Published Paper Details:

In today's interconnected digital ecosystem, organizations increasingly rely on third-party vendors and service providers for critical IT and business operations. However, these vendor relationships expose organizations to significant cybersecurity and compliance risks. Existing Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) tools are often expensive, complex, and lack transparency in their scoring methodologies, making them impractical for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs). This research proposes SecureVendor, a lightweight, transparent, and explainable TPRM framework that enables organizations to assess, monitor, and track vendor risks effectively. The proposed system introduces an explainable risk scoring mechanism, vendor remediation tracking, and continuous alerting features to address current gaps. The study uses both secondary (literature) and primary (public survey) research methods to evaluate the challenges and expectations of professionals in the cybersecurity and compliance domains. Findings from the survey validate the hypothesis that SMEs require more accessible, transparent, and action-oriented TPRM solutions.