabs on whether risk assessments are actually getting done. Missing assessments mean blind spots in your risk picture. Track how long it takes to get new vendors up and running too – delays here can hurt business momentum.

Vendor behavior tells you a lot. Are they meeting your requirements? How quickly do they respond to assessments and fix problems? These indicators show which partnerships need attention.

When incidents happen (and they will), response time is critical. Track it. Poor incident handling can turn small problems into major headaches.

Finally, watch your return on investment. Risk management isn’t cheap – you need to show it’s delivering value. Hard numbers here help justify continued investment to the board.

These metrics give you a practical dashboard for staying on top of third-party risk and explaining it clearly to stakeholders. What matters is catching problems early and knowing your defenses work.