Venture capital giant Insight Partners has confirmed that personal data was stolen during a significant cyberattack earlier this year. The firm announced this week that it will begin informing affected individuals in phases over the coming days.
Insight stated the compromised data spans personal details of both current and former employees, as well as sensitive information about its limited partners—the investors providing capital to Insight’s funds, whose identities typically remain private. Additionally, intruders gained access to confidential financial records relating to management companies, investment funds and several portfolio companies, potentially including sensitive banking and tax details.
This marks Insight Partners’ first public acknowledgment that data was successfully extracted during the cyber breach that occurred in January. Previously, the firm described the incident as a “sophisticated” social engineering attack, although the exact method and details behind the compromise have yet to be confirmed publicly. Insight has also not provided evidence to substantiate its explanation of the attack at this time.
Insight Partners manages more than $90 billion in regulated assets, placing it among the largest institutional backers of technology startups globally. The firm is known for investing heavily in cybersecurity firms, among them major industry players such as Wiz and Armis.
These events highlight an ongoing challenge within the venture capital industry, which has seen multiple high-profile cyber breaches. In 2021, Silicon Valley’s Advanced Technology Ventures suffered a damaging ransomware attack that led to sensitive data on its limited partners being stolen.
