Mastercard has made a significant move by acquiring Recorded Future for $2.65 billion. Recorded Future is the world’s largest threat intelligence company, with more than 1,900 clients across 75 countries, including the governments of 45 countries and over 50% of the Fortune 100.
This acquisition is aimed at bolstering Mastercard's cybersecurity capabilities, particularly in threat intelligence. Recorded Future, known for its AI-powered analytics, provides real-time visibility into potential cyber threats, which will enhance Mastercard's identity, fraud prevention, and real-time decisioning services.
This acquisition underscores the growing importance of cybersecurity in the digital economy, especially as cybercrime is projected to cost $9.2 trillion globally in 2024.
By integrating Recorded Future's advanced technologies, Mastercard aims to innovate faster and anticipate emerging threats, providing greater security and peace of mind for its network of merchants and financial institutions.
With Recorded Future’s advanced threat intelligence, Mastercard can offer more robust cybersecurity solutions. This could pressure competitors like Visa and American Express to enhance their own cybersecurity measures to stay competitive. The integration of AI-powered analytics from Recorded Future will likely lead to more innovative fraud prevention and real-time decisioning services. Competitors may need to invest in similar technologies or partnerships to keep up.
The need for a holistic and global cyber defense has never been greater. As new technologies are introduced and adopted, there is a rising risk of cyber threats. In 2024 alone, cybercrime is projected to cost $9.2 trillion globally.
The acquisition highlights the growing importance of cybersecurity in the financial sector. Competitors might increase their investments in cybersecurity to ensure they are not left behind.
Overall, this move by Mastercard could set a new standard in the industry, prompting competitors to accelerate their own cybersecurity initiatives to maintain their market positions.
Of late, Mastercard is extensively integrating innovative solutions in its business and services via both in-house and acquired solutions.
In June, Mastercard launched its Mastercard Crypto Credential, which enables peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions using aliases instead of long and complex blockchain addresses.
Last year in March, Mastercard acquired Baffin Bay Networks, a company specializing in distributed threat protection against DDoS attacks and web applications. This acquisition is part of Mastercard’s efforts to strengthen its cybersecurity infrastructure.
To recall, in 2021, Mastercard acquired the European open banking platform Tink for approximately $2.15 billion. This acquisition aimed to enhance Mastercard’s open banking capabilities and provide better financial services to consumers and businesses.
These acquisitions reflect Mastercard’s focus on enhancing its cybersecurity and threat intelligence capabilities, ensuring greater security for its network of merchants and financial institutions.
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