Danish firm Zacco buys Lakhshya Cybersecurity Labs for undisclosed sum

Zacco, one of Europe’s largest intellectual property firms, has acquired Lakhshya Cybersecurity Labs, a Coimbatore-based cybersecurity research and consulting services company. The deal is an important step for Copenhagen-based Zacco in establishing a global Cybersecurity Centre in India. However, the firm did not reveal the financial details of the deal.

“India is today a global hub for advanced digital technology. Lakhshya is adding unique expertise to our current R&D centre in Bengaluru,” said Mats Boström, CEO, Zacco Group. “In the digitalised world, cybercrime and digital threats are unfortunately an increasing challenge for many organisations and individuals. Data, algorithms and all types of digital technology are today significant intellectual property and strategic assets,” said Bostrom.

Over the past two years, Lakhshya has built experience in niche areas of cybersecurity such as malware analysis, cyber breach investigation, red teaming--which assesses cyber threats, and DevSecOps, that includes security as a fundamental aspect.

“This combination will be able to add significant expertise and value to Zacco and enable the combined entity to address clients’ digital asset protection in a holistic manner,” said Premchand Kurup, co-founder at Lakshya Labs, who is also the CEO of Paramount Computer Systems.

Zacco India R&D Centre started 15 months ago and now has more than 100 employees. Lakshya would be integrated into Zacco’s cybersecurity division and to enhance its current services. “We will also use Lakhshya research labs to innovate new offerings in the intellectual property space,” said Ravi Sunderrajan,  MD, Zacco India R&D.

Lakhshya Labs will add a team of more than 40 professionals with expertise across banking, financial services, aviation, government and automotive with real-time 24/7 monitoring services. “Powered by Zacco, we now look forward to influencing and transforming the cybersecurity strategies and operations of organizations globally,” said Pradeep Menon, who is the current chief officer at Lakhshya Labs and will continue working in the same position post-acquisition.

At a time when IT security continues to be a major issue across the globe, cybersecurity companies in India are becoming hot targets for acquisitions. Last month, NSEIT, a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) acquired Aujas Networks, a cybersecurity firm whose customers include Japanese financial services group Mitsubishi UFJ and a domestic national identity programme. Over 76 per cent organisations in India were hit by cyberattacks in 2018, the highest after Mexico and France, according to a report by Sophos, a U.K. cybersecurity company. The report 'Seven Uncomfortable Truths of Endpoint Security' revealed that IT managers are more likely to catch cybercriminals on their organisation's servers and networks than anywhere else.