Cybersecurity Integration Framework for Mergers and Acquisitions
Abstract
The practice of merger and acquisition transactions predictably produces a unique period of cybersecurity exposure lasting the 45-90 days immediately following the transaction's close. Throughout this interval, the acquired business unit must operate on the basis of the cyber deficiencies inherited, inconsistencies within the privilege controls assigned to its users and insufficient access to or understanding of the cybersecurity processes employed by the acquirer. Despite considerable literature about cybersecurity in mergers, most treat this as either a due diligence activity solved during the pre-deal period or an effort to create full and consistent similarity over 12-24 months, which leaves little published research covering effective strategies for those 45-90 days
The cybersecurity integration framework proposed here aims directly at that 45-90 day period. The framework includes parallel efforts along four lines of activity; directory and policy, endpoint management, privilege controls and visibility and compliance; bound by a reusable runbook template. The framework utilizes a four-phase gated decision model with well-documented criteria for both entering and exiting each phase, plus a hybrid pattern for merging user and resource identity management that addresses situations involving both on premises Active Directory and cloud identities, common today in acquired entities. The pattern proposed is a general-purpose and vendor-neutral concept intended to serve across multiple industries and the paper is intended to bridge between high-level concepts about merger integration and the step-by-step vendor guides to specific products that often are the sole reference documentation available to practitioners
Article Information
Journal |
International Journal of Science, Research and Technology |
|---|---|
Volume (Issue) |
Vol. 9 No. 3 (2026): International Journal of Science, Research and Technology (IJSRAT) |
DOI |
|
Pages |
816-824 |
Published |
May 15, 2026 |
| Copyright |
All rights reserved |
Open Access |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. |
How to Cite |
Vilas Shewale (%2026). Cybersecurity Integration Framework for Mergers and Acquisitions. International Journal of Science, Research and Technology , Vol. 9 No. 3 (2026): International Journal of Science, Research and Technology (IJSRAT) , pp. 816-824. https://doi.org/10.15662/IJSRAT.2026.0903002 |
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