Ride the Lightning

Google Buying Cybersecurity Company Mandiant for a Whopping $5.4 Billion

March 10, 2022

The Verge reported on March 8 that Google is buying cybersecurity company Mandiant in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $5.4 billion.

Mandiant employs more than 600 security consultants and more than 300 intelligence analysts. It will be folded into Google Cloud to create an “end-to-end security operations suite.” A range of services will be offered, from consulting on cybersecurity to detecting upcoming threats and testing digital defenses.

“Organizations around the world are facing unprecedented cybersecurity challenges as the sophistication and severity of attacks that were previously used to target major governments are now being used to target companies in every industry,” Google Cloud’s CEO Thomas Kurian said in a blog post. “We look forward to welcoming Mandiant to Google Cloud to further enhance our security operations suite and advisory services, and help customers address their most important security challenges.”

Mandiant is probably best known for its discovery and analysis of the devastating SolarWinds attack — a massive operation thought to be sponsored by the Russian government that compromised computers across the US federal government. The attack was undiscovered for many months until Mandiant reported details of the operation in December 2020.

Earlier, Microsoft had been rumored as a potential buyer of Mandiant. Microsoft and Google have been competing to control the lucrative cloud services market, where cybersecurity plays an increasingly prominent role.

“There has never been a more critical time in cybersecurity. Since our founding in 2004, Mandiant’s mission has been to combat cyber attacks and protect our customers from the latest threats,” Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia said in a press statement. “To that end, we are thrilled to be joining forces with Google Cloud. Together, we will deliver expertise and intelligence at scale, changing the security industry.”

This is a behemoth of a cybersecurity firm now. We wish the new company fair winds and following seas.

Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President, Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
3975 University Drive, Suite 225, Fairfax, VA 22030
Email:   Phone: 703-359-0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
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