Pittsburgh-based investment firm Arch Canopy Inc. acquired CYDEF, a leading Canadian cybersecurity company.
As part of the acquisition, Martin Shepherd, Arch Canopy founder, will serve as CYDEF's new CEO and chair. As part of the acquisition, CYDEF will push for a stronger presence in the U.S. market.
"[This acquisition] takes really promising technology and a company that was really focused on building this very promising technology and pairs with a vision for marketing and sales that transcends just the Canadian marketplace," Shepherd said. "First and foremost, our vision and strategy for CYDEF and the SMART-monitor tool is to expose it to the American marketplace."
The SMART-monitor is CYDEF's flagship product. It offers "comprehensive threat detection capabilities" by continuously monitoring endpoints.
Shapherd previously worked as a lawyer, before briefly transitioning to physical security. When the pandemic slashed office security budgets, he transitioned to the cybersecurity industry.
"After Covid-19 happened and security budgets went to zero, for physical security, you're not protecting an office building or anything anymore," Shepherd said. "I could see security shifting, and the focus on security shifting from brick and mortar places to Zoom calls."
Beyond pushing for the entrance of CYDEF to the U.S. market, Shepherd is focused on talent development. He said his biggest concern for the cybersecurity industry is "the difficulty in finding talent."
"I am keenly focused on developing the talent in the Pittsburgh region and building a pipeline in the Pittsburgh region," Shepherd said. "The Biden administration has buried a whole ton of workforce money in various grants and infrastructure programs. I'm working with a few folks in Pittsburgh to pull together some of those resources and start building talent pipelines to leverage certification programs and curriculum and some of the local colleges and universities to be able to bring talented folks into the workforce in Pittsburgh."
