The Security: Intel Buys McAfee

There is a bet made this week, and the bet is the security: the 7.68 billion dollars that Intel promised for McAfee on Thursday. The bet is the biggest deal in the chipmaker's history, and the acquisition is the argument: the security that had to move into the hardware, the antivirus that had to live in the chip. The questions began that day: why would the biggest chipmaker of the PC era buy a software security company, was the premium too high, would the regulators approve. The 7.68 billion dollar bet is the August 2010 story, and the story is the lesson: the security that became the third pillar of computing, the defense that moved beneath the operating system, the deal that changed what a chip company is.

The Security is the subject of this article: what Intel announced on Thursday, who built McAfee, why security had to move into the hardware, and what the 7.68 billion dollar bet means.

1. The Announcement on Thursday

The announcement is the news, and the news is the Thursday: the August 19 statement from Intel, the agreement to acquire McAfee, the $48 per share in cash, the total consideration of approximately 7.68 billion dollars. The announcement is the report: the headlines that said Intel buys McAfee, the price that was the point, the premium of roughly 60 percent over the closing price, the number that changed the conversation. The announcement is the moment: the biggest deal in the chipmaker's history, the software industry that stopped, the analysts who reached for the calculators, the blog posts that began that hour.

The announcement is also the week: the days since Thursday morning, the questions that have not been answered, the deal that still has to close, the regulatory approval that has to come, the calendar that now belongs to Intel. The announcement is the August 2010 context: the Intel that owned the PC era, the McAfee that guarded the PCs, the match that was made, the reasons that were given, the doubts that were voiced. The announcement on Thursday was the beginning, and the beginning was the bet: the 7.68 billion dollars that will be watched, the security that will be tested, the chipmaker that will be changed.

2. The Antivirus Company

The company is the origin, and the origin is the name: the McAfee that was founded in 1987, the founder John McAfee, the antivirus that carried his name into millions of homes. The company is the history: the twenty three years of building, the viruses that were stopped, the updates that never stopped coming, the software that guarded the PCs of the world. The company is the position: the number two consumer antivirus vendor, the seller behind Symantec and its Norton line, the business that grew with every new threat.

The company is also the scale: the roughly two billion dollars a year in revenue, the enterprise security business that was growing, the customers who paid for protection every year, the value that the market put on the code. The company is the prize: the security that Intel chose, the software that the chipmaker would own, the name that would be bought for 7.68 billion dollars. The antivirus company was the seller, and the seller was the proof: the security that had become big business, the defense that the giants could no longer ignore, the industry that had arrived.

3. The Security

The security is the product, and the product is the software: the antivirus that scans, the firewall that blocks, the updates that chase the latest threat, the protection that runs on top of the operating system. The security is the business: the fear that was always renewable, the viruses that were always coming, the subscriptions that never ended, the industry that grew by defending. The security is the craft: the years of signatures, the engines that detected, the teams that raced the attackers, the trust that was earned one update at a time.

The security is also the problem: the attacks that were moving, the malware that grew in volume and cunning, the software that could only react, the defenses that were always one step behind. The security is the limit: the protection that runs after the machine has booted, that lives above the operating system, that cannot see what happens beneath. The security was the weakness, and the weakness was the argument: the defense that had to go deeper, the protection that had to move into the hardware, the chip that would see the attack before the system wakes.

4. The Buyer

The buyer is the company, and the company is Intel: the biggest chipmaker of the PC era, the processors inside the world's computers, the silicon that defined the industry. The buyer is the history: the decades of Moore's law, the chips that doubled and doubled, the machines that ran on Intel inside, the platform that the whole PC world was built on. The buyer is the strategy: the performance that was won, the power efficiency that was pursued, the third pillar that was now declared.

The buyer is also the voice: the chief executive Paul Otellini, the statement that security was the third pillar of computing, the pillar after performance and power efficiency, the message that the deal was about the future. The buyer is the commitment: the chips that would block attacks at the processor level, the defense that would begin before the operating system boots, the promise that security would be built in, not bolted on. The buyer was the believer, and the believer was the bet: the 7.68 billion dollars that Intel placed on security, on hardware, on the next decade of computing.

5. The Hardware Argument

The argument is the chip, and the chip is the defense: the security that moves into the hardware, the processor that watches the data, the attack that is blocked at the silicon level, before the operating system ever wakes. The argument is the shift: the protection that no longer sits on top of the machine, that lives inside it, that is part of the platform, that cannot be uninstalled or ignored. The argument is the promise: the chip that knows what should run, that stops what should not, the hardware that guards the software.

The argument is also the world: the connected devices everywhere, the machines that Intel talked about, the phones and the appliances and the things that would soon be online, the devices that would need protection without a security team. The argument is the future: the phrase internet of things was not yet spoken, but the idea was in the air, the billions of connected things that would need a defense, the security that had to be everywhere at once. The hardware argument was the rationale, and the rationale was the story: the chipmaker that would make security part of the chip, the defense that would be sold with every processor.

6. The Skepticism

The skepticism is the question, and the question is the fit: why does a chip company need a software company, what does the maker of processors know about antivirus, why would the PC era's biggest hardware firm buy into software security. The skepticism is the worry: the culture clash that the analysts predicted, the chip engineers and the security researchers, the two worlds that would have to merge, the integration that would be harder than the deal. The skepticism is the price: the premium of roughly 60 percent, the 7.68 billion dollars, the number that seemed high, the value that would have to be proven.

The skepticism is also the process: the deal that still has to close, the regulatory approval that has to come, the months that lie ahead, the outcome that no one can promise. The skepticism is the August 2010 reading: the analysts who asked why, the investors who shrugged, the competitors who watched, the questions that would follow the deal all year. The skepticism was the doubt, and the doubt was the drama: the story of this week, the story that will run through the months ahead, the question that will not go away.

7. The Security Wars

The wars are the rivalry, and the rivalry is the industry: the Symantec and the Norton that led the consumer market, the McAfee that was number two, the enterprise security business that was growing for both. The wars are the stakes: the billions in security revenue, the customers who paid every year, the threats that never stopped, the vendors who fought for every machine, the fear that was the fuel. The wars are the new front: the hardware that Intel could bring, the chips that would ship with security built in, the advantage that no software vendor could match.

The wars are also the question: the security leader that is now owned by a chipmaker, the Intel that sells the processors, the defense that could ship with them, the balance that could shift. The wars are the August 2010 reading: the rivals who watched the deal, the analysts who recalculated, the enterprise buyers who wondered, the security that changed hands. The security wars were the context, and the context was the prize: the protection of the world's computers, the revenue that never ended, the 7.68 billion dollar bet that just landed in the middle of the field.

8. The Lesson

The lesson is the shift, and the shift is the security: the defense that was once an add-on, a box of software, a subscription to renew, that is now a pillar of computing, worth 7.68 billion dollars. The lesson is the validation: the biggest deal in the chipmaker's history, the price that the market put on protection, the recognition that security belonged in the silicon. The lesson is the phrase: security is the third pillar of computing, the sentence that will be quoted, the claim that will be tested, the thesis of the coming years, the claim every vendor will repeat.

The lesson is also the bet: the Intel that staked its future, the 7.68 billion dollars that were placed, the security that must deliver, the chips that must defend, the promise to keep. The lesson is the August 2010 story, and the story is the lesson: the announcement on Thursday, the antivirus company, the security that became the prize, the chip that became the defense. The 7.68 billion dollar bet is the beginning, and the beginning is the year: the question that the industry will answer, the security that will be watched, the hardware that will define the decade.

# The Security: Intel Buys McAfee