Google Acquires Mandiant for Cloud Security Push -

Google has acquired Mandiant to further accelerate the Google Cloud security business, MSSP Alert reported. The price tag is $5.4 billion, the two technology companies said. Ironically, the deal surfaces roughly one week after Google Cloud laid off some support staff.

Mandiant is well known for its incident response services. The company split from FireEye in 2021 in order to work more closely with third-party tool providers. But now, Mandiant will tuck into the Google Cloud business -- which has a rapidly growing portfolio of cybersecurity services.

Indeed, Google Cloud's security offerings are both home-grown and acquired. Key moves include acquiring Siemplify in January 2022 and investing in Cybereason in October 2021. Those Google acquisitions could set the stage for more MSSP partnerships with the cloud and search giant, MSSP Alert believes.

Still, Mandiant has a mixed history in the IT channel. In addition to offering SaaS-based XDR tools, Mandiant focuses heavily on incident response services -- which sometimes compete with channel partners.

Google Acquires Mandiant

Armed with Mandiant, Google Cloud plans to boost such capabilities as Advisory Services, Threat Detection and Intelligence, Automation and Response Tools, Testing and Validation, and Managed Defense, the companies said.

Google Cloud’s existing security services include:

BeyondCorp Enterprise for Zero Trust and VirusTotal for malicious content and software vulnerabilities;

Chronicle’s planet-scale security analytics and automation coupled with services such as Security Command Center to help organizations detect and protect themselves from cyber threats;

as well as expertise from Google Cloud’s Cybersecurity Action Team.

Google Cloud vs. Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS): MSSP Partner Strategies

The big question: How aggressively will the Google Cloud and Mandiant focus on the MSP and MSSP partner ecosystem?

If Google focuses more on MSSPs, it will need to compete aggressively against Microsoft Sentinel — which has gained critical mass with MSSPs via the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA).

Also of note: Amazon Web Services (AWS) in August 2021 introduced the Level 1 MSSP Competency for AWS Partners as it tries to foster new partnerships with MSSPs and ISVs. AWS Partners can earn this competency to deliver AWS security and monitoring as a fully managed service.