Insight Partners hit by cyber attack with possible data leaks
The firm is working to assess the full impact while sensitive business information may be at risk.
American venture capital firm Insight Partners was the victim of a cyber breach last month. The firm is still assessing the extent of the damage and conducting tests to fully understand the incident’s impact.
Insight Partners has notified both its portfolio companies and limited investors via email about the breach. However, the firm has yet to publicly comment or provide details on the matter. While the full scope of the damage remains unclear, a significant concern is the potential leak of sensitive business or technological data from the fund’s internal systems. This is especially troubling given Insight's extensive investments in cybersecurity companies, which develop critical security infrastructure for organizations and governments worldwide—making their internal data a prime target for hackers.
Insight Partners released a statement later Tuesday confirming the breach. "Trust is integral to everything we do at Insight Partners. Accordingly, we take data security extremely seriously. On January 16, 2025, Insight Partners detected that an unauthorized third-party accessed certain Insight information systems through a sophisticated social engineering attack.
"As soon as this incident was detected, we moved quickly to contain, remediate, and start an investigation within a matter of hours. We notified stakeholders connected to Insight in January to alert them and encourage vigilance and tightened security protocols irrespective of having shared data compromised. We also notified law enforcement in relevant jurisdictions.
"There is no evidence that the threat actor was present after January 16, 2025. Further, there has been no additional disruption to Insight’s operations as a result of the incident.
"We are working diligently to determine the scope of the incident with the support of third-party cybersecurity experts, a leading forensic and eDiscovery expert, and external legal counsel which, as shared with stakeholders, will take several weeks. We don’t believe, based on what is known, there will be any material impact on portfolio companies, Insight funds or other stakeholders. Insight will update any impacted individuals once information becomes available during our investigation."
Insight is one of the largest investors in Israeli high-tech. To date, Insight has invested in over 100 Israeli companies, including notable investments in Armis, monday.com, Wix, Papaya Global, Optibus, and Wiz.
Last month, Insight closed its thirteenth flagship fund, along with its structured equity fund, Opportunities Fund II. The combined capital raised totals $12.5 billion, bringing Insight Partners' regulatory assets under management to more than $90 billion.
In 2024, Insight registered several successful exits, including two by Israeli companies: Own’s acquisition by Salesforce and WalkMe’s acquisition by SAP.
Additionally, it was reported last year that Insight is using a private equity-style structure to sell more than $1 billion in stakes in startups, freeing up cash to return to investors. One of the startups involved was Wiz, which had canceled a $23 billion deal with Google parent Alphabet in July.
