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Cyber risks are no longer just an IT issue. Today, a single incident can bring entire industries to a standstill. When several European airports came to a standstill in September 2025 due to an attack on a service provider, it became clear: A digital incident can bring physical infrastructure to a standstill.
For M&A, private equity, and banks, this means that what used to be a footnote in technical due diligence can now determine purchase prices, portfolio stability, or credit risks.
Pre-Deal: Buying Without a Cyber Check Is Like Flying Blind
The most well-known cases illustrate the financial consequences that cyber incidents can have in the context of transactions:
Yahoo: During its acquisition by Verizon, a massive data breach came to light—the purchase price dropped by $350 million.
Equifax: An unpatched vulnerability led to one of the largest data breaches—resulting in subsequent costs of approximately $800 million.
Marriott-Starwood: More than 500 million guest records were compromised—resulting in fines, lawsuits, and significant reputational damage.
These cases are no longer exceptions. They demonstrate that cyber risk is a financial risk factor—comparable to an additional balance sheet item. And this applies not only to large corporations. Small and medium-sized enterprises are particularly vulnerable: outdated systems, shadow IT, and stolen credentials on the dark web. Added to this is a new risk: personal attacks on CEOs—from deepfakes to false narratives that can destroy trust overnight.
Post-Deal: A PortCo Can Throw a Fund Off Balance
Pressure continues to mount in the private equity sector. A single PortCo with a critical vulnerability can destabilize entire funds—especially in the buy-and-build model. With every acquisition, not only does the balance sheet grow, but so does the digital attack surface.
Recent cases speak for themselves:
CrowdStrike outage: A faulty update crippled Windows systems worldwide—with massive repercussions for portfolios.
Snowflake leaks: Data breaches simultaneously affected banks, retailers, and service providers—triggering a domino effect across supply chains.
Cyber incidents rarely stop the entire deal—but they shift terms, delay closing processes, and lead to price discounts. Portfolio transparency thus becomes a matter of survival.
Banks: Cyber is the new credit risk
Banks, too, can no longer dismiss cyber as merely a technical issue. A hacked portCo can lead to a loan default in a very short time. Regulators are already responding:
NIS2: Requires over 30,000 companies to assess supply chains and critical partners for cyber risks.
DORA: Requires end-to-end cyber risk management in the financial sector—including external service providers.
Cybersecurity is thus becoming a factor in credit assessment and financing—just like creditworthiness and cash flow.
IP & Reputation: The Invisible Assets at Risk
Cyberattacks are no longer limited to firewalls:
Intellectual property —source code, technical documentation, or research findings—can be stolen directly.
Reputation —a CEO who is defamed on the dark web can lose trust and market value within hours.
Any company with internet access is potentially at risk—regardless of size or industry.
From the podcast to a real-world example: How small the breach can be
In the podcast *Merge with Caution*, an everyday example was cited: tailgating —someone holds the door open at the office, and a stranger gains access. No hack, no malware. Just a small lapse in judgment—with potentially ruinous consequences.
The lesson: Cybersecurity doesn’t start in the data center—it starts in everyday life. And small mistakes lead to major damage—especially during ongoing deals.
Learning from the insurance industry
Cyber insurers have been using outside-in ratings for years to assess risks based on facts. Why?
Real-time analysis instead of months of review
No system intervention required (non-intrusive)
Focus on relevance —no information overload, clear priorities
What has proven effective in underwriting is now becoming relevant for M&A, private equity, and banks.
Conclusion: Cyber, Cash & Chaos—and a Question of Transparency
Cyber rarely brings deals to a standstill—but it does throw them off course. Price discounts, exit issues, regulatory consequences, loss of trust: all real consequences.
The key question today is: How quickly can you gain transparency into the cyber risk of a target or portfolio company?
This is exactly where solutions like cysmo® come in. Since 2017, outside-in ratings have made it possible to assess risk within minutes—without any technical prior knowledge, at the click of a button, and for companies of any size. You can see immediately:
Has the company been attacked?
Where are the biggest gaps?
What financial risks are looming?
This turns cybersecurity from a showstopper into a manageable factor—from individual cases to the entire portfolio.
This is a guest post by Hannah Victoria Groß, Chief Digital Officer at cysmo.
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