Ritika Pandey
While speaking of a digital economy, cybersecurity is one of the highlighting matters for most companies in India, and across the globe. Concerning to secure itself from such threats, Zacco India R&D has acquired a 100 percent stake in Coimbatore-based startup Lakhshya Cyber Security Labs in an all-cash deal. The measure of the deal, yet, is unrevealed. Founded by Premchand Kurup and Pradeep Menon in 2017, Lakhshya Cybersecurity Labs are likely to carry on the lead, by Pradeep, after the acquisition. Co-founder Premchand, however, has resigned from the Board, but would remain to act as an advisor to the company.
Lakhshya would further assist as the cybersecurity R&D Centre of Excellence for the 150-year-old Zacco, that is based in Stockholm. The Centre of Excellence would maintain to concentrate on developing the state-of-the-art solutions and services in the branch of malware analysis, threat hunting and intelligence, managed security operations centre monitoring and response, security incident investigation, breach response support, smart city security, devsecops, and smart grid security, benefitting its potential in artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
Throwing the light upon to why Zacco wished to acquire Lakhshya Labs, Ravi claimed that India is presently developing into a big technology R&D hub. he further adds that enterprises here, are in a rapid pace to work digitally. Hence, this race could occasionally create companies to neglect critical aspects like cybercrime and digital threats, that are, more often than not, front and centre.
“Data, algorithms, and all types of digital technology are significant today. Intellectual property and strategic assets must be protected. This is the critical area where we see Lakhshya adding a unique expertise to our existing R&D centre in Bengaluru,” stated Ravi.
Also, from the previous two years, Lakhshya has been building a considerable experience in niche areas of cybersecurity such as malware analysis, cyber breach investigation, red teaming and Devsecops. Premchand Kurup, CEO of Paramount Computer Systems and one of the founders of Lakhshya Labs marked, “This combination will be able to add significant expertise and value to Zacco and enable the combined entity to address clients’ Digital Asset Protection in a holistic manner.” Lakhshya Labs further has been concentrating only on compliance, cyber security, and IP. The team incorporates researchers and technologists witnessed in the space for close to two decades as of now.
Pradeep has spent nearly 20 years in the cybersecurity and information security space. Stepping ahead, he has also worked extensively in the North American and the Middle East regions. He is now the cybersecurity advisor to the Board of Directors of various organisations in India and abroad. Adding further, he is the member of Board of Governors in National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research, appointed by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development.
Thereof, speaking of the company, the founder claims, “Zacco India’s R&D centre was started 15 months ago, and has more than 100 employees now. This acquisition is an important milestone for Zacco in India, and will significantly enhance our capabilities in the cybersecurity space. We will integrate Lakhshya into our cybersecurity division, and enhance our current offerings for our customers globally. We will work with the team at Lakhshya Research Labs to innovate and grow our technology services in the intellectual property space.”
