Transaction Notice: Cyber risk is the largest unquantified liability in modern M&A. Undiscovered technical debt destroys valuations post-close.

Private Equity & M&A Advisory

The target’s data room says green.
The dark web says otherwise.

Standard IT due diligence checks software licenses and server counts. It fails to quantify the multi-million-dollar remediation costs hidden in compromised admin credentials, dormant ransomware, and critical compliance gaps. We give deal teams leverage at the negotiating table.

Get the Deal Breaker Checklist → Review Diligence Tiers
The M&A Blind Spot

What standard IT Due Diligence misses.

A target company’s management team is financially incentivized to downplay security risks during a transaction. If you rely solely on the documentation they provide in the data room, you are acquiring their technical debt.

The Data Room Fiction:
Compliance Certifications ISO 27001 Active
Recent Penetration Test “No Critical Findings”
Security Budget Adequate
The Transaction Reality:
Dark Web Credentials 3 C-Suite Leaks
External Attack Surface Unpatched RDP
Post-Close Remediation Est. $1.5M – $2.5M

The Negotiation Lever

“The outside-in picture is concerning.”

“We found 340 leaked credentials belonging to senior staff, three unpatched internet-facing systems, and evidence of a prior breach not disclosed in the data room. If the internal picture matches this external footprint, you are looking at $1.5M to $2.5M in immediate post-close remediation costs.”

“We need 5 days of full access to quantify this technical debt and give you a hard number you can use at the negotiating table to drive down the valuation.”

Advisory Engagements

M&A Cyber Diligence Tiers.

From rapid 48-hour intelligence scans to full-access technical diligence.

01

OSINT Red Flag Scan

$8K – $12K · 2-Day Turnaround

A strictly scoped outside-in intelligence scan of the target company. We identify material cyber risks before you commit to deeper diligence or sign the term sheet.

  • ✓ Dark web credential exposure check
  • ✓ External attack surface scan
  • ✓ Public breach history & digital footprint
Request Red Flag Scan →
Full Diligence
02

The 5-Day Cyber Diligence Sprint

~$45,000 · Full Internal Access

Deep-dive internal assessment yielding a Costed Remediation Roadmap (CRR). The CRR gives the deal team a specific financial number to negotiate a price reduction.

  • ✓ Internal network & Active Directory review
  • ✓ Incident response & backup validation
  • ✓ Regulatory compliance check (SOCI, Essential 8)
  • ✓ Deliverable: Costed Remediation Roadmap
Book Diligence Sprint
03

Portfolio Cyber Governance

$10K / mo / co. OR $25K / mo Portfolio

Post-acquisition vCISO service protecting the valuation of your investments. We implement consistent governance standards across all portfolio companies.

  • ✓ Monthly portfolio governance execution
  • ✓ Quarterly PE board reporting
  • ✓ Annual cyber posture assessments
  • ✓ On-call advisory for portfolio incidents
Secure the Portfolio →
M&A Deal Team Resource

The 10-Point Cyber Deal Breaker Checklist

A one-page data room checklist detailing what to look for that proves a target company is misrepresenting their security posture. Specific, actionable, and immediately useful for your next transaction.

Transaction Support

Book a Deal Scoping Briefing

Dean Kastelic

Dean Kastelic

Former Enterprise CISO & KPMG Director

Dean acts as the cyber diligence lead for private equity funds acquiring mid-market assets. He translates highly complex technical vulnerabilities into direct financial impacts, delivering leverage for the negotiation table.

“We operate at the speed of M&A. Book 15 minutes to discuss an active target or a portfolio governance requirement. All briefings are strictly under NDA.”