BlackBerry sells AI cybersecurity business to Arctic Wolf

Waterloo, Ont.-based BlackBerry has unloaded its Cylance cybersecurity business in a deal with Arctic Wolf.

Cylance became a signature part of BlackBerry’s efforts to rebrand itself in the cybersecurity space after buying the company six years ago in a US$1.4-billion deal.

On Monday, Arctic Wolf acquired Cylance, which uses artificial intelligence to help users detect malware and prevent cyberattacks, for just $US160 million. The deal also includes about 5.5 million common shares of Arctic Wolf, a privately-held American security software and services company.

“[BlackBerry] is selling it at a significant reduction from what they originally paid for it,” said cybersecurity tech analyst Ritesh Kotak. “The fact that they’re actually getting rid of it from their portfolio and is giving it to another organization makes me think, what is the future of BlackBerry?”

CTV News reached out to BlackBerry to ask that exact question, as well as how the $US160 million valuation was determined and whether any jobs will be lost because of the Cylance sale.

Those questions were not answered directly, but a spokesperson for BlackBerry said they are “incredibly pleased” with the outcome.

As for Arctic Wolf, the sale is an opportunity to build their growing cybersecurity toolbelt.

“We’re going to leverage the technology from BlackBerry [and] Cylance into the technology we already have. That allows us to detect threats faster and more efficiently,” said Dan Deeth, the senior director of communications for Arctic Wolf.

While the company is headquartered south of the border, Arctic Wolf’s first office was actually in the Region of Waterloo and the Cylance acquisition will have a local benefit.

“We have almost 800 employees working within the region and, probably within the next 12 to 18 months, we’ll have over 1,000,” said Deeth.

The move will also help in retaining local tech talent. Several Arctic Wolf employees previously worked at BlackBerry or the Waterloo-based Sandvine, prior to accusations the company supplied technology that was used to inject spyware into the devices of government critics in Egypt.

“We’ve seen this time and time again,” Kotak said. “How do we retain Canadian talent, Canadian IP without shipping it across the border and across the world? Canada is known for having some of the best AI, or some of the best cybersecurity professionals, in the world.”

That’s exactly what Arctic Wolf plans to capitalize on – using local minds and tech with local roots to stay one step ahead of threat actors across a space that knows no boundaries.