At a glance.
- Travelers to acquire Corvus.
- Accenture acquires Innotec Security.
- Xage Security raises $20 million.
Mergers and acquisitions.
Insurance firm Travelers has agreed to acquire cyber insurance provider Corvus. Alan Schnitzer, Chairman and CEO of Travelers, stated, "This transaction accelerates our access to cutting-edge cyber capabilities that were on our strategic roadmap, including sophisticated underwriting algorithms, advanced cyber vulnerability scanning, and digital connectivity to customers and distribution partners."
Accenture has acquired Spanish cybersecurity firm Innotec Security from Entelgy Group for an undisclosed amount. Accenture stated, "The acquisition of Innotec Security—which also has a presence in Barcelona, Seville, and the Basque Country—will add 500 cybersecurity professionals to Accenture Security’s workforce of 20,000 professionals globally, making Accenture Security one of the top managed security services (MSS) players in Spain."
Lumen Technologies has completed the sale of its EMEA business to London-headquartered Colt Technology Services for $1.8 billion. Lumen CEO Kate Johnson stated, "Our focus on building deep relationships with strategic partners allows us to simplify our business while delivering a seamless networking experience for our multinational customers. Through our strong relationship with Colt, both companies are well positioned for future growth." The company added, "Lumen will remain a key strategic partner for Colt's customers' needs in North America. The Lumen network remains one of the largest, most deeply peered in the world. A small team of talented Lumen employees will continue to support operations in EMEA."
Arlington, Virginia-headquartered IT services contractor Redhorse has acquired Allied Associates International, a company that provides cybersecurity and engineering services for the national security sector, Washington Technology reports.
Investments and exits.
Zero-trust security firm Xage Security has raised $20 million in an additional funding round led by new investor Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and existing investors Piva Capital, March Capital, SCF Partners, Overture Climate Fund, Valor Equity Partners, and Chevron Technology Ventures. Xage CEO Geoffrey Mattson stated, "With these new funds, we are well-positioned to further accelerate our product innovation and global expansion and to protect our customers’ most important assets and resources." The company says its "current global expansion efforts include increased coverage of the Asia Pacific region with the opening of Xage’s new Singapore office."
Dubai-based AI cybersecurity startup SpiderSilk has raised $9 million in a funding round led by Wa’ed Ventures, with participation from STV and Global Ventures. The company says the funding will "fuel the expansion of its cyber defense technology offering in Saudi Arabia."
Montana-headquartered AI security startup Wraithwatch has secured $8 million in a seed funding round led by Founders Fund, with participation from XYZ Capital and Human Capital, TechCrunch reports.
London-headquartered supply chain security firm Risk Ledger has secured £6.25 million (US$7.6 million) in a Series A funding led by Mercia Ventures. The company says the funding "will fuel future product development to equip Risk Ledger’s clients with tools to combat supply chain security attacks and allow Risk Ledger to deepen partnerships within key industries."
Israeli application security startup Myrror Security has emerged from stealth with $6 million in seed funding from Blumberg Capital and Entrée Capital. The company says the funding "will enable the company to expand its product capabilities and scale its go-to-market distribution channels."
Canadian attack surface management technology provider Cavelo has raised CAD$5 million (US$3.6 million) in venture capital financing led by Inovia Capital, with participation from existing investors including Graphite Ventures. The company says the funding "will support continued platform development, and sales and marketing efforts to meet growing customer demand across North America."
Executive moves.
Lantronix has appointed Saleel Awsare as President and CEO.
Access Corp. has promoted Tony Skarupa to Chief Executive Officer. Skarupa previously served as the company's Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer of Access.
BCR Cyber has appointed Michael Spector as President.
Coalfire has named Tom Galizia as President.
SpyCloud has appointed Bill Cull as its new Vice President of Federal.
Forcepoint has named Joseph Bell as Chief Information Security Officer, Karen Clark as Chief Human Resources Officer, James Wallace as Chief Legal Officer, Jason Facer as interim Chief Financial Officer, and Greg Higham as interim Chief Information Officer.
Onspring has promoted Nichole Windholz to Chief Information Security Officer.
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield has appointed Roberto Suárez as Chief Information Security Officer.
vArmour has hired Liz Brittan as Chief Financial Officer, Dave Berg as Chief Product Officer, and Jennifer Carole as Chief Marketing Officer.
Hub Security has appointed Kobi Levi as Chief Financial Officer.
Blumira has appointed Pam Cory as Chief Marketing Officer and Andrew Donato as Senior Vice President of Sales.
KnowBe4 has hired Cindy Zhou as Chief Marketing Officer.
Island has hired Matt Fairbanks as Chief Marketing Officer.
Zscaler has hired Claudionor Coelho Jr. as Chief AI Officer and Mohamed Shabar as EVP, Data & AI Platforms.
Ballistic Ventures has added former National Cyber Director Chris Inglis and former CISA Chief of Staff Kiersten Todt as Federal advisors.
Illumio has appointed Todd Palmer as Senior Vice President of Global Partner Sales and Alliances, CRN reports.
Security teams, AI, and security investments.
Axonius has published a report looking at cybersecurity budgeting over the past year: “[T]hree-quarters (74%) of IT and security decision makers said their organization’s IT or security budget increased compared to the year prior, and nearly two-thirds (63%) said their organization’s IT or security team headcount increased. However, for those that did see decreases in either budget or headcount, they reported severe impacts: 51% said their organization experienced an increase in security risks, and 49% experienced an increase in attacks or vulnerabilities.”
The researchers also found that 85% of respondents expressed interest in using AI tools for their organization’s IT and security operations, but 72% are concerned about the security risks such tools could introduce.
Fortunes of commerce.
Mr. Cooper (previously Nationstar Mortgage LLC), the largest mortgage lending company in the US, has sustained a cyberattack that brought down its IT systems, BleepingComputer reports. The incident affected the company’s online payment portal; the company noted, “Customers trying to make payments will not incur fees or any negative impacts as we work to fix this issue.” The company is investigating, and working to mitigate the effects of the attack.
We received emailed comments from Moody's Investors Service on Mr. Cooper's cyber incident. “The cyberattack against Mr. Cooper, which blocked millions of customers from making payments and processing mortgage transactions, is credit negative," said Stephen Lynch, Vice President – Senior Credit Officer for Moody’s Investors Service. "The full impact of the event will depend on duration of the disruptions, ensuing potential reputational damage, and magnitude of the breach.”
“We are closely monitoring the incident – which prevented processing of borrower payments and activity reporting to investors – and the impact it may have on Mr. Cooper’s outstanding Servicer Quality Assessments and approximately 450 RMBS transactions serviced by Mr. Cooper,” added William Fricke, Vice President – Senior Credit Officer for Moody’s Investors Service.