The Materna Group is continuing to pursue its ‘Mission 2025’ strategy, strengthening its position in the field of cyber security, and has acquired 100 per cent of RADAR Cyber Security with effect from 23 September 2022. With the acquisition of the Vienna-based cyber security specialist, Materna is rounding off its portfolio of solutions in the key area of cyber security and sustainably expanding its capacity and delivery capabilities in this important market segment. Together with RADAR, Materna aims to become one of the leading cyber security providers in the DACH region. Based on a cyber security platform, RADAR offers the establishment of a Security Operations Centre (SOC) for businesses and Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) and has itself been very successfully providing a ‘Made in Europe’ SOC as a Service for more than ten years. RADAR thus operates as an end-to-end provider, specialising both in equipping SOCs and in delivering SOC services. Materna will further develop RADAR’s SOC platform, thereby rounding off its own cyber security portfolio. RADAR employs around 110 staff and was founded in 2011.
Dr Christian Polster, one of RADAR’s founders, will remain on board and, together with Eugenio Carlon, will take over the management of the company. Eugenio Carlon has previously headed up the cyber security division at Materna. Dr Christian Polster was previously responsible for the further development of the portfolio in his role as Chief Portfolio Officer. Founder Sebastian Michels will also remain with the company in a senior role.
“With this acquisition, we are strengthening our delivery capabilities in a long-term growth market, rounding off our portfolio and becoming an end-to-end provider of cyber security services and consultancy. At the same time, we are expanding our presence in the DACH region for these offerings. RADAR also fits very well with our strategy of increasingly offering consultancy and services using our own software assets, which set us apart. It is also our aim to significantly increase the share of turnover generated by managed security services,” explains Martin Wibbe, CEO of the Materna Group.
“In the field of cyber security, we are already a full-service provider and a holistic expert in critical business models and infrastructures, offering a 360-degree perspective. By combining both portfolios, we are further strengthening our position as an end-to-end provider in the area of SOCs. This enables us to provide our customers with all the services they need to establish a cyber resilience strategy from a single source: consultancy, analysis, solutions and services,” explains Eugenio Carlon of Materna. Materna offers customers who wish to pursue further digitalisation and cloud adoption as part of their IT strategy a high-performance security offering in the IT/OT sector. In the industrial sector, the target customer segments include, amongst others, discrete manufacturing, the process industry, the automotive sector, energy and utilities, as well as KRITIS organisations.
“We are delighted to be part of the successful Materna Group and to continue our journey as a SOC technology developer and provider of managed security services with renewed vigour. The two companies’ highly complementary product portfolios are very attractive to the cyber security market and open up entirely new opportunities. Together, we will become a leading end-to-end cyber security provider in the DACH region,” says Dr Christian Polster of RADAR.
Materna supports customers in the planning, design and implementation of comprehensive cyber security measures: from awareness and consultancy through to project planning and the secure operation of cyber security solutions in its own Security Operations Centre (SOC). Other areas of focus include vulnerability management, secure digital identities, web security, information security management, secure application development and security awareness.
Rising cyber threats and regulatory requirements
Cyber threats are on the rise worldwide, and cyber attacks are becoming increasingly complex. Consequently, there is a high level of need and demand for cyber security solutions and the development of strong cyber resilience on the part of businesses and public authorities. Furthermore, the demand for cyber security experts continues to rise sharply. This situation requires the deployment of a SOC – a cyber security control centre – across all sectors for the rapid detection, analysis and resolution of security incidents. RADAR supports leading clients in the manufacturing industry, in KRITIS organisations such as those in the financial and energy sectors, in the retail sector and in the public sector with its turnkey cyber security solutions. In addition, Managed Security Service Providers or large corporate clients wishing to establish their own cyber defence centre can purchase the SOC solution on a licence basis.
Various regulations explicitly require the establishment of a SOC or the use of SOC services. These include the IT Security Act, the minimum logging standards of the BSI (Federal Office for Information Security), the insurance and banking supervisory requirements for IT set by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), known in short as VAIT and BAIT, the UNECE World Forum for Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations, and other IT security requirements of the regulated market. Consequently, demand for Managed Security Services (SOC as a Service) in Germany is also set to grow disproportionately.
Managing the interface between service management and the SOC
A key factor in detecting cyber-attacks is the integration of a SOC – or rather, the incidents detected by it – into service management. “The combination of cyber security and service management solutions is a unique selling point for RADAR and Materna. Materna has been one of the leading providers of consultancy, solutions and technologies for service management for decades,” says Uwe Scariot, a member of the Executive Board responsible for Enterprise Service Management and Materna’s cross-market services.
Cross-organisational incident handling is becoming increasingly important, particularly in the security sector, and is also required by regulatory bodies. The rapid, precise and traceable analysis, response and resolution of security incidents involving (external) security specialists, company representatives and IT providers is essential for reducing risk. The combination of service management solutions and SOCs brings significant simplification and the opportunity to establish a centralised Security Orchestration & Automated Response (SOAR) solution for this area of case management, including all necessary KPIs and reports.
The RADAR Cyber Security Platform
RADAR’s cyber security platform integrates technology for security detection and response, as well as all the components required for working within a SOC. From big data analytics to bespoke reports in the Risk & Security Cockpit, it enables security analysts and SOC operations managers to detect cyber threats using state-of-the-art technology. RADAR Cyber Security employs a holistic model of attack detection and assessment based on a proven Advanced Correlation Engine. With its SOC as a Service offerings, RADAR provides its customers with an approach to applying the technology that has been tried and tested over more than a decade, and can rapidly implement and establish a SOC. In addition, the company offers training for all areas of a SOC operator’s remit.
Materna’s Mission 2025
The acquisition of RADAR is a continuation of the ‘Mission 2025’ growth strategy. Launched in spring 2021, Mission 2025 aims to increase the Materna Group’s turnover to over 700 million euros by 2025 and to grow the number of employees worldwide to over 5,000. As part of this, the Materna Group has refined its portfolio, particularly in the focus areas of cyber security, Journey2Cloud, enterprise service management and the public sector, and is consistently aligning it with market requirements. Earlier this year, Materna had already acquired the companies TraffGo Road GmbH, Virtual Solution AG and Trebing + Himstedt Prozeßautomation GmbH & Co. KG.
