What Is a Security Review?

The buyer’s security or IT team sends a questionnaire covering how the vendor stores and encrypts data, who has access to it, how incidents are handled, which subprocessors touch it, and whether independent audits or attestation reports exist. Vendors answer in writing and attach documents such as a third-party audit report, a summary of penetration testing, and a data processing agreement. The depth scales with the sensitivity of the data and the size of the deal.

The review often starts after the champion says yes and before procurement signs off. Because it runs in a separate team’s queue, it is a common reason a verbal commitment takes longer than expected. Careful sellers ask early who else must approve the purchase and whether a security review applies, then send a prepared packet instead of building answers from scratch. A named contact on the vendor side keeps questions from stalling in an inbox.

Sellers often treat the review as a formality. Inconsistent answers across questionnaires, marketing language in reply to technical questions, and promises the product cannot keep all create trouble later. Another trap is raising it only at the contract stage. Small buyers may skip formal reviews entirely, but data-heavy or regulated buyers rarely do, so know which category an account falls into before forecasting a close date.