Private Equity & M&A Advisory
The target's data room says green. The dark web says otherwise.
Standard IT due diligence checks software licences 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.
The M&A Blind Spot
What standard IT due diligence misses.
A target company's management team is financially incentivised 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.
Illustrative
| Control | Data Room Says | Transaction Reality |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance certifications | ISO 27001 active | 340 leaked credentials found on the dark web |
| Penetration test findings | “No critical findings” | 3 C-suite credential leaks; unpatched internet-facing RDP |
| Security budget adequacy | Adequate | Est. $1.5M–$2.5M in post-close remediation |
Illustrative — A Composite Outside-In Briefing
"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 five 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."
Composite example drawn from common patterns. Figures illustrate the shape of the finding, not a specific engagement.
Advisory Engagements
M&A cyber diligence tiers
From rapid outside-in 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 and digital footprint
02
The 5-Day Cyber Diligence Sprint
~$45,000 · Full internal access
Deep-dive internal assessment yielding a Costed Remediation Roadmap. The roadmap gives the deal team a specific financial number to negotiate a price reduction.
- · Internal network and Active Directory review
- · Incident response and backup validation
- · Regulatory compliance check (SOCI, Essential Eight)
- · Deliverable: Costed Remediation Roadmap
03
Portfolio Cyber Governance
From $25,000/mo · Full portfolio
Post-acquisition vCISO service protecting the valuation of your investments: consistent governance standards across every portfolio company, one relationship, one report to the fund.
- · Monthly portfolio governance execution
- · Quarterly PE board reporting
- · Annual cyber posture assessments across the portfolio
- · On-call advisory for portfolio incidents
Governing a single portfolio company on its own is the fractional leadership retainer itself: see Virtual CISO → for the entry-tier pricing. Portfolio Cyber Governance above is priced for the whole portfolio, not one company at a time.
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 its security posture. Specific, actionable, and immediately useful for your next transaction. No form, no gate.
Download the checklist →Transaction Support
Book a deal scoping briefing
Dean Kastelic
Former Enterprise CISO & KPMG Director
Dean acts as the cyber diligence lead for private equity funds acquiring mid-market assets, translating highly technical vulnerabilities into direct financial impact: leverage for the negotiating table.
"We operate at the speed of M&A. Book fifteen minutes to discuss an active target or a portfolio governance requirement. All briefings are strictly under NDA."
Or send the brief directly