Wavenet acquires OGL. KKR acquires Barracuda Networks. Cyber war clauses coming to insurance policies.

By the CyberWire staff

At a glance.

Wavenet acquires OGL.
KKR acquires Barracuda Networks.
Cyber war clauses coming to insurance policies.

Mergers and acquisitions.

United Kingdom-based telecommunications and technology provider Wavenet has acquired IT support, IT solutions, cloud computing and cyber security businesses from OGL Computer Support Holdings, also based in the UK. Note: the following correction was received on 8.25.22: OGL Software which provides ERP solutions will remain an independent business. Wavenet says this acquisition makes the company one of the largest UK providers of cybersecurity and unified communiucations. “It is an extremely exciting time for Wavenet with this acquisition, OGL IT and CyberGuard Technologies bring a wealth of knowledge and experience, enabling the Wavenet Group to strengthen its offerings and enhance the service provided to our customers,” said Bill Dawson, CEO of Wavenet.

Investment firm KKR, headquartered in New York, has completed their acquisition of cloud security provider Barracuda Networks, previously owned by investment firm Thoma Bravo. The acquisition was reported to be about $4 billion. Barracuda Networks currently serves about 200,000 customers.

Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) may be selling its cybersecurity business Trustwave Holdings. The sale is estimated to be valued between $200 million and $300 million. Bloomberg reports that the “Considerations are preliminary and Singtel could still decide to retain the asset.”

Cybersecurity company GreyNoise Intelligence, based in Washington, D.C., has completed their acquisition of South Carolina-based software company Krit. Founder and CEO of GreyNoise, Andrew Morris, said, “With this acquisition, we are ensuring that we can continue to elevate our product design and make the user experience we deliver a competitive advantage. This investment will further empower our customers with the tools they need to understand and defend against emerging cyber threats.”

Executive moves.

1Password has appointed Steve Won as the company’s Chief Product Officer.

Claroty has named Joshua Corman as the company’s Vice President of Cyber Safety Strategy.

BlastWave has appointed Keao Caindec as the company’s Chief Marketing Officer and Vince Zappula as the company’s Chief Revenue Officer.

Stel Valavanis, onShore Security CEO, has been asked to join the Private Directors Association Cybersecurity Committee.

Formic has hired Karl Barry as Head of Robotics Monitoring, Mika Saryan as Head of Fleet Management Products, and Michael Lim as Sales Development Manager.

PIXM has appointed Julian Waits to the company’s Board of Directors.

VMware has hired Prashanth Shenoy as the company’s Vice President of Cloud Platform, Infrastructure and Solutions Marketing. Shenoy was previously the global head of marketing at Cisco.

BlueVoyant has appointed Shane Akeroyd as Vice Chairman and Eric Staffin as Vice President of Strategic Development.

NSO Group’s CEO Shalev Hulio, is stepping down. COO Yaron Shohat is overseeing the group’s reorganization until a successor is named to follow Hulio.

Concentric AI has appointed Daniel Emanuele as the company’s Senior Vice President of Sales.

Owl Cyber Defense has appointed Ken Walker as the company’s Chief Executive Officer.

Okta has appointed Emilie Choi to the company’s Board of Directors.

Contrast Security has hired Tom Kellermann as the company’s Senior Vice President of Cyber Strategy.

Leaseweb has appointed Richard Copeland as the US branch of the company’s Chief Executive Officer.

Company news.

(ISC)² shared the results of a member poll, which revealed that cybersecurity professionals are aligned with the workforce, preferring remote work options over being required to be in-office full-time. It was found that 18% of poll respondents would look for a new job if they were told to return to the office, and 33% were unsure, with about half (49%) saying it wouldn’t make a difference. Some, however, prefer to work from the office, with social interaction being a driving factor for half of the respondents. Still, 35% of respondents said they preferred working from home full-time. It seems that the most important thing to cybersecurity professionals is choice – giving employees the option to be remote or in-office.

Cyber war clauses coming to cyber insurance policies.

Insurance Day reports that Lloyd's Marketing Association has mandated that all cyber insurance policies must, by March 31st of next year, contain an explicit clause "excluding liability for losses arising from state-backed cyber attacks." That clause would be in addition to the typical war clauses that have long excluded coverage of losses caused by action in a conventional war. The requirement for an explicit exclusion of liability for state cyber action seems to recognize the growing risk of gray zone conflict. Insurance Day quotes Lloyds as explaining, "It is important that Lloyd’s can have confidence that syndicates are managing their exposures to liabilities arising from war and state backed cyber-attacks. Robust wordings also provide the parties with clarity of cover, means that risks can be properly priced and reduces the risk of dispute. The ability of hostile actors to easily disseminate an attack, the ability for harmful code to spread, and the critical dependency that societies have on their IT infrastructure, including to operate physical assets, means that losses have the potential to greatly exceed what the insurance market is able to absorb.”

The Record by Recorded Future reports that co-founder and CEO of cyber insurance company Coalition, Joshua Motta, shared that the burden is on the insurer to prove the applicability of the exclusion, and that Lloyd’s “seeks to remove ambiguity in how the war exclusion will be applied,” which he says is “sound in principle, but it is not yet clear whether it will achieve its goal in practice.” While this attempt is to remove ambiguity, Security Week reports that attribution is still difficult, even with the four provided model clauses for underwriters to choose from. The “primary but not exclusive factor in determining attribution” is left to the victim’s security and intelligence agencies, but it expands on the rule, saying, “Pending attribution by the government… the insurer may rely upon an inference which is objectively reasonable as to attribution of the cyber operation to another state or those acting on its behalf. It is agreed that during this period no loss shall be paid.” The issue lies with defining what falls under ‘acting on [a nation-state’s] behalf.’ While not all threat actors are government sanctioned, many are still known to and tolerated by the government.

Marketplace

Singtel to take big hit on Trustwave sale (Telecoms.com) Singtel is pushing forward with the sale of its cybersecurity business as part of a business streamlining push that will see it focus on 5G and new growth areas.

Five questions to ask about cyber insurance (SC Media) Here’s a good checklist of questions to ask when considering cyber insurance.

Krit has been acquired by GreyNoise Intelligence (Krit) In June we signed the paperwork to join GreyNoise Intelligence. We’re incredibly excited to be a part of their incredible team and to continue the work we’ve done together!

CrowdStrike Named Best Security Company by 2022 SC Awards (CrowdStrike) CrowdStrike has been recognized as a winner in the Best Security Company category for the 2022 SC Awards US. Read to learn more here!

Will spyware maker NSO Group's struggles reduce use of its eavesdropping tech? Critics doubt it. (CyberScoop) The company announced layoffs and a reorganization on Sunday, but spyware researchers doubt that will reduce the use of its technology.

Companies Are Ditching Cybersecurity Insurance as Premiums Rise, Coverage Shrinks (The Information) Big companies including banking giant JPMorgan Chase have reduced the amount of cybersecurity insurance they buy from major underwriters, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation. The moves came after ransomware and other digital hacks blindsided insurers, triggering payouts to ...

Cybersecurity Startup Arctic Wolf in Talks to Raise $300 Million in Convertible Debt (The Information) Arctic Wolf, a 10-year-old cybersecurity startup valued last year at $4.3 billion, is in talks to raise $300 million in convertible debt from investors including direct lender Owl Rock Capital, according to people familiar with the matter. The debt would convert to shares at a premium to the ...

Trustwave for Sale? MSSP, MDR Security Company May Gain New Owner, Report Suggests (MSSP Alert) Trustwave, an MSSP & MDR security services provider, may be up for sale. Owner Singtel may be seeking up to $300 million for Trustwave, report indicates.

Tech companies chop hundreds of Bay Area jobs as layoffs mount (Techxplore) Tech company layoffs are poised to eliminate hundreds of jobs in the Bay Area, an ominous new round of layoffs that might jolt the region's primary economic engine.

Torq Announces 385% Customer Growth and 360% Revenue Increase (Torq) No-Code Security Automation Leader, Torq, Announces 385% Customer Growth and 360% Revenue Increase, Delivering on Its Promise of Empowering Global Security Teams to Defeat Modern Cyberthreats.

Israeli cybersecurity co Tufin lays off 55 (Globes)  Ahead of its acquisition by Turn/River Capital for $570 million, the cybersecurity policy management and automation company is laying of 10% of its workforce.

NSO Group’s Hulio steps down as CEO of spyware firm, 100 employees let go (Times of Israel) Producer of controversial Pegasus phone hacking software undergoes large scale reorganization amid bid to regroup after years of negative publicity, blacklists and lawsuits

Israeli spyware company NSO Group CEO steps down (Reuters) Israeli spyware firm NSO Group said on Sunday its Chief Executive Shalev Hulio is stepping down with immediate effect, with Chief Operating Officer Yaron Shohat appointed to oversee a reorganisation of the company before a successor is named.

Spyware Firm NSO's Chief Steps Down in Reorganization (Bloomberg) Israeli spyware company NSO Group’s chief executive officer is stepping down as the company restructures to focus on NATO-member countries, it said in a statement.

Meta Platforms Stock: How The FTC Could Derail Meta's Big Plans (SeekingAlpha) Meta Platforms' core business has turned negative, and now the FTC is trying to block META's acquisition strategy. See what risks remain with META stock.

Facebook contractors learned they lost work with the company through a video call with anonymous representatives who said an 'algorithm' chose random people to cut, workers say (Business Insider) Facebook appears to be reducing the number of contractors it employs through a staffing deal with Accenture.

How a Former Sequoia Capital Partner Cornered the Israeli Security Startup Market (The Information) Whenever a cybersecurity startup seeks capital from venture capital firms in Israel, whose military trains an outsize number of security software entrepreneurs, the first thing prospective investors usually do is check whether Gili Raanan has invested in it. If he hasn’t, there had better be a ...

Mike Lynch attacks 'vindictive' US authorities over Darktrace takeover (The Telegraph) Plus: Cybersecurity star Darktrace confronts its past as predators circle

At-Bay Acquires Relay to Accelerate the Future of Specialty Insurance (Business Wire) At-Bay acquires specialty insurance distribution marketplace Relay; the multicarrier platform will remain an independent entity going forward.

NightDragon Wins 2022 SC Award for Growth Stage Investor of the Year (NightDragon) NightDragon is thrilled to announce that it has been recognized as an Excellence Award winner in the Growth Stage Investor of the Year category for the 2022 SC Awards. The SC Media industry awards program is cybersecurity’s most prestigious and competitive program, recognizing the solutions, organ

Early-Stage Investor of the Year | YL Ventures (SC Media) YL Ventures focuses on seeding Israeli-based companies for success in the U.S. and global markets. Successful unicorns include Axonius and Orca Security.

Cybersecurity M&A Roundup for August 1-15, 2022 (SecurityWeek) Twenty-three cybersecurity-related M&A deals were announced in the first half of August 2022.

Winners Announced in Best in Biz Awards 2022 International (PRWeb) Best in Biz Awards, the only independent global business awards program judged each year by prominent editors and reporters from top-tier publications from around

Radiant Logic Named Winner of 1st Annual Cybersecurity Impact Award (Business Wire) Radiant Logic selected as inaugural winner of the Cybersecurity Impact Award by the Aite Novarica Group.

KnowBe4 Honored as Gold Stevie® Award Winner In 2022 Stevie Awards for Talent Acquisition Team of the Year (GlobeNewswire News Room) KnowBe4 has been named the winner of a Gold Stevie® Award in the Talent Acquisition Team of the Year category in the seventh annual Stevie Awards for Great...

Privacy protection could be the key to retention in 2023 (HR Morning) There’s a new benefit employers may want to consider offering in 2023 – privacy protection. The reason: Eighty-two percent of breaches have a human element involved, according to Verizon’s 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report. Keeping employees’ privacy safe, means keeping the company’s privacy safe. Dimitri Shelest, founder and CEO at OneRep, a privacy protection company, believes the […]

Lloyd’s sets requirements for state-backed cyber attack exclusions (Insurance Day) From March 31 next year, all standalone cyber attack policies must exclude liability for losses arising from any state-backed cyber attack

Investing in Innovation: 9 Startups That Recently Secured $50M+ (Acceleration Economy) Snapshots of 9 startups that have recently secured $50 million or more in funding to fuel innovation in security, supply chains, and more.

KKR snaps up cybersecurity specialist for $4B (Mobile World Live) KKR continued to expand its portfolio of cybersecurity and fibre network assets through acquisition of Barracuda Networks.

Santa Clara-based cybersecurity startup Malwarebytes is cutting 125 jobs (Silicon Valley Business Journal) Malwarebytes Inc. has reportedly cut 125 employees, or about 14% of its global workforce, as it shifts its business strategy.

Malwarebytes Cuts 125 Employees as per Strategic Reorganization Plan (TechDator) Malwarebytes, 0ne of the well-known device security makers, confirmed laying off about 14% of its global workforce, about 125 employees.

Products, Services, and Solutions

Cobalt Iron Ranks High Among Leaders in GigaOm 2022 Radar Report for Enterprise Hybrid Cloud Data Protection (WallStreet.com) Cobalt Iron Inc., a leading provider of SaaS-based enterprise data protection, today announced that GigaOm has named Cobalt Iron an industry Leader in its 2022 GigaOm Radar Report for Hybrid Cloud Data Protection: Large Enterprises. The company earned the ranking based on the features and capabilities of the Cobalt Iron Compass® enterprise SaaS backup platform.

Optiv Canada Awarded First Enterprise Contract Under Federal Government's Cybersecurity Procurement Vehicle (PR Newswire) Optiv, the cyber advisory and solutions leader, today announced it has been awarded the first major enterprise contract under Shared Services...

NCC Group appointed as global auditor for GSMA Network Equipment Security Assurance Scheme (NESAS) (NCC Group) We are delighted to announce our recent appointment as one of only two global auditors for the GSMA Network Equipment Security Assurance Scheme (NESAS)

Drata Adds Risk Management Solution to Further Integrate Security and Compliance Automation (PR Newswire) Drata, a security and continuous compliance automation platform, today announced the launch of Risk Management, enabling customers to manage...

IronNet to Collaborate with CISA to Strengthen the Nation’s Cyber Defense (IronNet) IronNet, Inc., member of the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC), today announced it has entered into an agreement with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to share information from IronNet’s Collective Defense platform to help the agency defend against increased global cyber threats.

ManageEngine Integrates with Sectigo® to Automate Certificate Lifecycle Management (Business Wire) ManageEngine announced the integration between its key and certificate lifecycle management solution, Key Manager Plus, and Sectigo.

Contrast Security Adds API Support to Security Platform (DevOps.com) Contrast Security has fully extended its vulnerability scanning and runtime application self-protection (RASP) platform to now include APIs.

Why The DIG Chose Swimlane to Transform Its Phishing Defense (Swimlane) The Digital Investigative Group (DIG) is a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) startup that serves local government entities and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) in Montana. As the tech bubble continues to grow there, the DIG helps these smaller businesses enhance their cybersecurity posture…

Fujifilm Group deploys Verizon Business Group’s Advanced Security Operations Center (Verizon) Verizon Business is supporting Japan’s FUJIFILM Holdings and its subsidiaries strengthen its global cybersecurity monitoring and cyber intelligence capabilities.

AttackIQ Becomes First Breach and Attack Simulation Provider to Secure Authority to Operate from the United States Army (Business Wire) AttackIQ®, the leading independent vendor of Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) systems, today announced it has been granted a three-year Assess Only

Kyndryl, EY team up for digital transformation offering (CRN Australia) Combining cloud, infrastructure expertise with consulting experience.

Wesfarmers to stand up offensive cyber security capabilities (iTnews) Through new "Cyber Fusion Centre".

Introducing curated detections in Chronicle SecOps Suite (Google Cloud Blog) Curated detections for Chronicle enables security teams to use Google’s intelligence and expertise in responding to threats and cyberattacks.

People

Leaseweb Appoints Richard Copeland As CEO of Its U.S. Business (Leaseweb) Leaseweb Global, a leading hosting and cloud services company, announced the appointment of Richard Copeland as CEO of Leaseweb USA, effective today.

Former VMware Cybersecurity Leader Tom Kellermann Joins Contrast Security as Senior Vice President of Cyber Strategy (Contrast Security) Experienced cyber leader to lead the government and financial industry strategy and accelerate information sharing between public and private sectors

Okta appoints Emilie Choi to Board of Directors (Help Net Security) Okta has unveiled that Emilie Choi, has been appointed to the company’s board of directors, effective August 19, 2022.

Owl Cyber Defense Names Ken Walker to Chief Executive Officer (GlobeNewswire News Room) President and former CTO to lead the organization as it delivers cross-domain and data diode network segmentation solutions to protect government and...

Concentric AI Grows Leadership Team to Meet Accelerating Demand for Data Security Posture Management Solutions (Business Wire) Concentric AI, a leading vendor of intelligent AI-based solutions for autonomous data security posture management, today announced it has named former

BlastWave expands leadership team with new appointments (Help Net Security) BlastWave has appointed Keao Caindec as CMO and Vince Zappula as CRO to facilitate BlastWave's company vision.

BlueVoyant Welcomes Seasoned Executives to Advance Commercial Relationships and Strategic Initiatives (PR Newswire) BlueVoyant, an industry-leading cyber defense company converging internal and external security, today announced that Shane Akeroyd is joining...

Cisco’s Longtime Marketing Guru Jumps To VMware | CRN (CRN) Cisco’s marketing executive Prashanth Shenoy leaves the networking market leader to join VMware as vice president of cloud platform, infrastructure and solutions marketing.

PIXM Adds Cybersecurity Industry Veteran Julian Waits to Board of Directors (Business Wire) PIXM, a computer vision cyber security startup, today announced an expansion of its Board of Directors with the addition of seasoned business executiv

Formic Hires Amazon, Coco, and BeyondTrust Alums Amid Hyper-growth Trajectory (RoboticsTomorrow) Formic’s risk-free, affordable, full-service pay-by-the-hour rental model removes traditional barriers to automation, helping small and mid-sized manufacturers

onShore Security CEO Stel Valavanis to Join Private Directors Association Cybersecurity Committee (onShore Security) Cyberleader and CEO of onShore Security Stel Valavanis has been asked to join the cybersecurity committee of the Private Directors […]

BlastWave Accelerates Its Go-to-Market Strategy, Expands Its Management Team (PR Newswire) BlastWave today announced the appointment of Keao Caindec as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Vince Zappula as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO),...

Claroty Appoints Joshua Corman as VP Cyber Safety Strategy (Claroty) Former Chief Strategist of CISA’s COVID Task Force and Founder of I Am The Cavalry to lead company’s efforts to protect public safety, human life, and national security

1Password Welcomes Security Innovator as Chief Product Officer (PR Newswire) 1Password, the human-centric security leader, today announced Steve Won as Chief Product Officer. Steve brings a wealth of experience from...