Cyber Guru acquires French company Mantra, a new defensive front alongside the human factor
In an era where successful marriages are increasingly rare, there are unions that seem destined to be celebrated and to work. Not simply because the couple understands and complements each other internally, but especially because it produces added value for all those who enter its orbit.
No, this is not the usual gossip announcement or a trivial marketing communication, but news that could really change the lives of many of us, if we observe it by broadening our view.
We’re talking about the acquisition by Cyber Guru, an Italian company recently turned into a corporation, provider of one of the most accredited platforms in Security Awareness, of the French startup Mantra that offers innovative solutions for cyber security awareness and employee protection.
The premises for a perfect match were already in their respective names, both coming from Sanskrit and finding their deepest meaning in spiritual tradition:
GURU comes from GU (darkness, ignorance) and RU (light, knowledge) and means “one who dispels darkness with light”.
MANTRA combines MAN (mind, thought) and TRA (instrument, tool), interpreted as “a tool for the mind” or “a means for thought“.
Two deeply connected concepts: the GURU guides the disciple towards knowledge and transformation, the MANTRA elevates the mind through practice and repetition, two fundamental learning mechanisms.
The result? The beginning of a new wave of training and awareness in cybersecurity. A new and more powerful ally in the fight against cyber threats.
The two companies will combine skills and resources from both teams to carry forward the mission of strengthening training and resilience against cyber threats and helping businesses and organizations defend their activities from cyber criminals’ attacks.
Cyber Guru, which has over 700 clients and trains more than 1 million active users in over 90 countries, with automated training paths powered by a proprietary Machine Learning model guided by artificial intelligence and which today is one of the fastest-growing startups in Southern Europe, will integrate Mantra’s security awareness solutions including real-time defense and chat-based training.
The respective platforms will combine advanced Machine Learning models and over 340 billion data points to offer highly personalized and effective training in cyber security to over 1000 client companies and more than 1.5 million total active users.
“By joining forces with Mantra, we are taking an important step in our international expansion and in growing our portfolio. This confirms our position as European leaders in cybersecurity awareness,” said Gianni Baroni, CEO and founder of Cyber Guru.
The entire Mantra team, including its co-founders, will join Cyber Guru. CEO Gaspard Droz will become Country Managing Director for France, while CTO Guillaume Charhon will assume the role of Group Chief Architect.
Today, in the era of artificial intelligence and Deepfake, the concept of security is constantly changing and can no longer be approached with traditional training methods. Moreover, attackers are forming groups, becoming almost “multinational crime organizations” that easily win against the human factor, which with its emotional and knowledge vulnerabilities, is increasingly cornered in the face of the spread of malicious technology.
The solution certainly isn’t in personal battle, which is lost from the start, but in broadening the defense front. By uniting forces, knowledge, technologies, and resources, we can succeed in defeating an enemy that today is very frightening but which, with the right digital posture, is also easily identifiable and manageable.
The union between Cyber Guru and Mantra, by expanding defensive lines and the range of knowledge and protection tools, only captures the spirit of this time, becoming an even stronger ally for the human factor.
