Compromise Assessment

Overview

A compromise assessment examines your environment for indicators of compromise, suspicious behavior and attacker persistence. It is usually a planned review, for example before an acquisition or after a peer is breached. If you already suspect an active incident, we handle it as an urgent investigation under Incident Response.

Business objectives

• Determine whether there is evidence of current or historical compromise
• Identify attacker persistence and unauthorized access
• Assess the hygiene issues that would make compromise easier
• Provide assurance to leadership, auditors or acquirers

Why it matters

Attackers can remain undetected for long periods. A compromise assessment gives an independent view based on evidence rather than assumptions, and often highlights weaknesses even when no compromise is found.

Common challenges we address

• Mergers, acquisitions or new subsidiaries with unknown security history
• A breach at a supplier, partner or peer organization
• Unexplained system behavior without a clear incident
• A need for assurance after a change in IT provider

Deliverables and outcomes

• Assessment conclusion and confidence level
• Findings with supporting evidence
• Indicators and affected assets (if any)
• Hygiene and hardening observations
• Recommendations and next steps

Typical use cases

• Due diligence before or after an acquisition
• Assurance after a breach at a partner or peer
• Periodic assurance for high-value environments
• Validating a clean environment after recovery

Who it is for

• CISO
• CIO / IT director
• Executive management
• M&A and legal teams

Engagement options

• Planned compromise assessment (proactive)
• Urgent compromise investigation — see Incident Response

Prerequisites

• Approval to deploy collection tools or access to log exports
• Inventory of in-scope systems
• Defined look-back period