Mastercard and global cybersecurity and PCI compliance company VikingCloud are developing cybersecurity solutions designed for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).The first solutions co-developed by the companies will be available to VikingCloud’s customers in the second quarter, the companies said in a Friday (Feb. 7) press release.The solutions will help SMBs evaluate their own cyber defense posture, remediate their vulnerabilities and keep up with evolving cyber threats, according to the release.The co-developed solutions will leverage Mastercard’s risk scoring and evaluation capabilities and VikingCloud’s cybersecurity remediation development capabilities and existing global community of more than 4 million merchants, per the release.The companies’ collaboration aims to provide cyber defense solutions to SMBs that have been challenged by limited budgets and internal technical resources, according to the release.“VikingCloud and Mastercard and joining forces to create low-touch, high-value cybersecurity solutions that help reduce risk and build trust with merchants so they can focus on running and building their businesses with less chance of disruption today and in the future,” VikingCloud CEO Jim Burke said in the release.Johan Gerber, executive vice president, head of security solutions at Mastercard, said in the release: “With VikingCloud, we will bring practical cybersecurity solutions to millions of SMBs to enable their success.”Businesses can strengthen their cybersecurity by adopting a multifaceted approach that includes advanced technology, continuous education and rigorous exercise, Ron Green, cybersecurity fellow and former chief security officer at Mastercard, told PYMTNS in an interview posted in August.“Look at those technologies that can ensure people are doing what they need to do, only what they need to do, when they need to do it, and how they need to do it,” Green advised.Mastercard finalized its acquisition of threat intelligence company Recorded Future in December, saying the move would add threat intelligence and artificial intelligence-powered, actionable analytics to its cybersecurity capabilities.In May, Mastercard opened a center in Europe aimed at tackling cyber crime in the region. The Europe Cyber Resilience Center is designed to improve defenses against cyber threats and act as a hub for “thought leadership in cybersecurity,” the company said at the time

Among them, Salesforce bought Own, a data-management provider, for $1.9 billion, and Mastercard purchased the threat-intelligence company Recorded Future from Insight for over $2 billion.