Your Phoenix business is growing. Congratulations. You’re signing up for new software, onboarding new payroll providers, maybe finally getting that fancy CRM you’ve been eyeing. Every new vendor promises to make your life easier.
Here’s the part they don’t mention in the sales pitch: every vendor you add is another door into your business. Another set of hands touching your data. Another potential headline waiting to happen.
We’ve talked before about the Convenience Tax: the hidden cost of cutting security corners. Vendor relationships are no different. That slick demo and competitive pricing mean nothing if their security posture is held together with duct tape and good intentions.
So before you hand over your customer data, your financials, or your employee records, ask these six questions. And pay attention to how they answer: because the squirming tells you everything.
1. “What’s Your Plan When (Not If) You Get Hit?”
Notice the wording here. Not if they experience a security incident. When.
Any vendor who acts offended by this question is either naive or lying. Breaches happen to Fortune 500 companies with billion-dollar security budgets. They happen to the little guys too. What matters is whether your vendor has a documented incident response plan: and whether they’ve actually tested it.
You want to know:
- How quickly will they detect a breach?
- What’s their timeline for notifying you specifically?
- Who’s responsible for what during an incident?
- Have they ever run a tabletop exercise or simulation?
Bullshit Detector
Red flag: “We take security very seriously.” (That’s not a plan, that’s a press release.)
Bigger red flag: “We’ve never had an incident.” (Either they’re lying, they’re not looking hard enough, or they’re about to have a really bad day.)
Green flag: They hand you a documented IR plan, tell you about their last drill, and explain exactly how you’d be notified.
2. “Can I See Your Current SOC 2 or HIPAA Audit?”
Words are cheap. Certifications cost money, time, and actual effort. If a vendor claims they’re “compliant” with anything, they should be able to prove it with an independent audit: not a self-assessment, not a checkbox on their website.
SOC 2 Type II is the gold standard for service organizations. It means an independent auditor verified their security controls over a period of time (usually 6-12 months). If you’re in healthcare, ask for HIPAA attestation. If they’re handling payment data, PCI-DSS.
The key word here is current. A SOC 2 from 2019 is wallpaper, not proof.
Bullshit Detector
Red flag: “We’re working toward certification.” (Translation: We haven’t done it yet.)
Bigger red flag: “We follow SOC 2 principles.” (That’s like saying you follow the principles of being a doctor. Show me the license.)
Green flag: They email you the report within 24 hours. No hesitation.
3. “Where Is My Data Living and Who Is Touching It?”
This question has two parts, and both matter.
Part one: Location. Is your data sitting in a U.S.-based data center, or is it bouncing through servers in countries with… let’s say, different privacy standards? Data residency matters for compliance, for legal jurisdiction, and for your customers’ peace of mind.
Part two: Access. Which humans at the vendor can actually see your data? Is it everyone in support? Just senior engineers? How do they control who gets access: and how do they audit it?
The best vendors use role-based access control (RBAC), meaning employees only see what they absolutely need. Access should be time-bound, logged, and audited: not “standing” access that lives forever.
Bullshit Detector
Red flag: “Our team has access as needed.” (Needed by whom? For what? Forever?)
Bigger red flag: They can’t tell you where your data physically resides.
Green flag: They explain their access control model, name specific data center regions, and mention regular access audits.
4. “How Do You Stop Your Own Team From Falling for Phishing?”
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: most breaches don’t start with some genius hacker in a hoodie. They start with Karen in accounting clicking a bad link because she was in a rush.
Your vendor’s technical controls mean nothing if their own employees are the weak link. Ask them:
- Do they run regular phishing simulations?
- What security awareness training do they require?
- How do they handle an employee who fails a test?
This question reveals whether they treat security as a checkbox or a culture. The difference matters when their compromised employee has access to your data.
Bullshit Detector
Red flag: “We did a training last year.” (Threats evolve monthly. Annual training is a participation trophy.)
Bigger red flag: Blank stare. They’ve never thought about it.
Green flag: They describe ongoing training, regular simulations, and a process for handling failures: without shaming employees into hiding mistakes.
5. “If We Break Up, How Do I Get My Data Back: and How Do You Delete the Rest?”
Relationships end. Sometimes it’s you, sometimes it’s them, sometimes your business just outgrows the tool. Whatever the reason, you need to know the exit plan before you’re locked in.
Ask about:
- Data export formats (can you actually use the data, or is it trapped in some proprietary format?)
- Timeline for providing your data after termination
- Their data deletion policy: and how they prove it happened
- Whether your data lives on in backups (and for how long)
This is especially critical for businesses with compliance requirements. HIPAA, for instance, has specific rules about data retention and destruction. “We’ll figure it out later” isn’t a policy.
Bullshit Detector
Red flag: “We retain data indefinitely for your convenience.” (Convenient for whom? That’s a liability, not a feature.)
Bigger red flag: No documented offboarding process.
Green flag: Clear data export options, a defined deletion timeline, and a certificate of destruction available upon request.
6. “How Does Your Security Spend Actually Protect My ROI?”
This is the business-alignment question that separates vendors who get it from vendors who treat security as a cost center.
Security isn’t just about avoiding bad things: it’s about enabling good things. A vendor with strong security can actually help your business:
- Move faster (because you’re not stuck in compliance limbo)
- Win customers (because you can prove your supply chain is secure)
- Sleep better (because your insurance premiums aren’t astronomical)
Ask them how their security investments translate into value for your business. If they can’t connect the dots, they’re probably just checking boxes.
Bullshit Detector
Red flag: “Security is a priority, but we don’t track it that way.” (If it’s a priority, it has a budget and metrics.)
Bigger red flag: They get defensive when you ask about spending.
Green flag: They explain specific investments (tools, people, training) and how those protect both their business and yours.
The Bottom Line: Trust, But Verify
Look, we’re not saying every vendor is out to get you. Most are genuinely trying to do right by their customers. But trying isn’t the same as doing, and good intentions don’t stop ransomware.
Think of vendor vetting like insurance: a little effort upfront saves catastrophic pain later. The Convenience Tax applies here too: skipping these questions feels easier in the moment, but you’ll pay for it when something goes sideways.
At Your Personal Ninja, we help Phoenix and Scottsdale businesses run vendor security assessments that go beyond the sales pitch. We look at the actual policies, the actual audits, and the actual answers to these questions: so you know what you’re really signing up for.
Ready to Vet Your Vendors the Right Way?
If you’re adding new tools, switching providers, or just wondering whether your current vendors would pass the test, let’s talk. We’ll help you ask the right questions: and spot the bullshit when it shows up.
Because your data is too important to hand over on a handshake and a promise.
