Intel seeks to change cybersecurity with $7.6B McAfee acquisition

Intel Corporation Thursday morning announced that it will acquire security software and management company McAfee Inc. for $7.68 billion in cash. Intel says the move reflects the changing security climate as more non-PC devices connect to the Internet, like cars, TVs, and medical equipment.

"With the rapid expansion of growth across a vast array of Internet-connected devices, more and more of the elements of our lives have moved online," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "In the past, energy-efficient performance and connectivity have defined computing requirements. Looking forward, security will join those as a third pillar of what people demand from all computing experiences."
Intel says there needs to be "a fundamentally new approach involving software, hardware and services," for the increasingly connected world.

McAfee shared that sentiment in a statement to investors on Thursday:

"The current cybersecurity model isn't extensible across the proliferating spectrum of devices -- providing protection to a heterogeneous world of connected devices requires a fundamentally new approach to security. Frankly, the industry needed a paradigm shift -- incremental improvements simply couldn't bridge the opportunity gap. McAfee and Intel Corporation are joining forces to tackle this next generation cybersecurity issue which impacts everyone and anything connecting to the Internet."

While it sounds like the companies are planning a major change to the current security model, it is still unclear what it will mean to McAfee's portfolio of intellectual property after it becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intel.