Hey there,

These are some interesting times, when it comes to cybersecurity industry, e.g.: the Biggest OT Security Solution acquisition (focus of this newsletter) and also, multiple large scale cyber attacks and operational disruptions for businesses.

In this newsletter, What You’ll Learn:

🚨Large scale cyber attacks causing business disruption and impact.

🔥 Mitsubishi Electric’s acquisition of Nozomi Networks: Deal Breakdown

📜 Timeline of OT Security Acquisitions (2015–2025)

🔎 Key Takeaways from Mitsubishi’s Press Release (Sept 9, 2025)

📌 Expert Briefing (Analytical View) and🔮 Future Outlook (2025–2030)

📜 Vendor-Neutral Q&A Checklist for OT/ICS Buyers

🌟Recommendations — who should do what now & Vendor-Neutral Q&A Checklist for OT/ICS Buyers.

Please let us know by filling out the poll at the end of this edition and feel free to share your thoughts through comments, likes, or reshares. 🚨

♻️if you know someone in your professional circle who will benefit from this guidance and or are interested in learning. Thanks 🌟 

So let’s dig in.

Yours truly.

— Yousuf.

Notable Cybersecurity Activities

• Large scale NPM / GitHub hack of all times with many companies impacted.

• Possibly the Largest supply chain compromise in npm, Inc. history, debug and chalk packages with a total of 2 billion weekly downloads just got turned malicious.

• CrowdStrike Falcon Prevents Supply Chain Attack Involving Compromised NPM Packages.

• Global auto-manufacturers Jaguar Land Rover and Bridgestone faced significant cyber events, causing multi-plant shutdowns and production slowdowns. These incidents highlight that attackers now target operational continuity, not just data.

• A cyberattack on a key passenger check-in and Kiosks systems provider caused chaos at major European airports on Saturday, leading to long queues, delays, and cancellations. Berlin-Brandenburg Airport confirmed the attack targeted an external technology provider, prompting a switch to manual procedures and system disconnections, which slowed down check-in and boarding. Passengers experienced long waits and multiple flight delays.

• several other attacks on companies around the world.

🔥 Mitsubishi Electric’s acquisition of Nozomi Networks: Deal Breakdown and Timelines

🔥 Mitsubishi Electric’s landmark US$883M acquisition of Nozomi Networks is the largest deal in the history, to date, of the OT security tools sector, definitively shifting the industry landscape and sparking debate around the future of vendor-agnostic solutions in OT Cybersecurity.

Here’s Mitsubishi intent of acquisition → Agreement to Wholly Acquire Nozomi Networks - Expanding Serendie-related businesses, including OT security.

• Deal Announcement: Mitsubishi Electric’s intent to wholly acquire Nozomi Networks was made public in early September 2025, following a previous strategic investment as part of Nozomi’s $100M Series E round in March 2024.

• Deal Value: The transaction is valued at approximately US$883M — by far the largest such acquisition in the OT/IoT security domain to date.

• Closing Date: Finalization is expected in Q4 2025, with Nozomi to maintain headquarters in San Francisco and R&D in Switzerland.

• Strategic Vision: Mitsubishi Electric plans to enhance its OT security and digital transformation services by integrating Nozomi's AI, asset visibility, and threat intelligence platforms. Utilizing secure data from both companies' customer bases, they aim to co-create global services to accelerate Serendie-related businesses, aligning with Mitsubishi's acquisition goals.

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📜 Timeline of OT Security Acquisitions (2015–2025)

Here are the major OT security acquisitions from the last decade, with known deal sizes:

2016–2017: M&A / Early Strategic Moves

• Honeywell acquires Nextnine (2017)

  • Focus: Remote industrial asset monitoring & security management.

  • Significance: One of the first major automation vendors to bring OT security in-house.

2018–2019: M&A / Wave of Consolidation

• Tenable acquires Indegy (2019, ~$78M)

  • Focus: OT network visibility, asset discovery, anomaly detection.

  • Significance: Brought OT visibility into a mainstream IT vulnerability management platform.

• Cisco acquires Sentryo (2019, undisclosed)

  • Focus: ICS/OT network monitoring and visibility.

  • Significance: Integrated OT threat detection into Cisco’s networking and security portfolio.

• Forescout acquired SecurityMatters (2018, $113 million)

  • Focus: OT asset visibility and network monitoring

  • Significance: Brought OT visibility into its network access/monitoring platform.

2020–2021: M&A / Venture-Backed Expansion

• Rockwell Automation invests in Claroty (2020)

  • Not an acquisition but a strategic partnership and equity investment.

  • Significance: Demonstrated the trend of industrial conglomerates aligning with OT security startups.

• Microsoft acquired CyberX (2020, ~$165 million)

  • Focus: Strategic acquisition to acquire IP, resources & skills for OT.

  • Significance: technology later integrated into Azure IoT.

• Schneider Electric & Johnson Controls join Claroty funding (2021)

  • Strengthened Claroty’s industrial alliances.

2022–2023: M&A / Security Cloud Platforms Take Interest

• 2022: Claroty acquired Medigate (healthcare IoT security) claroty.com.

  • Strategic expansion and visibility into specialized healthcare sector.

• Microsoft partners with Claroty / Dragos (2022)

  • Strategic alliances rather than acquisitions.

  • Significance: Big Tech testing the OT waters but hesitant to acquire.

• Armis raises PE capital at >$3B valuation (2023)

  • Expansion into OT + IoT visibility space.

  • Significance: Showed massive investor interest, but still independent.

• Honeywell acquired SCADAfence (2023, Undisclosed)

  • OT threat detection

• Rockwell Automation acquired Verve Industrial (2023, $190 million)

  • OT risk platform portfolio expansion to OEMs offerings.

2024–2025: Mega Deals & Market Maturity

• 2024: Dragos acquired Network Perception (2024, undisclosed)

  • Advance OT Network Visibility

  • combine the companies' complimentary cybersecurity products to enhance network security.

• Mitsubishi Electric acquires Nozomi Networks (2025)

  • Largest OT security acquisition to date (Sep 2025, $883 Million).

  • Significance: First industrial automation giant to fully acquire a top-tier OT security vendor.

  • Impact: Potential end of “vendor-agnostic” OT tools; accelerates industry consolidation.

The Mitsubishi-Nozomi deal is the largest disclosed OT security acquisition, surpassing previous significant deals.

Notable but undisclosed investments have been made by Honeywell, Accenture, and Palo Alto Networks in OT and industrial cybersecurity.

Before this landmark deal, Forescout's acquisition of SecurityMatters and Tenable's of Indegy were the most prominent pure-play OT security transactions.

Microsoft, Cisco, and Accenture have also made significant investments, emphasizing the convergence of IT and OT security.

These transactions illustrate the accelerating pace, scale, and strategic imperative of OT security consolidation across the sector.

Each of these deals were large for its time, but the Mitsubishi–Nozomi transaction sets a new bar. By paying roughly $883 million for the remaining 93% of Nozomi (after its 7% stake purchased last year).

Mitsubishi has effectively created a $1B valuation benchmark in the OT cybersecurity market. This has prompted both investors and vendors to reassess valuations for other leaders like Dragos and Claroty.

📌 Earlier acquisitions deals, after this, seems were smaller tuck-ins.

Mitsubishi–Nozomi is order-of-magnitude larger, marking the transition of OT security from VC-driven growth → industrial conglomerate consolidation.

🔎 Key Takeaways from Mitsubishi’s Press Release (Sept 9, 2025)

• Deal Structure:
  Mitsubishi Electric acquired Nozomi Networks as a wholly owned subsidiary. The brand “Nozomi Networks” will be retained for market continuity.

• Strategic Rationale:
  Mitsubishi aims to combine its factory automation (FA), energy systems, and building solutions businesses with Nozomi’s cybersecurity and network monitoring platforms.
  The goal: deliver comprehensive IT + OT security solutions for critical infrastructure and smart factories.

• Market Vision:
  The acquisition is positioned as part of Mitsubishi’s strategy to strengthen its “digital manufacturing” and “sustainable infrastructure” offerings under its “Mission Net Zero 2050” framework.

• Financial Impact:
  Mitsubishi expects Nozomi’s recurring SaaS model and global client base to support both short-term revenue growth and long-term digital transformation leadership.

• Technology & Product Synergy:

  • Nozomi brings ICS/OT anomaly detection, visibility, and AI-driven threat detection.

  • Mitsubishi brings a global installed base in manufacturing, power, and transportation systems.

  • Together, they can integrate security natively into industrial automation platforms—a step beyond “bolt-on” OT security.

📊 Analyst Commentary & Predictions

1. Why This Acquisition Matters

• This is the largest OT security tools acquisition to date, surpassing earlier M&A moves by other OEM and large vendors.

• It shows that industrial conglomerates (not just pure cybersecurity players) are now buying OT security companies to embed protection into automation stacks.

2. Short-Term Impact (1–2 years)

• Nozomi will benefit from global scaling through Mitsubishi’s sales and distribution channels, especially in Asia-Pacific and Japan where Mitsubishi dominates factory automation.

• Expect faster adoption in manufacturing verticals, with Mitsubishi using Nozomi as the “default security layer” for its industrial customers.

3. Medium-Term Impact (3–5 years)

• Vendor-Agnostic Model at Risk:
  Nozomi, known for its vendor-neutral OT visibility solution, may face resistance from competitors like Siemens, Rockwell, and Schneider after Mitsubishi's acquisition. This could lead to ecosystem lock-ins, with major automation vendors providing their own security solutions.

• Market Consolidation:
  The acquisition accelerates consolidation:

  • Claroty (backed by Rockwell, Schneider, Johnson Controls)

  • Dragos (still independent but potential acquisition target by Microsoft, IBM, or AWS)

  • Armis (private equity-backed, with crossover IT/OT play)

• Shift Toward Convergence:
  Expect tighter integration of OT monitoring with IT/Cloud SOC platforms. Nozomi under Mitsubishi could push for a hybrid IT/OT SOC offering, aligned with XDR and ITDR trends.

4. Long-Term Outlook

• By 2030, OT security tools will no longer be standalone. They’ll be embedded into:

  • Industrial automation systems

  • Cloud monitoring platforms

  • AI/ML-driven predictive maintenance systems

• Mitsubishi’s move may set the precedent: in the future, vendor-agnostic OT tools could disappear, replaced by vendor-native security ecosystems.

📌 Expert Briefing (Analytical View)

General sentiment:

Mitsubishi's acquisition of Nozomi marks a shift in OT security, moving from standalone monitoring to integrated components in industrial automation and cloud ecosystems.

This could boost adoption, but may fragment the market and limit interoperability.

Security buyers will face a choice between ecosystem lock-in and best-of-breed independence over the next five years..

Some other key interesting articles on the topic:

• Analysis: Mitsubishi Electric To Acquire Nozomi Networks by Dale Peterson - where Dale provides critical analysis on the deal, crunching some $$$ info and few predictions. From the same link above, from comments by Sinclair, its seems there were rumours earlier for Honeywell, interested in acquiring Nozomi.

• Forge Global list out the Nozomi Networks IPO deal details.

Securing Things Offer:

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OT/ICS Security Solutions Comparison Toolkit - A structured framework to make an informed decision for comparison and selection of an OT IDS/AD solution for your production environment.

🔮 Future Outlook (2025–2030)

• By 2030, OT security tools will no longer be standalone. They’ll be embedded in automation systems, cloud monitoring platforms, and AI-driven predictive maintenance [Strategy of Security, 2025].

• Mitsubishi’s acquisition of Nozomi is the first big signal: the market is heading toward vendor-native, ecosystem-integrated security.

• The coming years will see continued consolidation, forcing CISOs to choose between ecosystem lock-in vs. independent best-of-breed tools.

Vendor-Neutral Q&A Checklist for OT/ICS Buyers

When evaluating Mitsubishi/Nozomi (or any vendor) post-acquisition—or when selecting an OT security vendor—ask these questions to assess vendor neutrality, interoperability, and long-term value:

Recommendations — who should do what now?

For enterprise OT/ICS buyers

• Demand explicit neutrality commitments and API / interop guarantees in procurement contracts when considering Mitsubishi-bundled Nozomi solutions. Ask for third-party attestations or multi-vendor test results.

• Short term: leverage Mitsubishi/Nozomi bundled offers for rapid security posture improvements; medium term: maintain an architecture that can mix OEM-embedded features with neutral tooling to avoid lock-in.

Here’s a sound advice My OT Security Vendor Was Aquired ... What Should I Do? - by Dale Peterson.

For competing OT vendors / startups

• Consider specialization (vertical focus like energy or pharma), deep API/partner programs, or MSSP partnerships to sustain growth.

• Prepare for active M&A markets; strengthen recurring revenue profiles (SaaS/managed services) and evidence of large customer deployments.

For investors / VCs

• Use Nozomi’s implied multiple as a new top-tier benchmark; expect higher prices for proven SaaS-based OT vendors. Assess target companies for ARR, gross margins (SaaS economics), growth rate, and strategic OEM partnerships.

For Mitsubishi & Nozomi leadership

• Publicly document and operationalize neutrality & interoperability guarantees (technical and contractual).

• Maintain Nozomi’s innovation cadence by preserving R&D autonomy, metrics, and incentives.

• Execute go-to-market plays that show measurable ARR uplift within 18 months (joint pilots, conversions) to validate Serendie projections.

Conclusion: The Future of OT Security Tools

Mitsubishi's US$883M acquisition of Nozomi could trigger industry consolidation by aligning Mitsubishi's OT device scale and Serendie platform with Nozomi's SaaS and sensor portfolio. Success hinges on scaling Nozomi while preserving its vendor-neutral reputation. A successful integration could boost OT security adoption and meet Serendie revenue targets, while failure risks costly integration and weakened Nozomi leadership.

1. This deal materially accelerates industrial OEMs’ role in OT security. Mitsubishi will integrate OT security into its Serendie data platform and automation portfolio, prompting other OEMs to consider strategic acquisitions or partnerships with OT security vendors.

2. Vendor-agnostic solutions remain necessary — but their business model must adapt. Mitsubishi's commitment to Nozomi's neutrality reflects market diversity: some customers want integrated OEM bundles, others prefer vendor-neutral platforms to avoid lock-in. Neutral vendors can remain relevant through interoperability and multi-OEM certification, but scaling may need partnerships, white-labeling, or service specialization. Mitsubishi supports diverse environments but will integrate tech into components.

3. Valuations and consolidation will rise; M&A heat will follow. Paying nearly US$883M for Nozomi sets a valuation benchmark, attracting buyers. Expect increased M&A interest in top OT security assets over the next 18–36 months, driven by the acquisition price and Mitsubishi’s growth-focused roadmap.

4. If Mitsubishi preserves Nozomi’s autonomy and partner openness, the acquisition can increase choice overall by scaling a leading platform globally. The ideal outcome is for Nozomi's innovation to accelerate while remaining multi-vendor compatible, achievable through governance, partner policies, and integration discipline, as outlined in the PDF.

Some interesting Social posts 📜 

📜Here are some interesting posts to read✍

• CrowdStrike is acquiring Pangea. Here’s why it matters. The agent has replaced the endpoint by Tom Le.

• 🚨 CrowdStrike has had its NPM packages compromised 𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘨 '𝘏𝘈𝘊𝘒𝘌𝘋' 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. Crowdstrike has been caught in a Supply chain attack that so far includes 180 packages from various organizations - by Mackenzie Jackson.

My Recent Most Viewed Social Posts

In case you’ve missed - here are some of my recent most viewed social posts.

• 🗞️🗞️OT Cybersecurity Procurement Process & Practices (OTCS PPP) an ultimate guide - Part 3 (extended) ✅ Q & A Videos addressing common questions & concerns, plus more resources 🚀[Securing Things by M. Yousuf Faisal]🗞️

• 🎥 Watch the sessions 👇👇👇

  1️⃣ Typical challenges & hurdles in OT Cybersecurity procurement 🎥

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  3️⃣ Impact on IT vs OT risk management alignment🎥

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  5️⃣ Ensuring consistency in specifications, purchasing decisions & agreements🎥.

• 🗞️🗞️[ST # 75] OT Cybersecurity Procurement Process & Practices (OTCS PPP) an ultimate guide - Part 3 ✅Tailored strategies & Procurement insights for the Manufacturing industry, and reference resources"✍️🚀 [Securing Things by M. Yousuf Faisal]🗞️

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• 🗞️🗞️[ST # 73] Cybersecurity Insights from Q2 2025 ✅ IT, OT, AI Cybersecurity Market (M&As, fundings, start-ups), Incidents, breaches, ransomware, cyber threat landscape, regulations and CISOs evolving role - Things are changing very fast.🚀 [Securing Things by M. Yousuf Faisal]  🗞️ 🗞️

• 🗞️🗞️[ST # 72] IIOT Security Guide 🗞️ What is IIOT, key threats, industry demands, best practices, & strategies to secure your IIOT implementations and more.✍️ [Securing Things by M. Yousuf Faisal] 🗞️ 🗞️