Prefer ICT products which have been certified and evaluated by a trusted third party

The organization has defined the certifications or standards required of key partners. Commonly recognized standards related to cyber security include:

• ISO 27001 (information security management system)
• SOC2 (general security, also called SSAE 16)
• ISO 27701 (data protection management system)
• ISO 27017 (cyber security in cloud services) or ISO 27018 (data protection in cloud services)
• other popular e.g. NIST (general), CSA (cloud software), PCI DSS (card payments and data)

Certifications required from partners can make organization's own partner management more efficient and provide good evidence of a particular level of security or privacy of the partner.