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Private equity cybersecurity services and dashboards

Actionable strategies to mitigate operational, financial and legal risk

Contact our private equity cybersecurity professionals

Protect investments with the right cybersecurity program

Private equity cybersecurity is a top concern for funds amid increasing investor pressure to protect assets in today’s rapidly evolving cyberthreat landscape. Limited visibility into a portfolio company’s cybersecurity practices, combined with the challenge of defining effective cybersecurity standards, often hampers a fund’s cybersecurity risk management efforts.

RSM addresses these challenges with tailored strategies and innovative technology for risk monitoring and visibility for private equity funds and their portfolio companies. RSM Sentry, a centralized platform powered by our deep risk management experience and AI-driven analytics, includes real-time dashboards for visibility into portfolio-wide trends, Users have access to benchmarking data against peer organizations, the ability to identify risk exposure, track cybersecurity maturity, and monitor the progress of critical improvement priorities.

With enhanced visibility business leaders can hold teams accountable, guide remediation planning, and prioritize high-impact issues with clear, actionable next steps. This approach, in tandem with RSM’s Rapid Assessment® process, positions the firm as a leader in providing proactive, actionable solutions for PE funds and their portfolio companies. The result: proactive cyber risk management, value preservation, and sustainable cyber resilience across the portfolio.

Leading the charge in PE cybersecurity

In an era where cybersecurity is paramount, RSM distinguishes itself by offering tailored solutions that address the unique challenges faced by PE funds and their portfolio companies.

Why choose RSM for fund-level cybersecurity risk assessments

How does RSM Sentry provide better visibility into cyber program health?

RSM private equity cybersecurity capabilities

By integrating deep industry experience, customized solutions and a focus on value preservation, RSM stands out as a leader in providing cybersecurity services tailored to the nuanced needs of PE funds and their portfolio companies. RSM advisors view cybersecurity through a holistic lens, assessing the issues, recommending strategies, implementing solutions and directing program management. This comprehensive approach allows RSM to serve as a one-stop shop for PE clients to solve their diverse cybersecurity challenges.

Cybersecurity Rapid Assessment®

A common challenge for funds is identifying cybersecurity risks at the portfolio level and navigating how to remediate gaps. RSM provides a customized cybersecurity Rapid Assessment® to establish a baseline for a portfolio company’s current security program, benchmark their maturity against peers and identify critical points of weakness. It also reveals whether gaps stem from weaknesses in personnel, processes or technology. The purpose is to help organizations prioritize areas of remediation and allocate resources where they are most needed.

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Dashboarding tools powered by RSM Sentry

RSM’s real-time dashboarding provides PE funds and their portfolio companies with crucial visibility into their cyber-risk status, using metrics consistent with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework. By centralizing monitoring and reporting, funds and their portfolio companies can identify emerging vulnerabilities to make proactive, data-driven decisions. Data visualization across all portfolio companies enables better, faster and more focused decision-making based on accurate, consistent data, and facilitates timely and accurate reporting to stakeholders.

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Cyber resilience and recovery

RSM’s suite of cyber resilience, response and recovery solutions gives funds the ability to identify high-risk portfolio companies and improvement priorities. Services include identifying the systems, data and resources that support a fund's mission-critical activities, assessing how they could be compromised in an event and building a plan to orchestrate response and recovery from an incident. This approach enables portfolio companies to resume normal business operations as quickly as possible.

Program outsourcing

PE funds that want peace of mind without the hassle may opt for outsourcing risk and security functions. RSM’s managed security services allow funds to leverage a virtual team of cybersecurity professionals to boost their response and resolution capabilities. A cloud-based software solution is another option for managing cybersecurity governance.

Cybersecurity testing

  • Vulnerability scanning: This noninvasive assessment identifies vulnerabilities from missing patches, misconfigurations and malicious services without actively exploiting them. Typically completed in one to three days, it serves as an initial step to pinpoint areas requiring further investigation through penetration testing.
  • Network penetration testing: RSM advisors serve as ethical hackers to simulate attacks to manually exploit vulnerabilities, aiming to compromise sensitive systems and data. This process typically takes five to 10 days to provide concrete evidence of potential breaches, even if it doesn't offer a comprehensive security overview.
  • Application testing: Conducted over five to 10 days, this service reviews web-based applications—including web, mobile (iOS and Android), thick client and APIs—to verify their security through code reviews and specialized tests.
  • Red team and purple team testing: Spanning eight to 12 weeks, these in-depth technical tests simulate real-world attack scenarios to evaluate an organization's monitoring, detection and response capabilities. Testing by the red team involves external attackers attempting to infiltrate the environment, while testing by the purple team fosters collaboration between attackers and defenders to enhance security measures.
  • Social engineering: Over three to five days, RSM employs tactics such as phishing emails, vishing (phone calls), SMS phishing or smishing (malicious text messages) and in-person attempts to deceive individuals into providing unauthorized access or information. This testing gauges the organization's security awareness and resilience against deceptive practices.

300+

certified cybersecurity professionals

44

RSM cyber hubs across the globe

2,900+

private equity and venture capital client relationships

4,500+

PE-backed portfolio company clients

Deep experience in private equity cybersecurity

RSM has extensive experience in mitigating cybersecurity risks for PE funds across industries. This broad perspective enables RSM to delve deeply into each client's business operations, aligning solutions with organizational priorities. RSM advisors often serve in a virtual capacity to build and manage comprehensive cybersecurity programs, developing security management strategies and engaging with boards, PE owners and executive leadership teams on information security matters. Regular security program assessments and the development of security program roadmaps, coupled with the implementation of remediation plans, are integral components of RSM's approach.

Additionally, RSM is experienced in assessing a fund’s data governance practices to support compliance reporting. Areas of focus include data privacy laws such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act, and industry-specific regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

 RSM provides tailored cybersecurity solutions designed for long-term success. Understanding there is no one-size-fits-all approach that works for all PE funds, RSM builds customizable and scalable dashboards unique to each client. The goal is to create a blueprint that enhances cybersecurity while aligning with the client’s specific operational requirements and priorities.

RSM provides the cybersecurity Rapid Assessment through a secure portal, offering PE funds quick evaluations and actionable recommendations to mitigate risks. By understanding each business's operations, RSM helps address issues promptly, improving cyber health, reducing exposure and minimizing downtime from breaches.

RSM emphasizes that effective cybersecurity should add value to portfolio companies, particularly in relation to buy-side and sell-side activities. On the buy side, a robust cybersecurity program helps ensure that new acquisitions are secure, leading to stronger investments. Maintaining a well-managed cybersecurity program can increase exit value on the sell side. In this way, cybersecurity transcends being merely a defense mechanism; it becomes an asset that can enhance valuation.

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