Atos bolsters cybersecurity consulting practice with SEC Consult

Within three months of acquiring a 250-strong cybersecurity consultancy in Europe, Atos has again inorganically beefed up its Cybersecurity practice in the region.

The purchase of SEC Consult adds a team of over 200 highly skilled specialists, the majority of which are based in the DACH region. SEC Consult has nine offices in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as hubs in Lithuania, Luxembourg and Russia. 

Outside of Europe, the Austria headquartered group – SEC Consult was founded in 2002 by the former Capgemini duo Clemens Foisner and Jürgen Kraupa – also has offices in Asia Pacific (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines) and the Americas (United States, Canada).

SEC Consult helps its client with cybersecurity consulting, penetration testing, red teaming and technical assessment services, and works mainly for larger companies in the financial services, utilities, technology and government sectors. 

“With this strategic move, Atos confirms its position as a leader in the cybersecurity consulting market, complementing our existing offerings,” said Pierre Barnabé, Senior Executive Vice-President, Head of Big Data & Cybersecurity at Atos. Further down the value chain, Atos supports its clients with cybersecurity products and systems, process outsourcing and managed security services.

Barnabé in particular highlighted how the deal strengthens its DACH footprint, where the group now has “more than 600 experts” dedicated to cybersecurity services. Meanwhile, in Asia Pacific, it will provide the French-listed services group with a platform to “expand into additional markets,”, he added. 

Continuing a busy period for Atos’ dealmakers – SEC Consult is the firm’s sixth deal this year – this transaction comes three months after Atos acquired another cybersecurity specialist. The bolt-on of digital.security, a subsidiary of Econocom group added around 250 cybersecurity consultants in France and the Benelux. 

For SEC Consulting, the joining of forces marks the end of a nearly 20-year independent era. But in return, said CEO Wolfgang Baumgartner, “together with Atos, we can speed up our mission; to protect the information security assets of our clients. Additionally, it is a great development opportunity for our cybersecurity experts to work on even more exciting projects.”