Mastercard Acquires Recorded Future to Bolster Cyber Protections

Mastercard is spending $2.65 billion to acquire threat intelligence company Recorded Future.

The deal, announced Thursday (Sept. 12), “bolsters the insights and intelligence used to secure today’s digital economy – in the payments ecosystem and beyond,” Mastercard said.

A company news release describes Recorded Future as “the world’s largest threat intelligence company,” becoming part of Mastercard at a time when cybercrime has ballooned to a $9.2 trillion global problem.

“Trust is the foundation of any relationship. Recorded Future adds to how we deliver that greater peace of mind before, during and after the payment transaction,” said Craig Vosburg, chief services officer at Mastercard.

“Together we will innovate faster, create smarter models and anticipate emerging threats before cyberattacks can take place — in payments and beyond.”

According to the release, Recorded Future analyzes a “broad set of data sources” to provide visibility into potential threats to help customers take action to prevent risks. This ability will bolster Mastercard’s identity, fraud prevention, real-time decisioning and cybersecurity services, the company said.

“Bringing these teams, technology and expertise together will enable the development of even more robust practices and drive greater synergies in cybersecurity and intelligence, reinforcing the Mastercard brand as a trust mark,” the news release said.

The acquisition is expected to become final by the first quarter of 2025, the release said, pending regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.

PYMNTS examined the cybersecurity landscape late last month, noting that large businesses “continue to be attractive targets for cybercriminals,” as a “combination of valuable data, complex systems and the potential for significant ransom payments makes them particularly vulnerable.”

By recognizing the methods attackers use and deploying a multi-layered approach to security, that report added, businesses can prevent a disruption from mutating into a disaster.

In interviews for the PYMNTS “What’s Next in Payments” series, executives emphasized that a multilayered security strategy, otherwise known as defense in depth, is critical for mitigating risks at various levels.

That’s because when an attacker accesses a system by using stolen credentials, the potential for escalation is substantial.

“You may not have realized it yet, but they’re going to hit you,” Amount Director of Product Management Garrett Laird told PYMNTS. “The fraudsters are jerks — and they like to hit you on holidays and on weekends, at two in the morning.”