It seems like every other day we read about a new hack. Just a few days ago, the hack of the day was a ransomware attack on Microsoft Exchange servers called LockFile.
There have been 2.9 million ransomware attacks so far this year alone. A ransomware attack is malware (malicious software) that uses encryption to hold a victim's information at ransom.
The other big type of attack is a supply chain attack like the ones at Kaseya and SolarWinds, which were up 4X in 2020. Supply chain attacks are ones in which hackers gain access to an organization's computer systems through its hardware or software vendors, looking for weak links in the chain.
Funding cybersecurity. And of course, VCs are among the first to understand and act upon these trends. There has been $11.5 billion in total venture capital financing into cybersecurity startups in the first half of 2021. That’s more than double the $4.7 billion invested in the first half of 2020, all figures courtesy of Momentum Cyber’s latest cybersecurity market review.
Bob Ackerman, founder and managing director of AllegisCyber Capital commented:
“As an investor in the cyber market for over fifteen years, I can say that this market climate is unlike anything we’ve seen to date. It is encouraging to finally see CEOs, boards of directors, investors and more paying serious attention to this space and putting the resources and capital in place to fund the innovations that address the cybersecurity challenges of today and tomorrow.”
M&A volume in the space has followed suit. Total M&A volume reached a record-breaking $39.5 billion across 163 transactions in the first half of 2020 per Momentum. Tha’ts more than 4X the $9.8 billion spent in the first half of 2020 across 93 transactions.
Nine M&A deals in 2021 so far have been valued at greater than $1 billion, including:
- Thomas Bravo’s purchase of Proofpoint for $12.3B
- Okta’s purchase of Auth0 for $6.5B
- McAfee’s sale of its enterprise biz to Symphony Technology Group for $4B
There are 6 more billion dollar deals on the list, but you get the idea.
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