Cybersecurity assessment
Cyber assessment for private equity portfolios.
Active testing runs only on request, with written authorization.
A private equity cybersecurity assessment compares portfolio company exposure using a consistent scope and evidence standard. Meo Advisors starts with passive public sources, separates observed risks from open questions and identifies records needed from each company. Active testing requires written authorization. Findings feed a comparable scorecard, a prioritized risk register and an owned hardening plan.
In short
- Compare portfolio companies using the same scope, evidence date and access labels.
- A passive external view identifies exposure signals; internal controls and active testing need written authorization.
- Keep missing evidence unscored, then give supported hardening actions owners and verification steps.
What are the four types of risk assessment?
There is no universal set of four cybersecurity risk assessment types. NIST distinguishes qualitative, quantitative and semi-quantitative assessment approaches, and separately describes whether analysis starts with threats, assets and impact, or vulnerabilities.
The NIST risk assessment guidance helps define the method before scores are compared. For a sponsor, agree the review question, evidence and counting rules first. The cybersecurity due diligence hub describes Meo’s outside view and authorized-review boundary.
| Approach | How it expresses risk | Portfolio comparison limit |
|---|---|---|
| Qualitative | Descriptive likelihood and impact judgments | Use the same definitions and evidence threshold |
| Quantitative | Numerical likelihood and consequence estimates | Inputs and assumptions must be supported |
| Semi-quantitative | Defined scales or bands | A shared label alone does not establish comparable exposure |
How to do a cyber security risk assessment?
Start with the company’s operating priorities and the systems they depend on. Define the evidence available, review passive external signals, request internal records, and turn supported findings into actions; active testing runs only on request with written authorization.
- Agree the company, public properties, business dependencies and review period in scope.
- Collect passive public evidence and label the source, date and confidence of each observation.
- Request records for identity and access, recovery, incident response and vendor questions that remain open.
- Agree written authorization before any scans, penetration testing or internal checks.
- Rank supported findings, assign an owner and specify the evidence needed to verify a fix.
Start with the cybersecurity due diligence checklist and retain the access label when adapting it for each company.
How do sponsors compare cyber exposure across portfolio companies?
Sponsors should compare the same evidence categories and label differences in scope or access. A company with fewer available records should show an evidence gap, not an invented score or an assumed control failure.
| Compare | Keep consistent | Record separately |
|---|---|---|
| External exposure | Passive sources, observation date and property scope | Unconfirmed ownership or stale records |
| Supported findings | Impact, effort, confidence and scope definitions | Open questions without supporting evidence |
| Hardening actions | Named owner and completion evidence | Actions awaiting company approval or access |
| Measure and counting rule | Baseline | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Public services with an assigned owner, counted within the agreed inventory | Blank until measured | Security lead |
| Supported findings with verified remediation, counted within the agreed register | Blank until measured | IT lead |
What can a portfolio assessment establish from outside?
Passive public sources can establish observations about internet-facing endpoints, certificates and security headers. They do not establish ransomware resilience, internal access control effectiveness or whether an insurer’s requirements have been met.
| Visible from outside | Needs authorized access |
|---|---|
| External exposure review | Penetration testing on request, with authorization |
| Internet-facing endpoints | |
| Certificates and security headers |
Before authorization we use passive public sources only: DNS, certificate transparency, third-party internet-scan datasets, and the target’s public pages at normal browsing rates. No port scans, vulnerability scans or login attempts without written authorization.
Internal checks and active testing require written authorization before they start. Recovery capability and insurance questions need the relevant company records and review against the actual requirements.
How should the sponsor prioritize cyber hardening?
Prioritize supported findings by their impact, effort, confidence and scope, then identify the company owner who can act. Keep urgent supported exposure separate from questions that first need evidence.
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead-form consent wording | High | High | Marketing lead |
| Exposed admin login | Medium | High | IT lead |
The illustrative register shows the handoff format. A portfolio summary should preserve the company-level evidence and owner behind each entry rather than reduce every uncertainty to a score.
How does the assessment feed the hardening plan?
Supported findings become owned hardening actions in the company’s plan. The sponsor can track the evidence that a fix is complete and the questions still awaiting records or written authorization.
| Plan row | Days 0–30 | Days 31–60 | Days 61–100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardening | |||
| Technology and security | Close exposed services | Fix shared templates | Retire duplicate tools |
The windows above are illustrative. Use the 100-day value creation and hardening plan to connect the agreed cyber actions with the wider operating plan.
What does a portfolio cybersecurity assessment deliver?
The assessment delivers a company-level risk register and a sponsor view with consistent evidence labels. Each finding retains its source, owner and next action; each open question names the record or authorized check needed to answer it.
See the sample diligence deliverables for the risk register, scorecard and plan formats.
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