Momentum Cyber’s Annual Cybersecurity Almanac Highlights Sector’s Resilience With a Record-Breaking ~$11B of Private Capital Invested and $20B of M&A Activity in 2020

As the industry continues to mature, we expect more innovations to address emerging trends in IoT, hybrid and multi-cloud environments, and attacks on critical public infrastructure.

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Monday, March 1, 2021
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Software, Mobile, Wireless, Networks, Other Defense, Internet, Professional services, Data management, Technology, Defense, Security, Finance, Other Technology, Technology, Computing, Science and technology, Cyberwarfare, Computer network security, Ambient intelligence, Internet of things, Technology assessment, UST, Computer security
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Summary
Key Points: 
  • As the industry continues to mature, we expect more innovations to address emerging trends in IoT, hybrid and multi-cloud environments, and attacks on critical public infrastructure.
  • Highlights of the Cybersecurity Almanac 2021 include:
    M&A: 2020 saw another strong year in strategic acquisitions, with a total of 178 transactions for $20 billion in aggregate disclosed value.
  • The year saw 6 deals valued over $1 billion, the highest number of billion-dollar-plus deals to date.
  • Momentum Cyber is the premier trusted advisor to the Cybersecurity industry providing bespoke high-impact advice combined with tailored, senior-level access.


Momentum Cyber, the premier trusted advisor to the Cybersecurity industry, today released its fourth annual Cybersecurity Almanac for 2021 – the most comprehensive and accurate strategic data and insights available on the industry. Culled from analysis of over 3,500 Cybersecurity companies across the globe and strategic deal activity including IPOs, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), venture capital and private equity financings, and the market impact of news and events, the Cybersecurity Almanac chronicles the key trends which made 2020 a unique and strong year for the industry including $20.0 billion in M&A volume and $10.7 billion in PE & VC investments.

“In many ways 2020 was a defining year for the Cybersecurity industry, with the shift to remote work, continued market consolidation, and robust investment we are once again seeing Cybersecurity a top IT budget priority for corporations of all sizes and government agencies,” said Eric McAlpine and Michael Tedesco, Momentum Cyber’s founders and managing partners. “As the industry continues to mature, we expect more innovations to address emerging trends in IoT, hybrid and multi-cloud environments, and attacks on critical public infrastructure.”

Highlights of the Cybersecurity Almanac 2021 include:

  • M&A: 2020 saw another strong year in strategic acquisitions, with a total of 178 transactions for $20 billion in aggregate disclosed value. The year saw 6 deals valued over $1 billion, the highest number of billion-dollar-plus deals to date. Security consulting and MSSPs continue to lead industry deal counts, while fraud and transaction security experienced 140% YoY increase, the largest of any sector.
  • PE & VC: Private Equity continues to show strong interest in Cybersecurity completing 66 deals, accounting for 37% of M&A activity deal volume – of which 26 were platform investments and 40 add-ons to existing portfolio companies. Similarly, minority investors showed no signs of slowing making 539 investments (28% YoY increase) and deploying ~$2 billion more in capital relative to 2019 (20% YoY increase).
  • IPOs & Public Company Trading Analysis: The Cybersecurity IPO market saw 3 Cybersecurity companies go public – Sumo Logic, McAfee, and Telos – totaling $1.3 billion in gross IPO proceeds. Cybersecurity stocks consistently outperformed the S&P in 2020 with 6 companies experiencing 100%+ market cap appreciation while the top 3 performers (Cloudflare, Zscaler, and CrowdStrike) each gained 320%+ over last year.
  • Data Breaches: With 1,108 breaches reported in the U.S. 2020 experienced a slight down tick while at the same time witnessing one of the worst breaches in recent history: a wide-spread and very successful supply-chain attack that distributed malware to over 18,000 organizations via a SolarWinds software update, perpetrated by highly skilled nation-state actors. Victims included multiple government agencies, Microsoft, and renowned Cybersecurity firm FireEye.
  • Trends & Predictions: Industry experts reflect on key events and drivers impacting the space in 2020 and what’s expected in 2021, including increased focus on securing and gaining visibility into hybrid and multi-cloud environments; an accelerating shift left towards developer focused security solutions; the rise and dominance of SASE and Zero Trust in cloud delivered network security; a renewed focus on data security; and the continued tailwinds of regulation, board scrutiny, and compliance propelling continuous controls monitoring in the market.
  • Spotlight Risks: From distributed / remote workforces to the rapid proliferation of IoT devices, the Almanac reveals likely targets and areas with increasing vulnerabilities.

“As Cybersecurity continues to be an area of strategic focus and becomes more critical to operations, executing a successful M&A strategy takes on a greater level of importance to get the right deal done that delivers optimal outcomes for all stakeholders,” explained Dave DeWalt, Momentum Cyber founder and chairman. “In the dynamic and expanding cyber landscape where emerging threats, new targets, and the technologies required to combat those attacks are constantly evolving, successful transactions will require the right balance of strategic alignment, acceleration, accountability and autonomy.”

“We are in the early-middle innings of the Cybersecurity market’s evolution, a period that is defined by the digitization of the full spectrum of bad human behavior which spans personal, business, and government spheres of life,” said Bob Ackerman, founder of AllegisCyber Capital and co-founder of Datatribe. “The market is evolving from the reactive deployment of cyber defense technology to a more aggressive and systemic approach to building inherently secure infrastructure – systems and data in parallel with efforts to reduce the 'time and place' advantage that attackers have over defenders by disrupting the cyber attack playbook with next generation precognitive threat intelligence. As cyber risk expands and budgets increase in response, there is increased scrutiny from executives and board members driving the demand for a holistic view of security posture, an ability to track cyber readiness, and the ability to quantify ROI on cyber investments. Regardless, the cyber market continues to be driven by innovation as the battle between attacker and defender grows increasingly sophisticated.”

About Momentum Cyber

Momentum Cyber is the premier trusted advisor to the Cybersecurity industry providing bespoke high-impact advice combined with tailored, senior-level access. The firm was founded by world-class operators and advisors and caters to the unique needs of both earlier stage Founders, CEOs, & Boards as well as the complexity of later stage & public companies throughout their lifecycle. Headquartered in San Francisco with operations globally, the founding team has closed over 250 transactions totaling over $250 billion in value. Securities transactions offered through Momentum Capital Markets, LLC, member FINRA and SIPC.

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