How Akamai Strengthened Its Cybersecurity Portfolio With M&A

Buying Edgio’s customer contracts out of bankruptcy will allow Akamai to deliver bot management and web application firewalls to enterprise organizations that require robust security.

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Akamai co-founder and CEO Tom Leighton said buying assets in a Chapter 11 auction is financially viable when they promise rapid payback and align with shareholder interests. Edgio will complement Akamai’s $450 million acquisition of Noname Security, which will help the company spot exposed APIs, identify vulnerabilities and stop data breaches in API-dependent sectors like manufacturing and food processing (see: How Akamai’s Acquisition of Noname Enhances API Protection).

“It catapults us forward in the market,” Leighton said. “We had a nascent offering, very small revenue because we were just getting going in a new market area. By acquiring Noname, we get the market leader. It fits very well with Akamai in terms of our capabilities, customer base, culture and even with the employees. It accelerates our ability to protect major enterprises.”

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group, Leighton also discussed:

• Growth in micro-segmentation and zero trust network access;
• Generative AI’s dual role as a tool for both attackers and defenders;
• Bringing behavioral DDoS defense to application, API protection.

Leighton co-founded Akamai in 1998 and was its chief scientist until becoming CEO in 2013. During his time as CEO, Akamai’s revenue has more than doubled while earnings per share have more than tripled, and annual revenue from Akamai’s security business grew from less than $25 million to more than $1.8 billion, becoming the company’s largest source of revenue.