Facebook wants to acquire a big cybersecurity firm

Facebook
CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
AP Photo/Andrew
Harnik, File

• Facebook is looking to acquire a major cybersecurity
  company,
  The Information reports.
• The tech firm has reportedly assembled a team to scout
  out big cybersecurity firms to add to its technical expertise
  and to quell criticism of its data protection.
• It comes a few weeks after Facebook disclosed it had
  detected the biggest data breach in its history, which affected
  30 million users.

Facebook is shopping around for a big cybersecurity company,

The Information reports.

Citing four people familiar with the matter, The Information said
Facebook has approached a number of cybersecurity companies with
a view to a possible acquisition.

Sources declined to say which companies had been approached, but
one said a deal could be closed as soon as the end of this year.

Facebook has reportedly assembled a team to scout out targets
with a view to bolstering its cybersecurity expertise and to
quell public criticism of its data protection.

Facebook has faced a barrage of criticism due to a few high-level
scandals. Last month it disclosed that it had
detected the biggest data breach in its history which
affected some 30 million users.
Facebook stated in October that it believed spammers, not
state-sponsored agents, were behind the hack.

The Cambridge Analytica data-scraping scandal also exposed
Facebook to scrutiny over how well it protects the data of its
users.

Business Insider has contacted Facebook for comment.