What is BitSightBot?

BitSightBot is an intelligence-gathering web crawler operated by BitSight, a prominent cybersecurity ratings firm. It functions as a specialized scanning agent designed to collect technical security information from websites as part of BitSight's security rating and risk assessment services. The bot identifies itself in server logs with the user agent string Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; BitSightBot/1.0), which follows standard HTTP protocols for crawler identification.

This crawler employs headless browser technology to conduct comprehensive security assessments of websites, examining various technical aspects including TLS/SSL configurations, security headers, and potential vulnerabilities in web applications. Unlike general-purpose crawlers, BitSightBot is specifically engineered to evaluate cybersecurity postures and gather intelligence that contributes to BitSight's security rating algorithms.

BitSightBot is classified as an intelligence gatherer rather than an AI-related crawler. It systematically analyzes websites for security-related data points, which are then processed and incorporated into BitSight's proprietary security rating system that helps organizations evaluate their own security posture and that of their vendors and partners.

Why is BitSightBot crawling my site?

BitSightBot visits websites primarily to collect technical security information that contributes to BitSight's cybersecurity rating assessments. If you're seeing this bot in your logs, your website is likely being evaluated as part of a security rating process—either for your own organization or because you're a vendor or partner to companies that use BitSight for third-party risk management.

The crawler typically focuses on publicly accessible areas of websites to gather information about security configurations, potential vulnerabilities, and overall security hygiene. Its scanning behavior is largely dependent on the specific security metrics BitSight is evaluating for its clients. For example, if a BitSight client is particularly interested in your organization's security posture, the bot may visit more frequently to maintain current data.

BitSightBot's crawling is generally considered authorized as it operates as part of a legitimate security service, though the website owner may not have explicitly requested the scanning. The frequency of visits can vary based on your organization's relevance to BitSight's client base and the importance of keeping security ratings current.

What is the purpose of BitSightBot?

BitSightBot serves BitSight's core business function of providing security ratings and risk assessments for organizations. Similar to how credit ratings agencies evaluate financial health, BitSight evaluates cybersecurity postures and provides numerical ratings (typically ranging from 250-900) that indicate security performance.

The data collected by BitSightBot contributes to these ratings by identifying potential security weaknesses, validating security controls, and measuring overall security hygiene. This information helps BitSight clients make more informed decisions about their own security practices and those of their vendors, partners, and acquisition targets.

For organizations being crawled, BitSightBot's activity can indirectly provide value by highlighting security issues that might otherwise go unnoticed. Many companies use their BitSight ratings as benchmarks for security improvement and as differentiators when bidding for contracts with security-conscious clients.

How do I block BitSightBot?

BitSightBot respects standard robots.txt directives, making it relatively straightforward to control its access to your website. If you wish to block it completely, you can add the following to your robots.txt file:

User-agent: BitSightBot
Disallow: /

This will instruct BitSightBot not to crawl any part of your website. Alternatively, if you want to allow BitSightBot but restrict it from certain areas, you can specify particular directories or pages:

User-agent: BitSightBot
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /confidential/

Before blocking BitSightBot, consider that doing so may impact your organization's security ratings if you or your partners use BitSight's services. Without access to your website, BitSight may have incomplete information about your security posture, potentially resulting in a less accurate or lower security rating. If you're concerned about server resource usage but still want the benefits of security ratings, you might consider using more targeted restrictions that allow limited access during off-peak hours or to specific parts of your site.

BitSightBot