Russian cyber company F.A.C.C.T. sells key assets to establish new firm

An investment fund has acquired key assets from the Russian cybersecurity company F.A.C.C.T. to launch a new firm focused on combating cybercrime and providing services to Moscow-friendly foreign partners.

In a statement last week, F.A.C.C.T. said that it was transferring its technologies, expertise, intellectual property and current contracts to the Russian fund Cyberus. The value of the deal has not been disclosed, but local cybersecurity experts who spoke to Forbes Russia estimated its worth at about $50 million.

F.A.C.C.T. is a spinoff of Group-IB, which was originally founded in Russia but moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2019. The company exited the Russian market last April following the arrest of its co-founder, Ilya Sachkov, in Moscow. 

In 2023, Sachkov was found guilty of treason and sentenced to 14 years in a strict prison colony. Group-IB’s business in Russia was sold to local management and continued to operate under the F.A.C.C.T. brand. Sachkov remained F.A.C.C.T.'s largest shareholder but did not admit to the charges against him.

The new owner of the company’s key assets, the Cyberus fund, was established in 2022 by Yuri Maksimov, the co-founder of the Russian cybersecurity firm Positive Technologies, which was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2021 on accusations of providing tech support to Russia's civilian and military intelligence agencies, the FSB and GRU. 

Cyberus has not revealed the name of the new company it plans to establish using F.A.C.C.T. assets. However, it has stated that the company will focus on developing new products, attracting new clients — including state-owned firms — and expanding its services internationally.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine two years ago, the Russian information security market has undergone significant changes, according to local cyber experts speaking to Recorded Future News. Many international companies exited the market due to sanctions, forcing Russian clients to seek domestic alternatives. 

Sanctions also led to a decline in export options for Russian cyber firms, prompting them to eye new markets, including in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa — any region considered “friendly” by the Kremlin.

In 2023, the Russian cybersecurity giant Kaspersky opened its first so-called transparency center in Africa, where local clients could learn about the company's products. Also last year, several Russian authorities, along with cyber firms such as Positive Technologies, discussed tech exports and cooperation in cybersecurity and telecommunications with Iran.

Russian cybersecurity experts speaking to Forbes confirmed the new deal between Cyberus and F.A.C.C.T. is likely aimed at expanding the company’s services abroad, particularly to Russia-aligned partner countries.

What will happen to F.A.C.C.T.

F.A.C.C.T. has been actively researching Russia's cyber landscape, publishing reports on nation-state and financially-motivated hackers targeting the country. With Western cyber companies exiting the Russian market, local firms like Kaspersky, Positive Technologies and F.A.C.C.T. became the primary sources of reporting on the threats to the country's networks.

Under the new deal, F.A.C.C.T.'s team, which reportedly consists of nearly 1,000 people, will transfer to a newly established company led by F.A.C.C.T.'s current CEO, Valery Baulin. Cyberus will own almost half of the company’s assets, while the rest will be distributed among private investors. Cyberus assured that it will not be involved in the operational management of the new company.

Local cyber experts told Forbes Russia that the deal is beneficial for F.A.C.C.T. because the company faced many obstacles following Sachkov's arrest and struggled to separate its operations from Group-IB.

In a statement on Telegram, Sachkov said that the decision to sell his assets was “difficult,” but he’s confident that the deal is good for the company’s growth.

“The deal with Cyberus creates conditions for active growth by removing various limitations and expanding opportunities in the market,” said Sachkov, who is awaiting appeal. “We plan to complete the transition of assets and the team to the new company by the end of the first quarter of 2025.”