Google acquires Mandiant to enhance Google Cloud security suite

Google LLC today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Mandiant Inc., a leader in dynamic cyber defense and response. The deal is an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $5.4 billion, inclusive of Mandiant’s net cash, and will see Mandiant join Google Cloud as the latter enhances its security operations suite. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of Mandiant stockholder and regulatory approvals, and is expected to close later this year.

Mandiant acquisition complements Google Cloud’s security offering

The acquisition of Mandiant will complement Google Cloud’s existing security suite, Google said in a press release, which includes:

• BeyondCorp Enterprise for Zero Trust
• VirusTotal for malicious content and software vulnerabilities
• Chronicle’s planet-scale security analytics and automation coupled with services such as Security Command Center
• Google Cloud’s Cybersecurity Action Team.

With the addition of Mandiant, Google Cloud will enhance these offerings to deliver an end-to-end security operations suite with greater capabilities to support customers across their cloud and on-premises environments via improved advisory services, threat detection and intelligence, automation and response tools, testing and validation, and managed defense, it added.

“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,” commented Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud. “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.”

Since founding in 2004, Mandiant’s mission has been to combat cyberattacks and protect customers from the latest threats, added Kevin Mandia, Mandiant CEO. “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,” he continued.

Google said it is committed to supporting the technology partners of both companies, including the endpoint ecosystem, with the acquisition enabling system integrators, resellers, and managed security service providers to offer broader solutions to customers.

Mandiant acquisition addresses gap in Google’s security portfolio

Gartner VP, distinguished analyst and fellow, Neil MacDonald, tells CSO that this acquisition demonstrates Google’s commitment to growing its security business independently of the Google Cloud platform in the wake of its recent acquisition of Siemplify for security orchestration automation and response capabilities. “Along with the strong security brand name and reputation of Mandiant, the acquisition addresses a major gap in Google’s security portfolio – an emerging category Gartner refers to as extended detection and response (XDR). Mandiant brings with it a managed XDR platform capability that can be sold as a managed service.”

The Mandiant brand name is strong and, if managed correctly, its technology, employees, and customer base can flourish, MacDonald adds. “The key will be allowing Mandiant to innovate and thrive within the broader Google culture.”

MacDonald also backs Google to continue its commitment as a trusted brand for enterprise cloud and security services, including technical and operational controls around access to customer data. “The messaging of this is absolutely critical for the future success of Mandiant. Specifically, who has access to the data, when, and under what technical controls. In GCP, Google has introduced an innovative external key manager to do exactly this. I would expect this type of approach to be adopted in the Mandiant security cloud.”