Google buys cybersecurity company Mandiant for $5.4B

In a move to offer an end-to-end security operations suite from its cloud platform, Google has announced it will acquire cyberdefense and response company Mandiant for $5.4 billion, in a deal expected to close later this year.

The acquisition will complement Google Cloud’s existing security services and together, the companies will deliver a security operations suite as well as advisory services that help customers address critical security challenges and stay protected at every stage of the security lifecycle, Mandiant said in a press release.

The company recently announced a new Ransomware Defense Validation service for its SaaS-based XDR (extended detection and response) platform, Mandiant Advantage, to help enterprises gauge the ability of their security systems to guard against ransomware attacks. 

“This is an opportunity to deliver an end-to-end security operations suite and extend one of the best consulting organizations in the world,” said Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, in the press release.

Mandiant gained significant recognition 2020 after discovering the infamous SolarWinds hack, orchestrated by a Russian group who were able to break into the networks of SolarWinds and covertly alter the code in one of its IT management software update packages.

This resulted in resulted in backdoor malware being pushed out to thousands of companies that relied on SolarWinds management products, and as a result both private enterprise and government networks were targeted for further network intrusions.

“Cyber security is a mission, and we believe it’s one of the most important of our generation. Google Cloud shares our mission-driven culture to bring security to every organization,” said Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia, in the release. “Together, we will deliver our expertise and intelligence at scale via the Mandiant Advantage SaaS platform, as part of the Google Cloud security portfolio.”

 Yesterday, The Information reported that Google was in talks with Mandiant about a possible deal to bolster Google’s cloud computing arm. However, it was thought that Microsoft were also interested in a potential buy-out of the consultancy company.