Securing Vendor Risk Management Onboarding in 2024 | UpGuard

### Executive Summary This document is a practical guide for building and securing a vendor onboarding policy, covering benefits, key components (selection criteria, compliance controls, risk assessment, communication, metrics, training, documentation, review, and escalation), cybersecurity challenges (data security, breach exposure, third-party and compliance risks), a 10-step policy creation workflow, and a 4-step approach to secure onboarding in 2025 that emphasizes stringent requirements, thorough due diligence, vendor tiering, and automation.