Breaches drain returns, but proactive defense boosts multiples.
Ask any seasoned private equity (PE) partner what keeps them up at night and “cyber breach” sits near the top.
The global average cost of a data breach hit $4.88 million in 2024—up 10% in a single year and the highest on record. (IBM)
Those dollars come straight off enterprise value, yet many firms still view cybersecurity as yesterday’s compliance chore rather than tomorrow’s valuation lever.
Why Waiting Costs More
- Hidden liabilities. Vulnerabilities ignored at acquisition can morph into seven-figure remediation projects mid-hold.
- Regulatory landmines. HIPAA, PCI-DSS, CIRCIA, NIS2—the alphabet soup grows thicker yearly. Fines and consent decrees slow exits.
- Insurance shocks. Carriers now demand proof of MFA, EDR and annual pen-tests or they triple premiums, eroding operating margins.
Cyber-Mature Assets Command Better Multiples
Buy-side diligence teams now score targets on cyber hygiene alongside EBITDA. A company with zero-trust access controls, immutable backups and quarterly tabletop drills signals lower residual risk… and buyers pay a premium for peace of mind.
DYOPATH’s Portfolio-Wide Cyber Blueprint
Why reinvent the wheel for every bolt-on? DYOPATH helps PE firms operationalize security as a repeatable playbook:
| Phase | Key Activities | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Assess | CIS- & NIST-aligned gap analysis, vulnerability scans, policy review | Risk heat-map, prioritized remediation roadmap |
| Remediate | MFA rollout, patch-backlog burn-down, backup hardening, employee phishing drills | Closed critical gaps, audit-ready controls |
| Govern | Board-level KPIs, policy templates, quarterly risk committee | Continuous improvement loop |
| Evolve | Managed Detection & Response (MDR), threat-intel feeds, red-team exercises | Proactive defense, real-time threat hunting |
All four phases are platform-agnostic, so whether you own a healthcare SaaS provider or an industrial manufacturer, the playbook flexes without endless consulting fees.
Quantifying the Upside
- Lower retained risk: A retail portfolio company evaded a $750k ransomware payout after DYOPATH’s MDR isolated malware in under ten minutes.
- Insurance savings: Strengthened controls shaved 25% off renewal premiums across three portfolio companies.
- Smoother exits: A B2B SaaS asset armed with a clean SOC 2 Type II report shaved four weeks off buyer diligence, accelerating close and protecting valuation certainty.
Integrating Cyber Into the Value-Creation Plan
Cybersecurity shouldn’t sit on a parallel track. DYOPATH embeds security milestones into your operational scorecards so every initiative—ERP rollout, cloud migration, AI automation—moves forward safely. That alignment also answers LP questions about ESG and resilience in one slide.
Board-Level Metrics That Matter
- Mean Time to Detect/Contain (MTTD/MTTC)
- Patch compliance rate
- Back-up recovery-point objective (RPO)
- Audit exceptions closed per quarter
Translating technical jargon into these four metrics lets directors track progress without wading through log files.
Looking Ahead: AI, Supply-Chain Risk and New SEC Rules
AI-generated attacks, software-supply-chain exploits and the SEC’s four-day breach-disclosure rule all raise the stakes. PE firms that standardize security now will ride the next compliance wave instead of paddling furiously behind it.
Ready to turn cybersecurity into a competitive advantage? Contact DYOPATH for a complimentary portfolio risk review and learn how proactive defense can lift your next exit multiple.
