solarseven/iStock via Getty Images In this modern era, where so much is determined or controlled by computers, cyber security is, sadly, a very much in-demand thing, without which data theft would flourish even more than it does. There are a number of players in this market, some large and others small, that warrant the attention of investors. One such prospect to consider that is on the small side is Cerberus Cyber Sentinel (NASDAQ: CISO ). While many companies in the space prioritize specific hardware or software applications to address cyber security needs, Cerberus Cyber Sentinel focuses largely on providing consulting services around this space. Although the company is impossible to value at this time, it has undergone a number of transactions aimed at boosting sales and, hopefully, generating positive cash flows and profits. There’s no doubt that this is a highly speculative prospect at this point in time. But if management can reach critical mass, this might not be a bad investment to entertain. Cybersecurity is a massive market
No matter how you slice it, cyber security is a major pain point, not only for companies and governments, but for the global economy more broadly. According to an investor presentation provided by Cerberus Cyber Sentinel, an estimated $6 trillion was lost to cybercrime in 2021. That works out to about $11.4 million per minute across the globe. By 2025, the amount lost to cybercrime every year is expected to reach $10.5 trillion. To address these concerns, companies, and governments across the globe have invested heavily in the market. $170 billion is getting spent each year worldwide on information security. And there are an estimated 3.5 million job openings in this space in the US alone. Management has pointed out IoT (Internet of Things) devices as being particularly vulnerable, due in large part to the fact that’s the number of them worldwide is expected to nearly triple to 25.4 billion by 2030.
To address this market need, many players in this space dedicate their efforts to developing specific technologies aimed at combating or otherwise mitigating the impact of illicit cyber attacks. But this is not the only way to handle things. There’s also the approach of providing consulting services that aim to address weaknesses within a company and that try to pair up a client with the providers that will prove most valuable for them. That is where Cerberus Cyber Sentinel comes in. A rapidly-growing niche player
Founded in 2019 , Cerberus Cyber Sentinel has grown into a $1 billion company. The firm did this largely through acquisitions, with the first of these being of GenResults in April of that year. Since then, the business has undergone over a dozen different acquisitions, each one aimed at growing its footprint and acquiring customers and talent. Today, the company is set up to offer its security professionals to clients in order to help those clients achieve security on the cyber front. Historically speaking, Cerberus Cyber Sentinel does not sell cyber security products. Instead, they act as, in essence, an advisor that can offer services such as consulting, compliance auditing, vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, cyber security training, and more.
The nature of what Cerberus Cyber Sentinel offers is changing rapidly. But during the company’s 2020 fiscal year, it generated about 74.9% of its revenue from providing consulting services. These activities include all of the aforementioned items such as compliance auditing and penetration testing. But the business also generated 25.1% of its sales from managed services, which included offering CISO-as-a-service, providing culture education and enablement, evaluating a client’s policies and procedures for regulatory and compliance purposes, and more. The reason why I say that the picture is changing rapidly is because the company continues to make a number of acquisitions.
In just the past few months, for instance, the company announced no fewer than four different transactions. Many of these are in exchange for new shares in the business. For instance, the company acquired Arkavia, a company that specializes in penetration testing for the purpose of seeking out vulnerabilities in a client’s computer systems, in a deal that cost shareholders 3.1 million shares of stock. At current pricing, that translates to $23.44 million. The business also made some smaller purchases, such as RED74 , which is an integrated risk management services firm, in a deal valued at 340,000 shares, or $2.57 million, plus another $50,000 in cash consideration. Another deal involved ATE and ATS, costing the company 200,000 shares worth, today, $1.51 million, plus $225,000 in cash […]
source Cerberus Cyber Sentinel: A Fascinating Cybersecurity Prospect For Speculative Investors