M&A Cyber Due Diligence
Every acquisition inherits the target's security posture—the exposed credentials, the leaky APIs, the forgotten subdomains. DataShielder reveals these risks before they become yours.
Financial due diligence is thorough. Legal review is airtight. But what about the target's external security posture? A single data breach post-close can erase the value of the entire acquisition.
Questionnaires and self-assessments rely on the target telling you the truth. DataShielder shows you the truth.
Pre-acquisition, you rarely have access to the target's codebase, infrastructure, or internal security reports. That's exactly why DataShielder's approach works—we assess what's visible from the outside, just like a threat actor would.
Point us at the target's domains. We discover subdomains, endpoints, and assets automatically.
Assess the target without tipping them off or requiring their participation in the process.
Clear, prioritized findings with severity ratings that deal teams and boards can act on.
AWS access keys exposed in client-side JavaScript on staging subdomain
Internal API endpoints returning customer PII without authentication
Database connection strings hardcoded in publicly accessible config files
Third-party analytics tokens with write permissions in page source
Forgotten staging environments with default credentials indexed by search engines
Real findings. These are the kinds of exposures we routinely discover in target company assessments—issues that questionnaires never surface.
DataShielder integrates into your M&A process at every stage—from initial screening to post-close integration.
Run an initial external scan of the target's domains before even signing a letter of intent. Identify red flags early so you can walk away or factor risk into your offer price.
During formal due diligence, conduct a comprehensive security assessment. Generate detailed reports that quantify cyber risk for deal valuation and negotiation leverage.
Use concrete findings as leverage in price negotiations. Require specific remediations as conditions to close, or adjust the purchase price to account for remediation costs.
After closing, maintain continuous monitoring of the acquired entity's digital assets during integration. Catch new exposures that emerge as systems are merged.
Whether you're running the deal, advising on it, or inheriting the risk—DataShielder gives you the cyber intelligence you need.
Assess portfolio targets before investment. Quantify cyber risk as a deal variable, not an afterthought.
Screen acquisition targets independently. Present security findings alongside financial and legal due diligence.
Differentiate your practice by offering cyber due diligence. Add concrete risk data to your client deliverables.
Get ahead of integration risks. Know what security debt you're inheriting before Day 1.
Identify regulatory exposure in the target's digital assets. Inform reps, warranties, and indemnification clauses.
Clear, non-technical risk summaries that inform go/no-go decisions and purchase price adjustments.
"A questionnaire asks what they know.
DataShielder shows what they missed."
"You wouldn't skip financial due diligence.
Why skip cyber?"
"Their breach becomes your breach
the moment you close."
Target reports SOC 2 compliance and "no known breaches." Standard questionnaire responses look clean.
Three critical issues: exposed AWS keys on a staging server, a forgotten admin panel with default credentials, and an API endpoint returning unmasked customer SSNs.
Remediation estimated at $2.3M. Purchase price adjusted downward. Specific remediation milestones added as closing conditions. Indemnification clause expanded to cover pre-existing exposures.
DataShielder tracks remediation progress and catches two new exposures introduced during system integration—flagged and resolved before any impact.
Result: The acquirer closed with full visibility into the target's security posture, negotiated a better price, and prevented post-close surprises.
Initial findings within hours, not weeks. Full assessment ready for your deal timeline.
Run assessments independently using only public-facing digital assets. No NDAs needed to start.
Prioritized findings with severity ratings, remediation estimates, and clear language for deal teams.
Detect exposed API keys, database credentials, cloud tokens, PII, and more across all target assets.
Automatic subdomain discovery finds assets the target may not even know about—shadow IT, forgotten staging environments.
Passive scanning that won't disrupt the target's operations or alert their team to the assessment.
Every acquisition is a security decision. Know what you're buying before their vulnerabilities become your liabilities. Start assessing your next target today.
No source code access needed • Results in hours • Confidential assessment