Published on 2025-08-07T06:18:08Z

BitSightBot

BitSightBot is an intelligence-gathering web crawler operated by BitSight, a leading cybersecurity ratings firm. The bot's function is to scan public-facing websites to collect technical security information, such as SSL configurations and security headers. This data is then used to generate BitSight's proprietary security ratings, which help organizations assess their own cybersecurity posture and that of their third-party vendors.

What is BitSightBot?

BitSightBot is a specialized web crawler from the cybersecurity ratings company BitSight. It acts as an intelligence-gathering agent, designed to collect technical security information from public websites. The bot identifies itself with the user-agent string Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; BitSightBot/1.0). It uses headless browser technology to conduct its security assessments, examining details like TLS/SSL configurations, security headers, and potential application vulnerabilities. The data collected contributes to BitSight's security rating algorithms, which are used to evaluate the cybersecurity posture of organizations.

Why is BitSightBot crawling my site?

BitSightBot is visiting your website to collect technical data as part of a cybersecurity rating assessment. This scan may be for your own organization, or because your company is a vendor or partner to an organization that uses BitSight for third-party risk management. The crawler focuses on publicly accessible information related to your security configurations and overall cyber hygiene. The frequency of its visits can vary depending on your organization's relevance to BitSight's clients and the need to keep its security ratings current.

What is the purpose of BitSightBot?

The core purpose of BitSightBot is to support BitSight's primary business of providing data-driven cybersecurity ratings. Similar to a credit rating, a BitSight Security Rating (typically on a scale of 250-900) provides an objective measure of an organization's security performance. The data gathered by the bot is a key input for these ratings, which help BitSight's clients make informed decisions about their security practices and manage third-party risk. For the organizations being crawled, the bot's activity can indirectly provide value by highlighting security issues that may need attention.

How do I block BitSightBot?

To prevent BitSightBot from scanning your website, you can add a disallow rule to your robots.txt file. This is the standard method for managing access for web crawlers.

Add the following lines to your robots.txt file to block BitSightBot:

User-agent: BitSightBot
Disallow: /

How to verify the authenticity of the user-agent operated by BitSight?

Reverse IP lookup technique

To verify user-agent authenticity, you can use host linux command two times with the IP address of the requester.
  1. > host IPAddressOfRequest
    This command returns the reverse lookup hostname (e.g., 4.4.8.8.in-addr.arpa.). 
  2. > host ReverseDNSFromTheOutputOfFirstRequest
If the output matches the original IP address and the domain is associated with a trusted operator (e.g., BitSight), the user-agent can be considered legitimate.

IP list lookup technique

Some operators provide a public list of IP addresses used by their crawlers. This list can be cross-referenced to verify a user-agent's authenticity. However, both operators and website owners may find it challenging to maintain an up-to-date list, so use this method with caution and in conjunction with other verification techniques.