from both nation-state actors and criminal hacking organizations with more advanced versions of malware in the category known as ransomware targeting key supply chains and infrastructure. The massive move to the cloud by companies across all sectors of the economy, further accelerated by the pandemic, also has heightened the need for a stronger suite of cyber tools from technology vendors for remote workers and operations.
As tensions between Russia and the West intensify, it's put the cybersecurity preparedness of institutions back in the spotlight, while also highlighting cybersecurity deals like the 2019 tie-up between HP and Bromium as timely bets., a $5.4 billion deal for cybersecurity firm Mandiant.
With cloud customers demanding more artificial intelligence and automation, Alphabet is also seeing more demand for better, faster threat detection, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said in a blog post about the deal. Bromium founder Gaurav Banga has since founded another cybersecurity firm, Balbix, with John Chambers among his investors, who noted inLast year was a record-setter for cyber M&A, according to advisory firm Cyber Momentum, with 286 transactions totaling $77 billion, an increase of nearly 300%.
The deals are occurring in all markets, with SentinelOne's June IPO surpassing CrowdStrike's $6.7 billion mark in 2019 to make it the highest-valued cybersecurity IPO in history, and two of the biggest deals taking companies private – McAfee being acquired by an investment consortium for more than $14 billion in November, and Proofpoint being acquired by Thoma Bravo for $12.3 billion in April.