The HP cybersecurity acquisition has led to a rise in malware threats worldwide.

• In 2013, Bromium first appeared on the CNBC Disruptor 50 list, advocating that the traditional approach to combating malware through firewalls is ineffective and that the only way to successfully battle cyberattackers is to isolate viruses rather than attempting to prevent them from entering entirely.
• HP acquired Bromium, founded in 2011 by former Citrix engineers, due to the same endpoint protection idea.
• Since then, the sophistication of online threats has increased, leading to a faster pace of mergers and acquisitions in the cybersecurity industry.

CNBC examines the progress of companies on the Disruptor 50 list, 10 years after their initial recognition.

In 2013, Bromium first appeared on the CNBC Disruptor 50 list, advocating that the traditional approach to combating malware through firewalls is ineffective and that the only way to successfully battle cyber attacks is to isolate viruses rather than attempting to prevent them from entering entirely.

When customers in a mature market are presented with a fundamentally different and more effective solution to a problem, disruption occurs. This leads to the creation of new markets and value networks that eventually replace the existing ones. As the market adopts this innovative approach, the ultimate goal is to restore trust in computing.

Bromium, founded in 2011 by former engineers, was acquired by in 2017 due to its approach to endpoint protection. However, the company's success and market valuation were not consistent, as its valuation was nearly cut in half in 2016 after a failed attempt to raise additional funding, which coincided with its growth and profitability being reported in the single digits.

In 2019, HP acquired Bromium, a software company that provides endpoint security solutions. The acquisition was seen as a safe and inexpensive bet by analysts at the time, as HP had been a reseller of Bromium software since 2017 and had used its isolation technology in HP Sure Click to protect endpoints from malware. The endpoint security market was consolidating quickly, with other players including Carbon Black and Symantec in deals with larger tech companies. Rival had partnered with another CNBC Disruptor, , a few months before the HP deal, leading analysts to speculate that HP's acquisition of Bromium was a move in response to the competitive threats, including Dell's newest partnership.

HP's cybersecurity offerings include proprietary malware protection technology from Bromium, which is used in a range of products from commercial PCs to printers.

Since then, the competition has intensified due to increased investments in cybersecurity and high-profile attacks from nation-state actors and hacking organizations with advanced ransomware. The shift to cloud computing by businesses across all sectors has also increased the need for stronger cybersecurity tools from technology vendors to protect remote workers and operations.

The escalating tensions between Russia and the West have brought the cybersecurity preparedness of institutions into the spotlight, while also emphasizing the timeliness of cybersecurity deals such as the 2019 partnership between HP and Bromium.

Alphabet recently made its second-largest acquisition ever, a $5.4 billion deal for cybersecurity firm Mandiant. Alphabet's chief financial officer, Ruth Porat, stated that the price tag on the deal reflects the growing need for the company to compete on cybersecurity for its clients and against larger rivals in the cloud, Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. It is reported that Microsoft had previously expressed interest in acquiring Mandiant.

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian stated in a blog post that with the increasing demand for artificial intelligence and automation from cloud customers, there is also a growing need for improved and quicker threat detection.

Gaurav Banga, the founder of Bromium, has since founded another cybersecurity firm, Balbix, with John Chambers among his investors. In a blog post earlier this month, Chambers noted that his firm increased its investment in Balbix.

Last year, cyber M&A transactions reached a record high, with 286 deals worth $77 billion, representing a nearly 300% increase from the previous year. Additionally, venture capital investments in cybersecurity startups surged by roughly 145% compared to 2020, with Lacework's $1.3 billion funding round in November being the largest ever at a valuation of $8.3 billion.

In 2019, SentinelOne's June IPO surpassed CrowdStrike's $6.7 billion mark to become the highest-valued cybersecurity IPO in history. Additionally, two of the largest deals took companies private, with McAfee being acquired by an investment consortium for more than $14 billion in November and Proofpoint being acquired by Thoma Bravo for $12.3 billion in April.