The 25 Hottest Edge Security Companies: 2022 Edge Computing 100
As part of CRN’s Edge Computing 100, here are 25 security players working at the cutting-edge of the edge.
Security At The Edge
Where computers, laptops and all other mobile devices go, so goes security.
And, in recent years, that’s included the edge.
Driven by the spread of remote working caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) was all the rage two years ago as the hot new security technology that combines wide area networking (WAN), with network security functions such as secure web gateway (SWG) and firewall as a service (FWaaS).
Security on the edge is always evolving in response to ever-changing and sophisticated cyberattacks by bad threat actors.
As a result, investors are pumping ever more funds into startups dealing with edge security. Larger companies are investing in edge-related R&D projects -- or acquiring edge-related security tools via takeovers of smaller firms.
As part of CRN’s Edge Computing 100, here are 25 security players working at the cutting-edge of the edge.
They’re both big and small. They deal with technologies ranging from Wi-Fi to SASE to ‘borderless WAN’ to vulnerabilities in operational technology (OT).
The common denominator for all the products: they’re trying to protect the outer perimeter of our digital world.
Editor’s Note: Due to a production error, this slideshow originally published without Netskope and SonicWall.
Akamai Technologies
Tom Leighton
Co-Founder, CEO
Akamai has reorganized its operations to strengthen its edge technology and security business and earlier this year moved to buy cloud computing provider Linode for $900 million, allowing the company to create a cloud platform that runs applications from the cloud to the edge.
Appgate
Barry Field
CEO
Appgate recently launched a technology alliance partnership program to help customers simplify and accelerate zero trust advancement. Earlier this year, the company also started a new behavioral biometrics service for real-time online fraud prevention for all types of users.
Barracuda Networks
Hatem Naguib
President, CEO
Email security provider Barracuda Networks’ cloud-native SASE platform proved attractive to private equity giant KKR, which earlier this year acquired the company with plans to further push it into managed detection and response, extended detection and response and SASE technology.
Bitdefender
Florin Talpes
Co-Founder, CEO
Bitdefender, which in the past has expanded its cloud workload security offerings, earlier this year unveiled MDR Foundations, which the company described as a new managed security service that provides threat monitoring and response and threat hunting.
Broadcom
Hock Tan
President, CEO
Broadcom has been transitioning to the edge in a number of ways of late but recently made big headlines when it moved earlier this year to acquire software virtualization leader VMware for $61 billion. VMware is known for its enterprise expertise and edge prowess.
Check Point Software Technologies
Gil Shwed
Founder, CEO
Check Point’s CloudGuard offers unified cloud-native security across an organization’s applications, workloads and network. It also has added a new version of Check Point Harmony Mobile and has established a partnership with CCTV company Provision-ISR to provide on-device IoT security.
Cloudflare
Matthew Prince
Co-Founder, Chair, CEO
Cloudflare has a number of offerings targeting the edge, and industry observers are starting to notice. In late 2021, Forrester Research identified Cloudflare as one of the nine most significant providers in the emerging market for public cloud edge development platforms.
Forcepoint
Manny Rivelo
CEO
Forcepoint has been on an acquisition tear of late, last year snapping up security companies Cyberinc, Deep Secure and Bitglass, which delivers data and threat protection on any device. Forcepoint was recently included in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN.
Fortinet
Ken Xie
Founder, Chairman, CEO
FortiOS—the heart of the Fortinet Security Fabric—was updated to version 7.2 earlier this year and now delivers new AI-powered FortiGuard security services. Among the new or updated features are Inline Sandbox, Inline Cloud Access Security Broker, advanced device protection and outbreak detection.
iboss
Paul Martini
Co-Founder, CEO, CTO
iboss, a zero trust edge cloud security provider that raised $145 million in funding last year, said its iboss SASE fabric provides fast and secure connectivity for all users, devices and cloud workloads. Its new Zero Trust Policy Manager allows organizations to more quickly and easily implement zero trust policies.
Imperva
Pam Murphy
CEO
Imperva recently unveiled Imperva Data Security Fabric to provide security, data governance and workflow management across multi-cloud and hybrid environments. Imperva also recently said its data security platform is available on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
Infoblox
Jesper Andersen
President, CEO
Infoblox is considered a market leader in DDI, which includes domain name services, dynamic host configuration protocol and internet protocol address management. The company recently rolled out an updated Network Identity Operating System for better performance across hybrid multi-cloud environments.
Kaspersky
Eugene Kaspersky
CEO
Kaspersky has been unveiling and updating security products this past year, including a new machine-readable Open Vulnerability and Assessment Language data feed for the automated detection of vulnerabilities in OT software. It also unveiled the latest version of Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum.
Menlo Security
Amir Ben-Efraim
CEO
Menlo Security recently revealed that its Menlo Cloud Security Platform is now available in AWS Marketplace and, separately, that its Menlo Security offering will be integrated with CrowdStrike Falcon XDR to provide customers with protection from highly evasive adaptive threats.
Netskope
Sanjay Beri
Founder, CEO
Netskope, a leader in security service edge and zero trust, in May bought startup Infiot, along with its “borderless WAN” offering for securing a range of remote work sites and in June acquired WootCloud, described as an innovator in applying zero trust principles to loT.
Palo Alto Networks
Nikesh Arora
Chairman, CEO
Palo Alto Networks earlier this year unveiled Nebula, the latest upgrade to its PAN-OS software, to help find and stop zero-day attacks. Nebula also introduced AIOps and the new Advanced Threat Prevention service while enhancing advanced URL-filtering, DNS security and IoT security.
Perimeter 81
Amit Bareket
Co-Founder, CEO
Perimeter 81 received a $100 million round of funding that the newly designated unicorn company can use for its cloud-based, zero trust remote cybersecurity platform. In February, the company also said it added a “radically simple” secure web gateway to its security service edge offering.
Phosphorous Cybersecurity
Chris Rouland
Founder, CEO
Phosphorus Cybersecurity has established itself as one of the leaders in the IoT security market with its xTended Security of Things platform, designed with often unmonitored “things”– like endpoints and sensors–in mind.
Proofpoint
Ashan Willy
CEO
Proofpoint is a security and compliance company whose o erings mitigate customers’ risks across email, the cloud, social media and the web. The company has seen major ownership and leadership changes of late, with last year’s acquisition of Proofpoint by Thoma Bravo and this year’s appointment of Willy.
Radware
Roy Zisapel
President, CEO
Radware has been internationally active the past year, opening new cloud security centers in Italy, Chile, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, the company has recently introduced and enhanced a number of offerings, including the launch of SkyHawk Security, a spinoff of its cloud-native Protector Business.
Skyhigh Security
Gee Rittenhouse
CEO
Earlier this year, McAfee Enterprise renamed its security service edge business. The result? Skyhigh Security, a company that’s coming to market with a security service edge solution to secure data across the web or cloud from anywhere, any application or any device.
SonicWall
Bob VanKirk
President, CEO
SonicWall’s Capture Cloud Platform is designed to integrate security, management, analytics and real-time threat intelligence, using a number of its mobile, cloud and other security products. SonicWall’s new CEO, VanKirk, has vowed to continue ramping up the company’s cloud capabilities.
Sophos
Kris Hagerman
CEO
Sophos earlier this year enhanced its Sophos Cloud Workload Protection, including new Linux host and container security capabilities. The company said the new features accelerate the detection and response of in-progress attacks and security incidents within Linux operating systems, among other things.
WatchGuard
Prakash Panjwani
CEO
WatchGuard made a number of innovative moves this past year, including the announcement of Wi-Fi in WatchGuard Cloud along with a new lineup of Wi-Fi 6-enabled access points. In addition, WatchGuard announced that Vector Capital had acquired majority ownership of the security company.
Zscaler
Jay Chaudhry
Founder, CEO
Cloud security specialist Zscaler has quickly become a leader in the security service edge market with its Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange, a globally distributed o ering that uses zero trust connectivity to secure branch, data center and public cloud communications over a non-routable WAN.