PwC buys cybersecurity firm and CyberArk partner WebSecure
WebSecure Technologies has been picked up by PwC, with the company to be integrated under the PwC banner.
Struck for an undisclosed sum, the deal is expected to be completed toward the end of the year, with Websecure Technologies owner Stewart Sim joining PwC alongside a 20-strong team of specialist engineers.
Sydney-based Websecure Technologies specialises in IT security and risk management, with a particular focus on services in the digital identity and privileged access management (PAM) space.
“We are thrilled for WebSecure to become part of PwC,” commented Sim, who will join the firm as a partner. “Joining is the ideal fit that will allow us to continue our growth trajectory. Leveraging our position in the market with PwC’s cyber security and digital Identity offerings, plus access to the firm’s broad client network and global scale, will enable us to accelerate our growth objectives for our clients and team.”
Founded in 1999, WebSecure specialises in the implementation and management of digital identity solutions, and is the biggest local reseller for US vendor and market leader CyberArk. Software developed by CyberArk allows organisations to track and manage privileged access permissions and activities across their IT space – a cybersecurity tool which is tipped to boom over the coming decade as the cyber threat grows.
“Responding to the fast-moving and continuously evolving cyber threat landscape is more important than ever,” said PwC’s trust and risk business leader Corinne Best. “Our clients need constant innovation and ingenuity to respond to critical cyber risks and our clients are telling us they prefer to source as many of these services as they can from a single service provider. I am delighted about our WebSecure acquisition.”
As the government’s digital transformation agenda continues to ramp up, PwC further noted the recent federal announcement on plans to mandate the eight cybersecurity risk mitigation strategies recommended by the Australian Signals Directorate (which sits within the Department of Defense) for all non corporate Commonwealth entities, totalling almost 100, with PAM among those strategies considered essential.
The firm also considers the acquisition as bait for highly-skilled cyber talent. PwC pointed to Gartner’s projections of a 50 percent increase in the global PAM market from 2018 to 2024, to a worth of $2.9 billion, while Mike Cerny – PwC’s Digital Identity Partner and Cybersecurity & Digital Trust Leader – noted there were just the 50 estimated CyberArk engineers with more than five years experience currently in Australia.
“We are excited about the opportunity to work alongside WebSecure, leveraging our talent acquisition capability to grow the practice as well as this much-needed skillset,” Cerny stated. “PAM, and in particular CyberArk skills, are core to our cybersecurity growth strategy. The acquisition means PwC will hold one of the largest shares of that market, providing the foundations for us to grow a new wave of CyberArk specialists.”
The deal is PwC’s first in Australia since it bolted-on a team of restructuring specialists from PPB Advisory in the summer of 2018. Back in 2014, the Australian arm bought MGI Melbourne, a wealth management consultancy. Globally the firm has acquired more than thirty companies over the past decade, including the landmark purchase of Booz & Company (now Strategy&).
