Accenture acquires Brazilian infosec company

12 Jan 2021

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Real Protect’s CEO, Daniel Lemos, will now lead Accenture’s managed security services business in Latin America.

Brazil-based infosec company Real Protect has been acquired by Accenture for an undisclosed sum. The deal will allow Accenture to extend its cybersecurity presence in Latin America.

Kelly Bissell, who leads Accenture Security globally, said that according to the company’s research, Brazil is a “hotspot for cybercrime”, which could cost companies more than $100bn in lost revenues by 2023.

“The acquisition of Real Protect is a natural complement to our existing managed security services business, which offers tailored industry-focused solutions to help clients rapidly anticipate, detect and respond in real time to cyber threats.”

Real Protect’s team of approximately 90 cybersecurity professionals will now join Accenture Security’s global workforce of nearly 7,000 professionals. Real Protect CEO Daniel Lemos will lead Accenture’s managed security services business in Latin America.

The Brazilian company, which was founded in 2005, is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro and has an office in São Paulo. Its portfolio includes threat monitoring, detection and incident-response capabilities and it serves a variety of customers in the healthcare, energy and financial services industries.

Lemos said the team was excited to join Accenture and build on “the success we have achieved in our business to date”.

“Together, our shared commitment to providing market-leading cybersecurity solutions positions us well to drive growth in the adoption of these services in Brazil and across Latin America.”

The acquisition builds on Accenture’s managed security services capabilities. In January 2020, the company announced plans to acquire Symantec’s cybersecurity services business from Broadcom. This was followed by the acquisition of Context Information Security and Revolutionary Security a few months later.

Accenture’s technology lead for Latin America, Paulo Ossamu, said Brazil is home to a variety of cybercriminal groups with specific tactics that can be tackled with the help of Brazilian incident response specialists.

“Real Protect will bring this expertise to complement our teams all over the region and enhance our commitment to help secure our clients’ businesses across their entire ecosystems in Latin America.”

Jenny Darmody is the editor of Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com