On Tuesday, Google announced that it will acquire cybersecurity firm Mandiant in an all-cash deal for $23 per share, totaling approximately $5.4 billion.

WHY IT MATTERS
Upon the close of the acquisition, Mandiant will join Google Cloud – bolstering its existing portfolio of security tools such as BeyondCorp Enterprise for Zero Trust, VirusTotal, Chronicle, Security Command Center and others..

"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 a statement. "Together we can make a profound impact in securing the cloud, accelerating the adoption of cloud computing, and ultimately make the world safer."

Mandiant's cybersecurity offerings are designed to help healthcare and other customers manage all parts of the security lifecycle: advisory services, threat detection and intelligence, automation and response tools, testing and validation, managed defense, and more.

"There has never been a more critical time in cybersecurity," said Kevin Mandia, CEO of Mandiant. "We are thrilled to be joining forces with Google Cloud. Together, we will deliver expertise and intelligence at scale."

The acquisition is expected to close later this year, subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of Mandiant stockholder and regulatory approvals.

THE LARGER TREND
Google Cloud notes that the cybersecurity risks faced by healthcare and other organizations have "accelerated in frequency, severity and diversity."

Cloud-based detection and response tools can offer wider protection against "entire classes of cyber threats, while also rapidly accelerating digital transformation," helping clients analyze threat intelligence across organizations, automate remediation and visualize IT environments to better identify potential new threats.

Mandiant has long been on the lookout for new and emerging cybersecurity threats. This past October, it put out an alert warning of an "aggressive" threat actor targeting healthcare organizations.

That same month Google launched its new Cybersecurity Action Team, designed to help governments, critical infrastructure organizations and businesses "guide customers through the cycle of security transformation."

"Cybersecurity is at the top of every C-level and board agenda, given the increasing prominence of software supply chain exploits, ransomware and other attacks," Kurian said at the time.

ON THE RECORD
"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," said Kurian. "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."

"Cybersecurity is a mission, and we believe it's one of the most important of our generation," said Mandia. "Together, we will deliver our expertise and intelligence at scale via the Mandiant Advantage SaaS platform, as part of the Google Cloud security portfolio. These efforts will help organizations to effectively, efficiently and continuously manage and configure their complex mix of security products." 

Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
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