Coalfire has acquired Veris Group, creating one of the largest providers of cybersecurity services on the market. The deal was funded in part by new equity investments by affiliates of the Carlyle Group LP (Nasdaq: CG) and the Chertoff Group, which partnered to take a majority stake in Coalfire in 2015. "Our collective customers will have the advantage of a more comprehensive set of services focusing on assessing cyber risk and testing against real world threats, which will create a complete picture of possible vulnerabilities, threats, and gaps that could impact their business," says Larry Jones, CEO of Coalfire. The Chertoff Group is a business strategy and M&A advisory firm that focuses on the security and risk management sector. The firm was co-founded by former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Cybersecurity providers are receiving enormous interest on the part of strategic buyers and private equity firms alike, as high-profile breaches demonstrate the need for protection, including: denial-of-service attacks on Internet tech provider Dyn, currently being acquired by Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL); the announcement that 500 million Yahoo accounts had been hacked in 2014 in the midst of the struggling Internet's planned acquisition by Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ); and the cyber-intrusions into the computers of the Democratic National Committee and other Democratic Party groups. On Dec. 9, President Barack Obama ordered the intelligence community to conduct a "full review" of "malicious cyber activity" timed to U.S. elections.