Wiz, a cloud security startup, has decided to abandon a $23 billion acquisition deal with Google, choosing instead to pursue its original plan of an initial public offering (IPO). Co-founder Assaf Rappaport cited antitrust and investor concerns as reasons for the decision. Wiz aims to achieve $1 billion in annual recurring revenue and has been focusing on rapid growth, having reached $350 million in revenue last year. Google's cloud segment, which would have benefited significantly from Wiz's security products, faces fierce competition from companies like Microsoft and Amazon. The decision marks a notable event for venture backers seeking significant returns amid a challenging market and regulatory environment.

Wiz walks away from $23 billion deal with Google, will pursue IPO cnbc.com

The recent massive technology outage caused by an update from CrowdStrike has raised significant concerns across various industries and the cyber insurance sector. The incident, likened to the NotPetya attack, is expected to lead to substantial business interruption claims due to systems failure from non-malicious acts like human error. Insurers are now reexamining policy wordings and considering tightening their terms, especially around non-malicious events and the extent of business interruption coverage. The event underscores the need for insurers to assess policyholder supply-chain dependencies and manage potential aggregation risks without retracting essential coverage. The widespread impact highlights growing risks associated with single points of failure and the need for redundancy in critical systems.

Trigger Warning: Cyber Policy Wordings to Impact Coverage for Tech Outage Insurance Journal

In light of a recent CrowdStrike incident highlighting vulnerabilities in cloud infrastructure, CIOs are reassessing their cloud strategies to mitigate risks associated with single points of failure. This incident has prompted IT leaders to explore multi-cloud and hybrid approaches to enhance resilience and prevent system-wide disruptions.

CrowdStrike incident has CIOs rethinking their cloud strategies CIO

A faulty software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike caused a significant global IT outage, disrupting various industries, including airlines and hospitals, and affecting approximately 8.5 million devices. Although CrowdStrike has apologized, it has not committed to compensating affected customers, who may seek remuneration through lawsuits. Estimates suggest the financial impact could exceed $1 billion. Despite potential legal protections in its contracts, CrowdStrike's reputation has suffered, and its competitors may use this incident to attract its clients. The company's CEO emphasized ongoing efforts to restore systems and maintain customer trust.

Costs from the global outage could top $1 billion – but who pays the bill is harder to understand cnn