The 20 Coolest Network Security Companies Of 2023: The Security 100
From vendors offering SASE platforms to those focused on securing IoT assets, here’s a look at 20 key network security companies.
Coolest Network Security Companies
The concept of network security has evolved in the shift to distributed workforces, and so have many of the vendors that have specialized in the area. Among the giants of the traditional network security world, many of the vendors have now expanded their offerings to enable secure access service edge (SASE) deployments for customers. In SASE, which is aimed at providing secure remote access to applications, offering a next-generation firewall (NGFW) is still a key component — but just one of many.
[Related: 10 Hot SASE Companies To Watch In 2023]
When it comes to defining SASE, Gartner — whose analysts coined the term in 2019 — points to five key capabilities: SD-WAN, secure web gateway (SWG), cloud access security broker (CASB) and zero trust network access (ZTNA), in addition to NGFW. In other words, SASE is a convergence of networking and cybersecurity that seeks to address the modern needs of organizations in the post-corporate perimeter era. Vendors that have expanded from firewall offerings to provide a full SASE platform include Check Point, Cisco, Fortinet, Juniper Networks, Palo Alto Networks and SonicWall.
At ePlus Technology, “we’re working with customers to help to understand what the future of work looks like and how to properly secure users’ traffic to applications,” said Lee Waskevich, vice president of security at Herndon, Va.-based ePlus, No. 30 on the 2022 CRN Solution Provider 500. With the arrival of multi-cloud computing and an increasing reliance on cloud-based SaaS applications, SASE “naturally lends itself to being that intermediary layer, the same way that the next-gen firewalls from before were at that perimeter,” Waskevich said. SASE becomes the new layer where “you can connect from anywhere, secure access to your applications, whether they’re on-prem or in the cloud.”
Together, the core capabilities of SASE enable “zero trust access based on the identity of the device or entity, combined with real-time context and security and compliance policies,” and can provide this secure access whether workers are in the office or working remotely, according to Gartner, which has pegged the market at growing an average growth rate of 32 percent a year to reach nearly $15 billion by 2025. In addition to improved security and compliance, SASE can boost visibility and agility for businesses while also simplifying the management of both security and network services, Gartner analysts have noted.
What follows are the 20 network security companies that made our Security 100 for 2023.
A10 Networks
Dhrupad Trivedi
President, CEO
A10 Networks in December launched a new tool aimed at protecting against distributed denial-of-service attacks. A10 Defend is a SaaS offering that delivers insight about DDoS threats gleaned from the company’s analysis of past attacks and its deep knowledge of network traffic patterns.
Armis
Yevgeny Dibrov
Co-Founder, CEO
Offering what it calls a unified asset intelligence platfrom spanning IT, IoT and industrial IoT systems, the company’s Armis Asset Vulnerability Management platform enables prioritization of threat mitigation activities across the full attack surface of an organization.
Cato Networks
Shlomo Kramer
Co-Founder, CEO
A specialist in the fast-growing SASE area, Cato Networks offers a platform that combines its Cato SD-WAN offering with its cloud-native security service edge product, Cato SSE 360. Recent enhancements include the addition of data loss prevention capabilities.
Check Point Software Technologies
Gil Shwed
Founder, CEO
Check Point recently introduced a new version of its Quantum platform, Check Point Quantum Titan, with a number of new capabilities. The platform uses AI and deep learning to provide advanced threat prevention against attacks such as phishing, DNS exploits and IoT device compromises.
Cisco Systems
Chuck Robbins
Chair, CEO
Cisco last year said that Cisco Security Cloud will serve as the basis for its security strategy going forward. The platform features threat prevention, detection, response and remediation, with the aim of bringing together services across security, networking and threat intelligence with a unified policy engine.
Claroty
Yaniv Vardi
CEO
Claroty recently unveiled its cloud-based industrial cybersecurity offering, Claroty xDome, which aims to provide simplified deployment and scalability while also offering deep visibility and protection. Key capabilities include asset discovery, vulnerability and risk management, and advanced network segmentation controls.
Corelight
Brian Dye
CEO
With its Corelight Investigator offering, the company provides network protection with advanced analytics that leverage open-source insight. The offering provides security teams with accelerated threat hunting and investigations, as well as with improved alert scoring and reduced alert volume.
Darktrace
Poppy Gustafsson
CEO
Darktrace expanded its suite of AI-driven security products into attack prevention with the debut of its new Prevent product family. The technology provides enhanced modeling of the potential paths an attacker might take to reach an organization’s most-prized assets, enabling those paths to be prioritized for security measures.
Forescout
Barry Mainz
CEO
Forescout last year launched its automation-driven cybersecurity platform, the Forescout Continuum Platform. The offering aims to provide continuous management of the risk posture of an organization’s assets throughout its digital systems, spanning IT, operational technology, IoT and connected medical devices.
Fortinet
Ken Xie
Founder, Chairman, CEO
Key offerings from Fortinet include its FortiGate Next Generation Firewall, which aims to outperform traditional firewalls thanks to advanced capabilities such as deep-packet inspection, application control, intrusion prevention, advanced malware detection and increased network visibility, which leverage the inspection of encrypted traffic.
Gigamon
Shane Buckley
President, CEO
With the Gigamon Hawk Deep Observability Pipeline, Gigamon taps into network insight to provide greater visibility, as well as assured security and compliance governance. Meanwhile, with its Gigamon ThreatInsight offering, the company has added network detection and response capabilities.
Infoblox
Scott Harrell
President, CEO
Delivering what it has dubbed “next-generation” DNS security, Infoblox provides BloxOne Threat Defense for rapid deployment of DNS-layer security across on-premises, cloud and hybrid environments. Other key offerings include threat intelligence and advanced protection for DNS infrastructure.
Ivanti
Jeff Abbott
CEO
The Ivanti Neurons suite provides a range of capabilities including secure access management that aims to modernize VPN usage with enhanced control of access and increased insight into network and access status. The suite also provides automatic discovery of assets, anomaly detection and self-healing for security issues.
Juniper Networks
Rami Rahim
CEO
Among Juniper’s security offerings is the Juniper Secure Edge, a cloud-delivered offering that provides firewall as a service as a single-stack software architecture. The service ultimately aims to enable organizations to more easily transition to a secure access service edge deployment model.
Palo Alto Networks
Nikesh Arora
Chairman, CEO
Palo Alto Networks has an array of offerings including its next-generation firewall portfolio and its secure access service edge platform. With Prisma SASE and Prisma Access, it provides advanced zero trust network access as well as cloud-based secure web gateway and cloud access security broker technologies.
Perimeter 81
Amit Bareket
Co-Founder, CEO
Perimeter 81 offers secure remote networks based on zero trust architecture, designed to replace legacy firewall and VPN technology. The company’s secure access service edge platform combines network and security functionality while enabling an identity-driven and cloud-based approach to securing businesses.
SonicWall
Robert Vankirk
President, CEO
Key offerings from SonicWall in the realm of next-generation firewalls include the SonicWall NSa 5700, which utilizes a scalable hardware architecture designed to fit in a single rack-mountable unit. The high port density of the NSa 5700 includes multiple 10-Gigabit Ethernet and 1-Gigabit Ethernet fiber and copper interfaces.
Vectra AI
Hitesh Sheth
President, CEO
With a focus on AI-powered threat detection and response for hybrid cloud environments, Vectra AI’s recent updates have included the launch of Attack Signal Intelligence. It aims to provide greater automation for threat detection, triaging and prioritization of cyberthreats.
Versa Networks
Kelly Ahuja
CEO
While its roots were in SD-WAN, Versa Networks has expanded to provide a full secure access service edge platform that also includes capabilities in zero trust network access, secure web gateway, cloud access security broker, next-generation firewall-as-a-service, remote browser isolation and more.
WatchGuard Technologies
Prakash Panjwani
CEO
In the sphere of network security, WatchGuard delivers its Firebox platform comprising a range of offerings and capabilities including firewall and VPN, application control, network discovery, threat detection and response, web and spam blocking, intrusion prevention and SD-WAN.