BitSight Alleges Black Kite Ripped Off Cyber Risk Rating System

BitSight Technologies Inc. is accusing rival cybersecurity intelligence firm Black Kite Inc. of infringing patents on BitSight’s cyber-risk rating system and stealing customers by falsely touting its product as better at assessing a third party’s ability to withstand a cyber attack.

BitSight claims it invented the cybersecurity ratings industry in 2011 by developing a system that assigns universal risk scores—akin to credit scores—by analyzing the cybersecurity preparedness of potential clients and vendors across a broad matrix of external risk factors, according to a Sept. 5 complaint in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

BitSight’s numerical risk score ...