Sep 11, 2018

Bitdefender moves closer to IPO with latest acquisition

Photo Illustration: Thomas Koehler/Photothek via Getty Images

Bitdefender, a cyberthreat protection vendor with over 500 million users globally, announced Tuesday it has acquired a local partner in the Australia and New Zealand market, SMS eTech.

Why it matters: This puts Bitdefender one step further on its path to an IPO. The Romania-based company tripled its staff and revenue over the past five years, has been pushing expansion in Europe, and was operating with $139.7 million in annual revenue before the acquisition, per Crunchbase. The move will likely shore up its foothold in the Australia and New Zealand region. Its only other acquisition — Profil Technology in France — brought sales in-house in that region last year, per The Australian.

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Sara Fischer, author of Media Trends
19 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Election influence operations target journalists

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Foreign and domestic actors looking to influence the 2020 election are trying to trick real reporters into amplifying fake storylines. This tactic differs from 2016, when bad actors used fake accounts and bots to amplify disinformation to the population directly.

Why it matters: The new strategy, reminiscent of spy operations during the Cold War, is much harder for big tech platforms to police and prevent.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 33,081,725 — Total deaths: 997,777 — Total recoveries: 22,926,896 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 7,115,338 — Total deaths: 204,758 — Total recoveries: 2,766,280 — Total tests: 101,298,794 — Map.
  3. States: 3 states set single-day coronavirus case records last week
  4. Health: The long-term pain of the mental health pandemic
  5. World: India the second country after U.S. to hit 6 million cases
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Rebecca Falconer
6 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Democrats demand Trump release his tax returns after NYT report

Compilation images of House Nancy Pelosi and President Trump. Photo: Joshua Roberts/Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Democrats called on President Trump to disclose his tax returns following a New York Times report alleging he paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017 and nothing in 10 of the past 15 years.

Details: Trump said the report was "total fake news," that he's unable to release the returns as they're "under audit" by the IRS, "which does not treat me well." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement the report "provides further evidence of the clear need" for a House lawsuit to access the tax returns and "ensure the presidential audit program is functioning effectively, without improper influence."

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