Bitdefender

Bitdefender is a multinational cybersecurity technology company dual-headquartered in Bucharest, Romania and Santa Clara, California, with offices in the United States, Europe, Australia and the Middle East.

The company was founded in 2001 by current CEO and main shareholder, Florin Talpeș. Bitdefender develops and delivers cybersecurity products and services, including antivirus software, endpoint security, identity protection and online privacy for consumers and enterprises.

Bitdefender products are distributed through partners in over 150 countries, and the US market is estimated to generate more than 40% of its revenue. As of 2025, the company employed more than 1,800 people worldwide.

History

Bitdefender software was originally developed by SOFTWIN, a company founded in 1990 in post-communist Romania. It was originally sold as AVX (Antivirus Expert) from 1996 until 2001, when the Bitdefender subsidiary was created, and AVX was rebranded under the Bitdefender name.In 2007, Bitdefender became a separate business entity with external capital entry, with Axxess Capital Investment Fund as a key shareholder.

From 2004 to 2015, the company expanded with offices in the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Denmark, and the Middle East.

In 2017, the company acquired French partner Profil Technology. British fund Vitruvian Partners would then buy a 30% stake in the company, putting its valuation over $600 million.

In 2018, Bitdefender opened a new subsidiary in Australia through acquisition of assets from SMS eTech. That year, the company also acquired behavioral and network security analysis company RedSocks.

Bitdefender opened a Security Operations Center in San Antonio, Texas in 2019. The Center provides monitoring and incident response services, receiving telemetry from Bitdefender’s threat intelligence engines to provide proactive threat hunting scans.

Bitdefender signed a multi-year partnership deal with Scuderia Ferrari on September 28, 2022.The partnership expanded in 2023 to include integration of Bitdefender Advanced Threat Intelligence into all of Ferrari’s operational systems.

In August 2023, Bitdefender acquired Singapore-based Horangi Cyber Security.

In April 2024, Bitdefender announced the launch of Bitdefender Voyager Ventures, a corporate venture capital unit.]The venture invests in early-stage cybersecurity and AI startups, including Validaitor, a spinoff of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

Cybersecurity

Since 2016, Bitdefender has advised Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) in supporting investigations into online criminal activity. Bitdefender joined the No More Ransom initiative in 2016, releasing free decryption tools for victims of ransom attacks to decrypt their devices without having to pay to do so.This included releasing a free universal decryption kit for users affected by the GandCrab ransomware attack in 2018.

In 2016, Bitdefender advised the FBI, the DEA, and the Dutch National Police (with the support of Europol) during Operation Bayonet, culminating in the shutdown of the AlphaBay and Hansa black markets in 2017.

In 2018, Bitdefender joined the Cybersecurity Tech Accord,and in 2019, provided operational support to Europol's European Cybercrime Centre, helping shut down the Sipulimarket and Silkktie darknet markets.

Bitdefender's 2020 research into the Interplanetary Storm botnet proxy network was provided to law enforcement ahead of the FBI dismantling the network in November 2023.

In September 2023, Bitdefender provided support to Finnish authorities contributing to the seizure of the PIILOPUOTI dark web marketplace.In May 2024, Bitdefender was a supporting partner for Europol's Operation Endgame, which Europol called the largest operation ever against bots, including IcedID, SystemBC, Pikabot, Smokeloader and Bumblebee. It led to the takedown of over 100 servers, and four arrests worldwide.

Researchers for Bitdefender provided Finnish customs with information to help shut down the Sipulitie Tor marketplace in October 2024.

Products and services

Bitdefender's original product was sold as Antivirus Expert until 2001, when it was rebranded under the Bitdefender name.

Since 2011, Bitdefender has expanded to include consumer and enterprise security products, and in 2021, an extended detection and response (XDR) platform. Like most security suites, Bitdefender's consumer services are managed through an online portal, called Bitdefender Central.

Currently, Bitdefender offers antivirus and malware protection services, as well as password management, identity threat protection, and VPN services.Their all-in-one plans are offered in tiers, including Bitdefender Ultimate Security, and specific plans for small businesses and content creators, available for Windows, Mac OS, iOS, and Android.

Bitdefender and NinjaOne announced a partnership in May 2024 to integrate their security software into a single product suite.Bitdefender also has a partnership with the San Antonio Spurs to provide cybersecurity services.

The company also releases free decryption tools for victims of ransomware attacks, including the BitLocker-abusing ShrinkLocker ransomware in 2024.

Bitdefender also conducts research through Bitdefender Labs, and surveys cybersecurity and IT professionals to provide industry assessments.

Artificial intelligence

In December 2023, Bitdefender launched Scamio, a free AI-powered scam detector,which was integrated into WhatsApp in April 2024, and Discord in October 2024.

In October 2024, the company announced it was consolidating its scam detection and AI prevention technologies into the Scam Copilot platform.

Controversies and incidents

Trojan.FakeAlert.5

On March 20, 2010, computers running Bitdefender under 64-bit versions of Windows were affected by a malfunctioning update that classified every executable program as well as DLL files as infected. These files were all marked as 'Trojan.FakeAlert.5' and were moved into quarantine. This action led to software and systems malfunctions that affected users globally. Bitdefender representatives announced the removal of the faulty update and a workaround for the users affected, except for those using the 2008 version.

DarkSide ransomware

In 2020, hacker group DarkSide switched their main encryption ransomware product over to an "affiliate" model wherein other attackers could download and use their software in exchange for a portion of the profits. However, they introduced a bug in the process where affiliate hackers would all use the same private RSA key - meaning that a decryption package for a single target who paid the ransom would work on any target that had the ransomware installed. Security researchers noticed and were quietly already helping victims of the software, but with no public notice, making it so that the attackers would only see an inexplicable decrease in ransom payments that could be written off as chance.

Months later, Bitdefender publicly released a decryptor of their own development and issued a blog post describing the flaw. Security researchers studying the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack in May 2021 criticized Bitdefender for using the bug as a brief burst of publicity, though they acknowledged that DarkSide would’ve eventually noticed and fixed the issue. Bitdefender defended their actions, saying they only wished to notify as many organizations as possible, triggering a discussion among cybersecurity professionals about the pros and cons of publicly disclosing such vulnerabilities in malware.

Besides creating fierce debates amongst security researchers, the decision to publish a fre
'Darkside Ransomware Decryption Tool'
on the Bitdefender website democratized file decryption and recovery to the wider group of victims from less remarkable Ransomware as a service (RaaS) attacks that are unlikely to receive expert outreach.

Awards

* 2023 - AV-TEST Top Product, Best Protection, Best Android Protection, and Best MacOS Security
* 2023 - AV-Comparatives Outstanding Security Award
* 2024 - AV Comparatives Top Product Award
* 2024, 2025 - Named one of PCMag's Best Tech Brands

See also

* Comparison of antivirus software
* Comparison of computer viruses
* Multiscanning

References

External links

*

A Q&A discussion
in ''IT World Canada'' on whether Bitdefender ought to have released the decryptor software w/r/t DarkSide

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bitdefender
Information technology companies of Romania
Software companies of Romania
Companies based in Bucharest
Privately held companies of Romania
Antivirus software
Windows security software
MacOS security software
Android (operating system) software
2001 software
Computer security software companies
Romanian brands
2001 establishments in Romania
Software companies established in 2001