Assess Mergers & Acquisitions Security Risks

Mergers and acquisitions involve exchanging vast amounts of sensitive data, integrating complex IT systems, and inheriting dependencies on third-party services. All of that can expose companies to significant cybersecurity risks, such as:

• Vulnerabilities and shadow IT. Many companies operate with IT systems or software that are not patched timely or no longer supported. IT departments often don’t even know about some of those systems. These systems are likely to have security gaps that threat actors can exploit. Acquiring a company with such vulnerabilities results in introducing these risks into the buyer’s infrastructure. A thorough analysis of the target’s infrastructure including asset discovery and a vulnerability assessment helps detect, prioritize, and mitigate those risks.
• Compliance issues. Non-compliance with data protection regulations (such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS) is another major risk. If the target company is not compliant with those regulations, it can compromise the compliance of the buyer and result in fines and litigation if non-compliance is discovered post-transaction. Compliance audits performed as part of the M&A due diligence can help avoid such problems.
• Third-party risks. Companies often rely on third-party vendors, contractors, or partners, some of whom may have weak cybersecurity practices. These relationships can introduce risks like insecure APIs, insufficient controls, or other supply chain risks. A compromised vendor that the target relies on could serve as a backdoor into the acquiring company’s systems after the merger.
• Data breaches. Customer records, financial data, or intellectual property can be exposed during the M&A process or could have been exposed before, without the target company’s knowledge. Cybercriminals may target this data to sell it on the black market or harm the acquiring company’s reputation. Cybersecurity due diligence is performed during the M&A process to uncover potential data breaches.
• Undetected malware. Advanced threat actors may have already infiltrated the target company’s network, lying dormant and undetected. Once the merger is finalized and systems are integrated, the malware can spread to the acquirer’s environment, leading to widespread disruptions or data theft.

By identifying and addressing these risks early in the M&A process, companies can prevent costly disruptions, protect their reputations, and ensure a smoother integration process after the merger.

Attaxion is an external attack surface management platform that can help during multiple stages of the M&A process with the following:

• Asset discovery. Mapping the target company’s digital footprint to uncover exposed assets and entry points. During the M&A due diligence stage, this helps build an asset inventory for further assessment and discover shadow IT assets that can potentially impact compliance.
• Vulnerability assessment. Attaxion automatically scans all discovered assets for vulnerabilities, offering a comprehensive picture of the target’s attack surface. It allows security teams to prioritize compliance-critical issues and speed up mitigation with 1-click support ticket creation.
• Continuous monitoring. Attaxion continuously discovers new assets and issues in the entire organization’s attack surface, helping identify if merging IT systems resulted in creating misconfigurations or exposures. It helps track potential threats throughout the M&A process, providing real-time insights.
• Risk reporting. Attaxion’s reports and dashboards help communicate cybersecurity issues to the stakeholders and make informed decisions during due diligence.