What happened
Shares of cybersecurity specialist FireEye (MNDT) jumped 9.9% higher on Thursday afternoon, peaking near 2:30 p.m. EDT. The stock surged after Alphabet's (GOOG -1.96%) (GOOGL -1.97%) Google published a blog post detailing how FireEye helped the company identify and shut down a network of online accounts with secret links to the Iranian government. The stock had cooled down to a 6.4% gain by 3:30 p.m. EDT.
So what
Google's blog highlighted how the company limits and removes online accounts that are working to influence public and political views through the use of fraudulent identities, outright hacking attempts, and other nefarious methods. Over the last two months, FireEye has helped the company find and shut down several Gmail, YouTube, Blogger, and Google+ accounts with undercover links to the Iranian government via the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting media hub. This security sweep relied on tools and data analysis from FireEye.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
Earlier this week, social media giant Facebook (META -10.56%) said that FireEye had been instrumental in closing down several hundred "misleading" accounts promoting Iranian and Russian interests under false credentials or identities.
When two of the world's largest and most sophisticated tech companies publicly lean on FireEye's expertise to run down these bad actors, it's great public relations for the security firm. It's no surprise to see share prices surging on these reports, which should help FireEye fortify its reputation as a leading expert in complex digital security matters.
