Google in Talks to Buy Mandiant, a $4.5 Billion Cybersecurity Firm

Google is in talks to buy cybersecurity consultancy Mandiant, which two years ago discovered the infamous SolarWinds hack, according to a person with knowledge of the discussion. A deal could bolster Google’s cloud computing business, which generates more than $19 billion annually but has been losing billions of dollars a year, and help it compete with bigger rival Microsoft, which also is reportedly interested in buying Mandiant.

Google’s multibillion-dollar acquisition effort, if consummated, would be its second-largest ever. It comes as some employees have privately discussed the need for more security firepower to compete with Microsoft, which offers more security products for its Azure cloud customers, as well as with Amazon Web Services.