The difference between a third-party vendor and a fourth-party vendor is where the vendor sits in your supply chain. A third-party vendor is a direct supplier, partner, external contractor or third party that your organization relies on or has a business relationship with. In contrast, a fourth party is an indirect vendor such as a partner, supplier, external contractor or other vendor of your third party. Third-party vendor risk is also easier to identify, mitigate and remediate than fourth-party risk. Fourth-party risks are difficult to assess and identify since they are unknown to your organization and not included in the Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) your organization has with its third parties.