Exploring the Galink Assessment in Depth

In today’s interconnected digital economy, third-party vendors often serve as both partners and potential points of vulnerability. For organizations striving to stay resilient against evolving cyber threats, understanding and managing third-party cyber risk is no longer optional—it’s a strategic imperative. At Galink, we created the Galink Assessment to provide a reliable, structured, and expert-driven way to evaluate vendor cybersecurity maturity.

What Is the Galink Assessment?

The Galink Assessment is a managed evaluation service that analyzes a supplier’s cybersecurity posture using a rigorous, expert-developed framework. Unlike simple checkbox audits or generic questionnaires, this assessment combines a detailed security questionnaire, evidence review, and analyst interpretation to deliver a comprehensive picture of a vendor’s cyber resilience. It is designed to reflect emerging risks and regulations like the AI Act and beyond.

Our clients rely on the Galink Assessment as an extension of their own risk management functions—giving them the ability to screen, evaluate, and monitor vendors with confidence.

Grounded in International Standards

The Galink Assessment is not a black box. It is explicitly aligned with two of the most respected cybersecurity standards globally:

• NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF): Our scoring is mapped to the five core functions—Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond

• ISO/IEC 27001: Our scoring is aligned with the category-based approach of ISO/IEC 27002.

This dual alignment ensures that our methodology is not only robust but also recognized by both technical and procurement professionals worldwide.

Performance That Speaks for Itself

We understand that security assessments must be timely and frictionless. As of today, our managed service delivers:

• Average turnaround time of 9 business days

• Supplier satisfaction score of 8.8/10, indicating strong collaboration and clarity

• Covering vendors across SaaS, cloud infrastructure, OT, IOT, Services and more

We work closely with both our clients and their vendors to ensure the process is respectful, insightful, and efficient.

A Reliable and Expert-Led Methodology

What makes the Galink Assessment serious and trustworthy?

• Expert Analysts: Every report is reviewed and interpreted by a cybersecurity expert—not just automatically scored.

• Evidence-Based Review: We don’t rely solely on self-declared answers. Vendors are asked to provide documentation or screen-sharing evidence when appropriate.

• Transparent Scoring Model: We apply a clear rating system (A to F, with a numeric score out of 100), coupled with written analyst comments to contextualize results.

Our scoring model emphasizes both current security controls and organizational maturity. The result: an actionable and nuanced risk profile—not just a pass/fail verdict.

A Sample Case: Translating Insight into Action

To illustrate how our assessment delivers value, consider this anonymized (yet real) result from a vendor assessment completed in March 2025:

Vendor Score: 74/100 – C Rating (Moderate)

Strengths:

• MFA enabled across all systems

• Full suite of policies in place

• ISO 27001 certification in progress

Weaknesses:

• No Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)

• No penetration testing conducted

• Limited incident detection capabilities

Score Breakdown (NIST categories):

• Govern: B (86)

• Identify: B (83)

• Protect: B (89)

• Detect: F (28)

• Respond: C (65)

Analyst Summary:

“The vendor demonstrates strong governance and protection controls but falls short on detection capabilities. We recommend implementing an EDR solution and scheduling regular penetration tests to elevate detection maturity.”

This kind of granular insight helps our clients make informed decisions—not only about accepting or rejecting a vendor but about risk-based segmentation, contractual controls, and remediation plans.

Why It Matters: Turning Risk Data Into Risk Management

The Galink Assessment goes beyond compliance. It provides a true lens into how secure your vendors really are, aligned with business impact.

Here's what our clients gain:

• Confidence in vendor security levels—backed by objective data

• Clarity on where cyber risks lie across their supplier base

• Control to prioritize follow-ups, remediation, and contractual safeguards

For procurement teams, the Galink Assessment streamlines due diligence without compromising depth. For CISOs and risk managers, it provides a structured, standards-aligned foundation for vendor risk management programs.

Conclusion: A Better Way to Evaluate and Manage Third-Party Cyber Risk

As supply chains grow more digital and interdependent, managing cyber risk at the vendor level is mission-critical. The Galink Assessment offers a scalable, credible, and evidence-backed way to understand and mitigate those risks.

Whether you're onboarding a new vendor, reassessing a critical supplier, or building out your third-party risk program, Galink brings the methodology, expertise, and transparency needed to protect your organization.

Let’s make third-party cybersecurity a shared responsibility—and a strategic advantage.