About Course
Every organization depends on suppliers to deliver products, services, and critical business operations. From cloud providers and SaaS platforms to AI vendors and outsourced service providers, these relationships enable innovation and growth, but they also introduce cybersecurity, operational, privacy, and compliance risks.
Managing supplier risk is no longer about sending questionnaires once a year. Organizations must continuously assess suppliers, monitor emerging risks, understand fourth-party dependencies, and respond quickly to incidents that could impact business operations.
The Supplier Risk, Fourth-Party Risk & Continuous Monitoring Masterclass from Akitra Academy is a practical, implementation-focused course that teaches you how to build, operate, and continuously improve a modern Supplier Risk Management (SRM) and Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) program.
Rather than focusing on compliance theory or a single framework, this course shows you how to perform supplier security due diligence, classify vendors based on risk, onboard suppliers securely, continuously monitor vendor security posture, manage fourth-party dependencies, respond to supplier incidents, measure supplier risk performance, and scale your program using automation and AI.
Whether you’re supporting ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 42001, HIPAA, NIST, DORA, CMMC, FedRAMP, or your organization’s internal supplier governance program, this course provides a practical methodology for building a resilient, scalable, and continuously monitored supplier risk management program.
What You’ll Learn
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Build and operate a structured Supplier Risk Management (SRM) and Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) program.
- Understand and manage third-party and fourth-party risks across your supplier ecosystem.
- Design supplier governance models, vendor inventories, and risk classification frameworks.
- Perform evidence-based supplier security due diligence and vendor assessments.
- Evaluate suppliers using standardized risk scoring and risk-based onboarding decisions.
- Establish contractual safeguards, approval workflows, and supplier governance processes.
- Continuously monitor supplier security posture, compliance status, certifications, and emerging threats.
- Manage supplier incidents, assess business impact, and implement corrective actions.
- Measure supplier risk performance using KPIs, KRIs, executive dashboards, and audit-ready reporting.
- Scale supplier risk management through automation, AI-assisted assessments, and continuous governance.
Who Should Enroll?
This course is designed for:
- Vendor Risk Managers
- Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) Professionals
- Supplier Risk Managers
- CISOs
- Compliance Managers
- GRC Professionals
- Procurement & Vendor Management Teams
- Information Security Managers
- Enterprise Risk Managers
- Internal Auditors
- Privacy & Data Protection Professionals
- SaaS and Cloud Security Teams
- Organizations building or maturing a supplier risk management program
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this course suitable for beginners?
Yes. While a basic understanding of security, procurement, or compliance is helpful, the course is designed to guide learners through the complete supplier risk lifecycle—from supplier onboarding and security assessments to continuous monitoring and governance.
Does the course cover fourth-party risk?
Yes. You'll learn how to identify fourth-party dependencies, map supplier ecosystems, understand software supply chain risks, and manage the operational impact of indirect suppliers.
Will I learn how to continuously monitor supplier risks?
Absolutely. The course explains how to monitor supplier security posture, certifications, compliance status, external threats, news, and other risk indicators to identify emerging risks before they affect your organization.
Does the course include supplier onboarding and risk treatment?
Yes. You'll learn how to conduct supplier due diligence, evaluate assessment results, apply risk treatment strategies, establish contractual safeguards, and implement structured onboarding workflows based on supplier risk.
Does the course cover AI and automation in supplier risk management?
Yes. The final module demonstrates how automation and AI can streamline supplier assessments, evidence collection, approval workflows, continuous monitoring, predictive risk analysis, and overall supplier governance, helping organizations build a scalable and continuously audit-ready supplier risk management program.
Course Content
Building the Foundation of Supplier Risk Management
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Understanding Third-Party & Fourth-Party Risk
03:48 -
Designing Your Supplier Risk Program
03:53