Investment Underscores Leadership Position in Rapidly Growing Security Ratings Market

BitSight, the Global Standard in Security Ratings, today announced that it has closed $60 million in Series D funding, bringing the company’s total funding to $155 million.

BitSight’s Series D financing was led by Warburg Pincus, with participation from existing investors Menlo Ventures, GGV Capital and Singtel Innov8. The financing enables BitSight to continue its rapid global expansion and extend its portfolio of market-leading security risk management solutions, while further validating BitSight’s leadership position as the global standard for security ratings.

BitSight pioneered the security ratings market in 2011, as the first company to develop a security ratings product. Today, organisations and nations worldwide use the BitSight Security Ratings SaaS platform to help manage third party risk, benchmark performance, underwrite cyber insurance policies and conduct M&A due diligence. With over 1,200 customers collaborating and verifying BitSight Security Ratings on a daily basis, BitSight provides the largest and most engaged ecosystem, enabling organisations to make strategic security risk and business decisions.

Demand for BitSight Security Ratings is increasing rapidly. According to Gartner, “By 2022, cybersecurity ratings will become as important as credit ratings when assessing the risk of business relationships.” The report continues, “Over the next six years, these [cybersecurity rating] services will become a mandatory precondition for a growing number of business relationships and part of the standard of due care for providers and procurers of services. These cybersecurity scores will impact the degree to which other companies engage in high-value business with the organisation. These scores will have an impact on cost/availability of cyberinsurance.”[1]

“When BitSight introduced the first Security Ratings Platform in 2011, we set out to transform how businesses evaluate risk and security performance,” said Tom Turner, CEO of BitSight. “Over the last seven years, we’ve continued to deliver on this promise, providing tens of thousands of users with the deep insight needed to minimise risk within their environment. We know this is just the beginning, as there is still more work to do in continuing to establish a global standard for cyber security risk decisions. I am delighted to partner with Warburg Pincus as they have a very successful history of investments in cyber security, information services and global ratings agencies.”

Cary Davis, Managing Director of Warburg Pincus will join the Board of Directors. “With ever-increasing security threats, cybersecurity ratings are becoming an important part of leading companies’ cyber-defense. BitSight created the category and is the leader in the security ratings market, with a proven approach and platform to help customers continuously and effectively monitor cyber risk in their business ecosystem,” said Davis. “We believe there is tremendous opportunity for BitSight globally, and we look forward to working with Tom and the rest of the talented management team in the company’s next phase of growth.”

“Warburg Pincus has a proven track record of investing in successful and impactful technology companies, led by outstanding management teams,” said Shaun McConnon, Executive Chairman of BitSight’s Board. “Their investment in BitSight is not only evidence of our market leadership and the long-term value of our security ratings platform, but also the steadfast leadership of our accomplished executive team and their ability to execute. Warburg invested in the future of security ratings, and that future is BitSight.”

[1] Gartner “Predicts 2018: Security and Risk Management Programs” by Rob McMillan, Jeffrey Wheatman, Richard Hunter, Mark Thomas Jaggers, Sam Olyaei, Jay Heiser, Jeremy D’Hoinne, November 16, 2017.