Managed cybersecurity company LevelBlue Inc. today announced that it has signed a deal to acquire managed detection and response company Trustwave Holdings Inc. for an undisclosed price.

The deal involves LevelBlue, the company formerly known as AT&T Cybersecurity, acquiring Trustwave from MC² Security Fund, an affiliate of investment firm The Chertoff Group LLC. The MC² Security Fund had acquired Trustwave from Singapore telecommunications giant Singtel Holdings Ltd. in January 2024 and SingTel had owned Trustwave after acquiring it for $810 million in 2015.

Founded in 1995, Trustwave offers a suite of cybersecurity services, including managed detection and response, managed security services, cyber advisory, penetration testing, database security and email security. The company also has a team of researchers under the SpiderLabs brand undertaking threat research and intelligence.

The acquisition will see LevelBlue merge its extensive expertise in strategic risk management and cybersecurity infrastructure with Trustwave’s Fusion Platform, a cloud-native MDR service that provides 24/7 cybersecurity protection for organizations worldwide. The merged capabilities will provide enterprises with visibility and control over how security resources are provisioned, monitored and managed across any environment, strengthening overall cyber resilience.

The companies said the combined portfolios will also establish a strategically unified cybersecurity managed defense platform. It’s supported by LevelBlue’s artificial intelligence threat detection platform and Trustwave’s SpiderLab’s threat research and intelligence capabilities that will safeguard critical assets across cloud, hybrid and on-premises environments.

Trustwave also brings to the table full authorized status by the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program. FedRAMP is a U.S. government program that standardizes the security assessment and authorization of cloud services used by federal agencies. Trustwave’s FedRAMP status, along with its StateRAMP authorization, will allow LevelBlue to meet the Department of Defense’s stringent “U.S. eyes only” requirement for the Defense Industrial Base and Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification for MDR services across federal, state and local government markets.

“The acquisition of Trustwave represents a pivotal moment for LevelBlue and the cybersecurity industry,” said LevelBlue Chairman and Chief Executive Robert McCullen. “Trustwave’s extensive expertise in managed detection and response services, combined with its unparalleled threat intelligence from SpiderLabs and mission-critical FedRAMP and StateRAMP authorizations, perfectly aligns with our vision to deliver simplified and powerful cybersecurity protection to organizations.”

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and as part of the deal, the Chertoff Group is partnering with LevelBlue to provide strategic insight to further accelerate growth across the MDR market segment.

Image: Trustwave/ChatGPT