Avast and NortonLifeLock are merging in a deal valued at more than $8Billion. NortonLifelock will acquire all Avast shares and create a larger cyber security company. This combination will allow us to strengthen our cyber safety platform, and make it more accessible to over 500 million users, said Vincent Pilette, NortonLifeLock CEO. We will also be able to accelerate innovation to transform cyber security.This combination should result in antivirus products that combine Avasts privacy focus with NortonLifeLocks identity experience and NortonLifeLocks protection for identity. All this at a time when cybersecurity is crucial for both consumers as well as businesses.Ransomware is increasing in popularity, with new cases appearing on a nearly weekly basis. Gigabyte was the victim of a ransomware attack this week. Customers of Kaseyas remote IT administration software were also affected by a large ransomware threat last month.These attacks can lead to ransomware attacks, supply chain breaches, and malware that also affects regular users. In 2017, hackers managed to conceal malware in system cleaner utility CCleaner. Consumers are often the ones that are affected when credit card and personal information are compromised.Avast was established in the Czech Republic and has been providing software to small businesses and consumers for over 11 years. Avast acquired AVG five year ago. NortonLifeLock, the consumer-facing Symantec business that was acquired by Broadcom two years ago, has been left behind. Norton antivirus has been around in many forms since 1991 and has remained a popular choice for consumers for over 30 years.
