By Staff Writer.
Google is buying cyber threat intelligence business Mandiant in a US$5.4 billion deal that will significantly upgrade Google’s existing cyber-defence offering. When the deal is done, Mandiant will bring its highly regarded cyber-threat intelligence and analysis products across to the Google Cloud platform.
Google says the purchase will build on Google Cloud’s existing security strengths. By tapping into Mandiant’s expertise, Google Cloud will boost its capabilities by delivering an end-to-end operations suite and offering better advisory services when customers deal with cyber-security challenges.
“The Mandiant brand is synonymous with unmatched insights for organisations seeking to keep themselves secure in a constantly changing environment,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO at Google Cloud. “This is an opportunity to deliver an end-to-end security operations suite and extend one of the best consulting organisations in the world.”
Google, which is owned by California-based Alphabet Inc, will pay $23 per Mandiant share in the all-cash deal. This represents a 57% premium on Mandiant’s early February share price. The purchase, the first of many expected across the cybersecurity sector, should finalise later this year.
Virginia-based Mandiant was established in 2004 but became known globally in 2013 when it released a report identifying China’s People’s Liberation Army as behind a long-running cyber-espionage project that infiltrated the IT networks of more than 100 organisations worldwide.
Mandiant hit the headlines again in late 2020 when it investigated and revealed the now notorious SolarWinds supply chain cyber-attack on US Government infrastructure. Last year, Mandiant was involved in the response to the Colonial Pipelines cyber-attack.
Mandiant has evolved into a go-to cyber-incident response and cybersecurity testing business. The cybersecurity firm was the first port of call for Nvidia and News Corporation following recent cyber-attacks there.
This week, Mandiant intelligence confirmed that Chinese government-sponsored cyber-attackers had accessed the IT networks of at least six US Government departments in the last 12 months.
“Cyber security is a mission, and we believe it’s one of the most important of our generation,” says Mandiant’s CEO Kevin Mandia. “Google Cloud shares our mission-driven culture to bring security to every organisation. We will deliver our expertise and intelligence at scale via the Mandiant Advantage SasS platform, as part of the Google Cloud security portfolio.”
Microsoft was also reportedly keen to purchase the threat intelligence business. The deal is expected to trigger significant cybersecurity consolidation across the cloud space as organisations scramble to shore up their defences in an increasingly volatile security environment. At the same time, cybersecurity businesses are seeking to access the financial resources and customer base large buyers like Google offer.
However, not everyone is onboard. The American Economic Liberties Project says the Google/Mandiant deal will stifle innovation in the cybersecurity sector.
“Putting Google at the helm, especially as other large tech firms consolidate the cybersecurity sector, will only serve to choke off necessary innovation,” says Krista Brown, Senior Policy Analyst at the New York-based non-profit think tank.
“In addition to blocking this deal, regulators must investigate the cybersecurity space more broadly to understand the unknown and dangerous costs of consolidation in such an essential sector.”
Mandiant says the buyout is subject to customary closing conditions, including stockholder and regulatory approvals.
