Google announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Mandiant Inc., a leader in the field of cybersecurity, paying $23 per share for a total of approximately $5.4 billion. The company will become part of Google Cloud adding Mandiant’s security services to increase customer protection at a time when cyberattacks are more numerous than ever. Recently, there were various acquisition rumors regarding the company founded by Kevin Mandia, also by Microsoft, but it eventually became part of the Google family.
Founded in 2004 with the name Red Cliff Consulting and then changed to Mandiant in 2006, the company founded by former US Air Force officer Kevin Mandia has become over the years a leader in the field of cybersecurity. In 2013 it was acquired by FireEye and then returned to being an independent company in the course of 2021 with Mandia as CEO.
In 2013, Mandiant gained notoriety outside its field after publishing a report of espionage cyberattacks that explicitly named China as the culprit, an allegation that caused a sensation at the time. Mandiant has worked with both private companies and US government agencies revealing various attacks of foreign origin, including some originating in Russia.
Google Cloud’s CEO Thomas Kurian noted that organizations around the world are facing unprecedented challenges in cybersecurity and the level of sophistication and severity of attacks that were previously used to target major governments are now being used to target companies in every industry. For this reason, Kurian welcomes Mandiant to Google Cloud to further enhance corporate security services and help customers address their most important security challenges.
In the official statements, Kevin Mandia confirmed that there has never been a more critical time in the field of cybersecurity. He expressed his excitement in joining forces with Google Cloud to deliver their expertise on a massive scale changing the security industry.
For cloud giants, security is more of a priority than ever and that’s why Google Cloud’s acquisition of Mandiant is so valuable. It’s a value that fully reflects its importance in a period in which war is also fought via the Internet and electronic equipment.
