Mastercard Acquires Recorded Future for $2.65B to Boost Cybersecurity in the Digital Payment Sector

Mastercard has announced the acquisition of Recorded Future, a leading global threat intelligence company, in a deal valued at $2.65 billion, according to a press release by Mastercard. Cybercrime is projected to cost $9.2 trillion around the globe in 2024, comprehensive cybersecurity is the most urgent defence strategy companies need around the world.

Acquisition of Recorded Future is seen as the most impressive decision, as this will create a more robust protection ecosystem not only for Mastercard but also for the broader digital payment space.

Craig Vosburg, Chief Services Officer at Mastercard, emphasised the importance of trust in digital transactions. “Recorded Future adds to how we deliver that greater peace of mind before, during, and after the payment transaction,” he stated. Through the acquisition, Mastercard will be able to strengthen its cybersecurity procedures and build on its reputation as a reliable industry brand.

Mastercard and Recorded Future have already worked together to create an AI-powered solution that notifies banks of possible card hacks. Since its inception earlier this year, the identification rate of compromised cards has increased. Mastercard hopes to expand on this achievement by acquiring Recorded Future. By combining the knowledge, assets, and insight of both businesses, it will be able to anticipate new cyber threats more quickly.

Christopher Ahlberg, CEO of Recorded Future, expressed enthusiasm about joining forces with Mastercard. “By joining Mastercard, we see an opportunity to help more businesses and governments determine the steps to realize their full potential—and to enable everyone to feel safer in their daily lives,” he said.

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What is the Recorded Future?

Founded by its CEO and co-founder Christopher Ahlberg in 2007, Recorded Future is a global leader in threat intelligence. With the aid of the latest machine learning and natural language processing technology, it acquires, processes, analyses, and disseminates cybersecurity intelligence. Its main product, the Recorded Future Intelligence Cloud, examines large amounts of data from the dark web, open web, and other technical sources to give users real-time insights into possible cyber threats.

Initially, it catered to the needs of the financial sector’s quantitative investors, but it changed its direction towards cybersecurity solutions in 2013. Currently Recorded Future has a remarkable count of 1,800+ clients, 1,000+ employees, $300M+ revenue, and the world’s largest holdings of interconnected threat data. As threats ramp up and converge in the world around us, Recorded future intelligence is more crucial than ever before.

Its AI and real-time data processing enhance the ability of customers to focus their attention on identified risks through efficiency and effectiveness. Recorded Future Intelligence Cloud is an essential tool for businesses and governments since it gives them critical intelligence for the protection of their digital operations against the ever-changing situation of cyber threats.

The Future of Cybersecurity

The acquisition of Recorded Future is expected to close by the first quarter of 2025, subject to usual closing conditions and regulatory scrutiny. After it is finished, this calculated decision will allow Mastercard to provide more threat intelligence capabilities, strengthening its position as a cybersecurity leader and assisting in defending the digital economy against a constantly changing range of cyber threats.

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