Deloitte acquires cyber security specialist ParaFlare
Seven-year-old start-up brings team of 80 and a “unique approach” to digital defence.
Deloitte Australia has acquired cyber security specialist ParaFlare to bolster its digital defence capability.
Deloitte said ParaFlare would help offer around-the-clock threat detection, cyber threat intelligence, incident response, recovery and remediation.
The ParaFlare team of almost 80 will join Deloitte including Adam McCarthy and Frank Santucci, who co-founded the cyber outfit in 2016 and become partners in Deloitte.
Deloitte said ParaFlare would also keep its “unique approach to active defence that has distinguished it from its competitors”. This included the growing area of managed detection and response, which involved cyber operators monitoring business networks for threats and responding immediately to any breach.
Deloitte Australia CEO Adam Powick said adding Paraflare’s expertise came at a critical time.
“The cyber risk landscape is driving exponential growth in demand for security expertise and solutions, and this partnership with ParaFlare will enable us to bring truly world class, market leading capability to service our clients’ cyber security needs,” he said.
Deloitte Australia risk advisory managing partner Steve Jansz said Paraflare was “born to protect businesses and organisations from growing cyber threats”.
“Cyber attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated and prominent,” he said. “They’re also increasing in frequency and cost with the number of complex ransomware attacks up by more than 300 per cent over the last five years.
“This new partnership will allow us to offer highly individualised and modular solutions that are cloud-based, flexible and allow for scale in the market.”
ParaFlare CEO Adam McCarthy the future with Deloitte looked exciting.
“When we started ParaFlare we made a commitment to provide the highest level of cyber protection to businesses.” he said. “As emerging technology opens new doors for cyber criminals, we are more determined than ever.
“Together, ParaFlare and Deloitte will offer a capability that will empower Australian businesses to fight back against cyber adversaries.
“We are excited about our future with Deloitte. We will be stronger together, with a team of specialists with local knowledge, plus the support of a global leader in cyber security.”
ParaFlare chief technology officer Frank Santucci said ParaFlare had been working with Deloitte for several years already and their values and work ethic aligned.
“We have a shared vision, team culture, and a commitment to excellence,” he said.
“ParaFlare’s partnership with Deloitte provides a strong platform which both companies can build on to accelerate growth in the emerging managed detection and response market and across national security to provide the highest level of cyber protection to clients.”