• Microsoft is considering a deal to acquire the cyber forensics and incident response firm Mandiant (formerly FireEye) to bolster its product portfolio, according to a report from Reuters.

<ul><li>This would be Microsoft’s second acquisition in 2022, following the purchase of Activision Blizzard for nearly USD 70 billion . In 2021, Microsoft acquired the cybersecurity companies, CloudKnox Security, RiskIQ, and ReFirm Labs to bolster its security offerings.</ul>

• Microsoft and Mandiant inked their first partnership in April 2021 and have collaborated on multiple cybersecurity incidents during recent years, namely the SolarWinds Orion security breach and Microsoft Exchange server vulnerability.

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: This acquisition talk comes eight months after the threat intelligence company FireEye entered into an agreement to sell its product business and brand name to a consortium led by Symphony Technology Group (STG) for USD 1.2 billion. The sale split FireEye’s cloud, network, email, and endpoint security products along with its security management and orchestration platform, from Mandiant Solutions, which FireEye originally acquired for USD 1 billion in 2014. Mandiant Solutions was to use the sales proceeds to expand further. The now-acquired FireEye, four months later announced a merger with sister company McAfee Enterprise, another cybersecurity giant previously acquired by STG.</ul>