Mandia to Leave Role as CEO of Mandiant on May 31
Google to Fully Merge Mandiant with Google Cloud
After a successful run of nearly two decades, Kevin Mandia, the founder and CEO of Mandiant, is stepping down from his role on May 31. This move comes after Google's $5.4 billion acquisition of Mandiant in March 2022. The company is now set to merge fully with Google Cloud.
Mandiant, founded by Mandia as Red Cliff Consulting in 2004 and rebranded to its current name in 2006, has been at the forefront of cybersecurity. Mandia's mission has always been to determine who is initiating the attacks and hold nations and individuals accountable. This mission will continue within Google Cloud, as Mandiant focuses on advancing cybersecurity through its threat intelligence services and integrating with Google's broader cloud and security offerings.
Sandra Joyce, VP of Google Threat Intelligence, and Jorgen Kutscher, VP of Mandiant Consulting, will report directly to Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian at the end of this month. Joyce will also continue to run Mandiant Threat Intelligence. Mandia, on the other hand, will continue to sit on the board of Google Public Sector and transition to an advisory role.
The future plans for Mandiant focus on deep integration with Google Cloud to enhance cybersecurity solutions at scale. The company's product suite, such as Mandiant Advantage with its intelligence fusion and attack surface management, is expected to complement Google Cloud’s expanding security portfolio by leveraging Mandiant’s deep threat intelligence expertise alongside Google’s infrastructure.
Mandiant's ongoing role includes active cybersecurity research and threat actor identification, as exemplified by its recent assessments of cyber threats like the China-based exploitations of Microsoft SharePoint servers. The company originally started doing threat intelligence to understand attacks and build software to help stop and respond to attacks faster.
It's worth noting that Mandia sold the company to FireEye in 2013. In late 2021, FireEye sold its network, email, endpoint, and cloud security products to McAfee Enterprise. The acquisition signals Mandiant’s future is tightly aligned with Google Cloud’s objectives to enhance cyber threat intelligence and cloud security capabilities.
However, no publicly available sources explicitly outline the detailed strategic vision or operational changes following Mandia’s departure beyond the merger details. The Mandiant brand will not be removed from the consulting practice, and the company plans to continue investing in the Mandiant organization and the brand.
Mandia is a broadly recognized expert in cybersecurity. Under his leadership, Mandiant uncovered the backdoor attack on SolarWinds in 2020 and played a crucial role in exposing various cyber threats. His departure marks a significant change, but the future of Mandiant within Google Cloud promises to be exciting and impactful in the realm of cybersecurity.
The news of Mandia's departure was first reported by The Washington Post reporter Joseph Menn on the social platform X. As Mandia embarks on a new chapter, the cybersecurity community eagerly awaits the next steps in Mandiant's journey with Google Cloud.
References:
- TechCrunch
- The Washington Post
- Mandiant Blog
- The transition of Mandiant, a veterans of cybersecurity, under Google Cloud will see a focus on advancing cloud security through threat intelligence services and integrating with Google's broader security offerings.
- Sandra Joyce, Google's VP of Threat Intelligence, and Jorgen Kutscher, Mandiant's VP of Consulting, will report directly to Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, with Joyce also continuing to run Mandiant Threat Intelligence.
- Mandiant's future involves deep integration with Google Cloud to enrich cybersecurity solutions at scale, building upon its expertise in threat intelligence and deep incident response capabilities.
