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posted by martyb on Thursday June 30 2016, @12:44AM   Printer-friendly
from the UEFI-and-signatures-FTW dept.

Intel is considering selling its security business as the company tries to focus on delivering chips for cloud computing and connected devices, according to a news report.

The Intel Security business came largely from the company's acquisition for US$7.7 billion of security software company McAfee. Intel announced plans to bake some of the security technology into its chips to ensure higher security for its customers.

With the surge in cyberthreats, providing protection to the variety of Internet-connected devices, such as PCs, mobile devices, medical gear and cars, requires a fundamentally new approach involving software, hardware and services, the company said in February 2011, when announcing the completion of the McAfee acquisition.

Intel has been talking to bankers about the future of its cybersecurity business for a deal that would be one of the largest in the sector ... a group of private equity firms may join together to buy the security business if it is sold at the same price or higher than what Intel paid for it.

[...] The company rebranded its McAfee business as Intel Security in 2014.

The security sector has seen a lot of interest from private equity buyers. Symantec said earlier this month it was acquiring Web security provider Blue Coat for $4.65 billion in cash, in a deal that will see Silver Lake, an investor in Symantec, enhancing its investment in the merged company, and Bain Capital, majority shareholder in Blue Coat, reinvesting $750 million in the business through convertible notes.

Intel said in April that it was cutting 12,000 jobs, or 11 percent of its workforce, by mid-2017 as it tries to evolve from chips for PCs to silicon for data centers and the Internet of Things.


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  • (Score: 2) by GungnirSniper on Thursday June 30 2016, @01:23AM

    by GungnirSniper (1671) on Thursday June 30 2016, @01:23AM (#367811) Journal

    Intel Security still uses the McAfee brand because it is still well-known, and that founder-kook hasn't done all that much damage to it because he's as credible as the guy with a boot on his head.

    For technical people though, isn't the McAfee brand tainted by its reputation for slowness and ineffectiveness? It seems like most places that use it only do so because "it's US-based" even if it's programmed elsewhere.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 30 2016, @01:44AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 30 2016, @01:44AM (#367818)

    I wonder where the expectation that they'd sell the business at the "same price or higher" came from. Did Intel do something to improve McAfee, or is it just a matter of increased real estate prices?

  • (Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 30 2016, @02:09AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 30 2016, @02:09AM (#367828)

    Each word sounds like an English word, but put together, I don't know what they mean.

  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 30 2016, @11:24AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 30 2016, @11:24AM (#367946)

    They are selling access to the backdoor they put into their chips?