Together, Cadeon and Darktrace Can Help Your Company Mitigate the Risk and Stress of Mergers & Acquisitions
Cadeon is proud to be partnered with Darktrace the leader in cyber defence technology, in order to enable our clients to have that critical component to data security in both Canada and the United States. Darktrace’s self-learning technology can help to detect otherwise unknown cyber threats within the network in real-time, which combined with Cadeon’s business and data analytics practice, provide confidence and security around company data. We strive to bring top-of-the-line support and assistance to our customers when dealing with mergers and acquisitions of all sizes.
Article Written By Darktrace
How Darktrace AI Assists Mergers & Acquisitions
After disclosure of data breaches, Verizon cut its acquisition price of Yahoo by $350 million. In 40% of mergers and acquisitions, Forbes confirms, a cyber security problem is discovered by the parent company in the child company during the post-acquisition integration.
Post-acquisition is too late to discover cyber security issues. Rather, these need to be dealt with proactively during pre-acquisition and throughout the M&A process, and Darktrace enables organizations to seamlessly achieve this.
Darktrace’s self-learning Cyber AI provides real-time visualization of all users, devices, and the connections between them throughout the cyber ecosystem and is able to detect and autonomously respond to emerging cyber-attacks and other forms of threatening behaviour. This makes the technology ideal for M&A, as the software installs in less than an hour and achieves complete visibility into the target company’s digital business.
Cyber Due Diligence During Acquisition
During acquisition, the parent company needs to know that the child company’s intellectual property (IP) and sensitive data are secure. Both companies need to have awareness of potential compromises in their cyber ecosystem. Throughout the M&A process, data breaches often go unnoticed or unreported. This is concerning, as compromises to either party can alter deals or even end them. At the same time, cyber due diligence cannot afford to be a resource-intensive, time-consuming process.
When a major semiconductor solutions developer looked to acquire a company, they turned to Darktrace’s AI to ensure the cyber security and hygiene of the M&A process. Before merging their digital businesses, Darktrace was deployed in the child company. Darktrace was installed in under an hour, with no additional configurations needed. Darktrace was able to inspect the child company’s digital environments and search for any policy discrepancies and hygiene issues. The parent company was thus able to mitigate the risk involved in merging digital businesses, while also ensuring that it was not delayed by any policy and compliance discrepancies, such as non-compliance to GDPR.
Acquisition Preparedness
For acquisition preparedness, companies that may be acquired need to show a clean bill of health. The parent company will have a long list of questions before doing an acquisition, and the child company needs visibility into their cyber ecosystem to answer these.
The child company will need to prove that intellectual property and sensitive data have not been stolen or altered, as well as ensure that no lingering threats could harm the digital business. Demonstrating strong and proactive cyber security can make a company more attractive, and a lower-risk target.
When a global leader in telecommunications was in the pre-acquisition phase, the child companies were able to easily demonstrate cyber hygiene with Darktrace’s self-learning Cyber AI. The parent company sought to acquire two companies that were Darktrace customers and strategic partners with each other. Before the acquisition was finalized, the parent company needed assurance that the intellectual property of both child companies was secured.
Both companies were able to quickly demonstrate the clean bill of health for their digital environments. Darktrace’s unparalleled visibility was also leveraged to show how many assets were within both digital businesses. Moreover, the parent company benefitted from the peace of mind they receive from Antigena, Darktrace’s Autonomous Response technology, which provided self-learning detection of the full range of threats at their earliest stages before they could escalate into a crisis.
Merging Digital Business
Merging digital businesses puts both parent and child companies at risk. Malware, compliance issues, and risky behaviour from one party can impact the other when cyber ecosystems are merged. Differing security cultures can also clash upon integration. The M&A process must accordingly balance fast integration with security.
A healthcare company had reached an agreement to acquire an additional in-state provider. The parent company deployed Darktrace into the child company’s network after the announcement. Darktrace identified compliance issues, security vulnerabilities, and IT issues in the child companies’ digital business, and also identified all forms of threatening activity. A portion of the child’s network was dedicated to a 3rd party that was not acquired by the parent. Asset classification and comprehensive visibility were used to take appropriate assets off of the child network, allowing the parent to merge proper sections of the network.
The Unique Value of Darktrace’s Self-Learning AI in M&A
Cyber risk is no longer an afterthought during mergers and acquisitions. Rather, Cyber risk assessment needs to be considered both during due diligence and before merging networks. A proactive approach to cyber security can help companies maintain high value as an acquisition target and as an aid to smooth transition.
Darktrace’s self-learning Cyber AI is uniquely suited for the challenges and requirements of M&A. The visibility, early-stage threat detection and response, asset identification, and peace of mind it provides empower businesses to seamlessly and securely navigate the M&A process.
Cadeon – Your One-Stop Solution For All Your Company's Protection And Data Needs
At Cadeon, we care about our clients’ business needs from Data Visualisation to Cyber Security, which is why we have partnered with the best in the industry to provide first-class services. Our Partnerships with Darktrace, TIBCO and Microsoft, just to name a few, allow us to give 360 customized data-driven solutions and support to each of our customers. Take Cadeon’s 10K Challenge today or to find out more, contact us at (403) 475-2494 or fill out our online contact form.
