F-Secure Takes A Big Step Towards Cyber Security Leadership By Acquiring MWR InfoSecurity

F-Secure has on 18 June 2018 signed an agreement to acquire all the outstanding shares of MWR InfoSecurity, a privately held cyber security company operating globally from its main offices in the UK, the US, South Africa and Singapore. The acquisition is a significant milestone in the execution of F-Secure’s growth strategy, and makes it the largest European single source of cyber security services and detection and response solutions.

Today businesses are challenged by a dynamic advanced threat landscape in which attackers continuously use well-designed technology to circumvent traditional protection. Security perimeters are no longer enough to protect organizations, and developing better security capabilities on their own is out of reach for many organizations. Due to the shortage of skilled cyber security experts in-house there is a huge demand for both products and services to proactively search for newly emerging threats, detect and respond faster and especially stop future incidents. F-Secure’s combination of man and machine – an approach shared by MWR InfoSecurity – uniquely positions the company to support businesses to fight advanced attacks with its cyber security products and services.

“The acquisition brings MWR InfoSecurity’s industry-renowned technologies to F-Secure making our detection and response offering unrivaled. Their threat hunting platform (Countercept) is one of the most advanced in the market and is an excellent complement to our existing technologies,” said F-Secure CEO Samu Konttinen. “I’m thrilled to welcome MWR InfoSecurity’s employees to F-Secure. With their vast experience and hundreds of experts performing cyber security services on four continents, we will have unparalleled visibility into real-life cyber attacks 24/7. This enables us to detect indicators across an incredible breadth of attacks so we can protect our customers effectively. As most companies currently lack these capabilities, this represents a significant opportunity to accelerate F-Secure’s growth.”

With close to 400 employees, MWR InfoSecurity is among the largest cyber security service providers serving enterprises globally. MWR InfoSecurity has highly skilled experts in offensive techniques who understand the attacker mindset and is well-known in the industry for its technical expertise and research. Its threat hunting platform Countercept provides extensive proactive attack detection and complements F-Secure’s existing strengths. Additionally, F-Secure’s portfolio will be enhanced by MWR InfoSecurity’s suite of managed phishing protection services (phishd). As cyber criminals increasingly target companies through their employees, it’s crucial to enable company personnel to identify and avoid these email borne attacks.

“We’ve always relied on research-driven innovations executed by the best people and technology. This approach has earned MWR InfoSecurity the trust of some of the largest organizations in the world,” says MWR InfoSecurity CEO, Ian Shaw who will join F-Secure’s Leadership Team after closing of the transaction in July. “We see this approach thriving at F-Secure, and we look forward to working together so that we can break new ground in the cyber security industry.”