Crowdstrike is a cybersecurity company founded in 2011 by George Kurtz, Dmitri Alperovitch, and Gregg Marston. The company is known for its investigations into many high-profile cybersecurity breaches, including the 2014 Sony Pictures Hack and the 2016 cyberattacks on the Democratic National Convention and email leak. Crowdstrike currently employs 3,394 employees and has a revenue of $874.438 million.
#1 McAfee
- Founded: 1987
- Headquarters: San Jose, California
Need To Know
McAfee is a security software company founded in 1987 by John McAfee. In 2000, with the rise of the ILOVEYOU virus, one of the most destructive viruses in the history of computers, McAfee was the most trusted authority in education and protection. Through a turbulent period where it saw a change in CEOs and owners, McAfee continued to hold fast as a well-known cybersecurity company, concreting its place with the 2007 Security Innovation Alliance and 2008 licensing agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense.
McAfee is a leader in developing digital-security products for personal computers and server and mobile devices. McAfee is a well-trusted household name with over 15 products available to the public. With more than 6,900 workers and revenue surpassing $2.9 billion, the company continues to thrive as a key contributor to internet safety worldwide.
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#2 SentinelOne
- Founded: 2013
- Headquarters: Mountain View, California
Need To Know
SentinelOne is a cybersecurity company founded in 2013 by Ehud Shamir, Timer Weingarten, and Almog Cohen. Along with its headquarters in Mountain View, California, it has offices in Boston, Tokyo, and Tel Aviv. The company focuses on using its specially patented AI, known for its machine learning abilities, to monitor computers, devices, and information in the cloud. As the company continues to grow, it sees its funding increase. In 2019, SentinelOne received $120 million from Insight Partners in Series D funding, and in 2020 another $200 million in Series E funding. With its introduction to the NYSE market, its valuation rose to $1.2 billion.
In 2021, SentinelOne acquired Scalyr, a platform for US cloud-scale data analytics, for $155 million. Along with their growth, the company became the official sponsor of the Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team. Currently, SentinelOne has 700 employees and a revenue of $93.1 million.
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#3 FireEye
- Founded: 2004
- Headquarters: Milpitas, California
Need To Know
FireEye is a cybersecurity company founded in 2004 by Ashar Aziz and known for its investigations into high-profile attacks like the Target, Sony Pictures, Anthem, and JP Morgan Chase hacks. Initially, FireEye focused solely on the developments of virtual machines to monitor and test internet traffic but began to grow and diversify in 2014. Now, the company provides security software and hardware in addition to services that investigate cybersecurity attacks, analyze risks to IT security, and protect against malicious software.
FireEye took the global stage in 2010 when it expanded to include the Middle East and the Asia Pacific; it then went on to open offices in Europe in 2010 and Africa in 2011. In 2013, FireEye acquired the cybersecurity company Mandiant, allowing it to include incident response services in its array of capabilities. To continue growing and offering more products and services, FireEye acquired nPulse for $60 million. Currently, FireEye has approximately 3,400 employees and a revenue of $940 million.
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#4 Cybereason
- Founded: 2012
- Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts
Need To Know
Cybereason was founded in 2012 by Lior Div, an ex-soldier of Israel’s Unit 8200. The company provides cyber protection through products like antivirus software and endpoint detection and response, and other services they manage for the customer. The company expanded its headquarters to include the United Kingdom in 2017 and began running a podcast called Malicious Life, covering cybersecurity history.
Cybereason has raised over $288 million in funding through the SoftBank Group and its affiliates. The company operates a research division called Nortunus, specializing in finding new cyber attack methods, exposing new system vulnerabilities, and reverse-engineering malware. The Nocturnus team was responsible for finding a vaccination for the NotPetya and Bad Rabbit cyberattacks of 2017.
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#5 Cylance
- Founded: 2012
- Headquarters: Irvine, California
Need To Know
Cylance was founded in 2012 by Stuart McClure and Ryan Permeh. The company specializes in developing software that prevents cyber problems, including antivirus programs and other computer software. Cylance is called “the first company to apply artificial intelligence, algorithms, and machine learning to cyber security.” It states that the company’s mission is to “block computer viruses or malware before they affect a user’s computer.”
Cylance is known for detecting and uncovering Operation Cleaver, a cyberwarfare operation by the Iranian government against multiple targets worldwide, focusing on critical infrastructure entities. The company has won many awards, including the MSPWorld Cup Award, the Gartner Peer Insights Customer Choice Award, Best Of Show – Security Product At Interlop, and more. Currently, Cylance has 760 employees and a revenue of $100.1 million.
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#6 Tanium
- Founded: 2007
- Headquarters: Kirkland, Washington
Need To Know
Tanium is a privately-owned cybersecurity company that offers system management to its customers—founded in 2007 by David Hindawi and Orion Hindawi, a father and son team, and the founders of the company BigFix. The company’s operations center is in Emeryville, California, employing 2000 workers.
Tanium specializes in endpoint and security management and was included in Fortune Magazine’s Best Workplaces For Millennials in 2021. Currently, Tanium is valued at $10 billion with a revenue of $440.2 million.
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#7 Fortinet
- Founded: 2000
- Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California
Need To Know
Fortinet is a multinational corporation founded in 2000 by brothers Ken Xie and Michael Xie. the company works to develop and sell cybersecurity solutions, including antivirus software, prevention systems, physical firewalls, endpoint security, and intrusion prevention systems. Initially offering only a physical firewall protection product called FortiGate, the company later introduced wireless access points and messaging and computer security. In 2016, Fortinet opened a Network Security Academy to fill open cybersecurity jobs and donate equipment and provide universities information to help train more students to enter the cybersecurity field.
In 2019, the company participated in the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Fortinet continued its expansion in 2020 by acquiring the OPAQ Networks, a Secure Access Service Edge or SASE cloud provider. It also acquired CyberSponse and enSilo, expanding its service capabilities significantly. Currently, Fortinet has 8,238 employees with a revenue of $2.59 billion.
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#8 Sophos
- Founded: 1985
- Headquarters: Abingdon, England
Need To Know
Sophos was founded in 1985 by Jan Hruska and Peter Lammer. It is a security software and hardware company developing products for network, email, and mobile security, communication endpoint, encryption, and unified threat management. Sophos’ primary focus is on providing security software for 100 to 5,000 seat organizations while protecting home users with free software or paid antivirus products.
As Sophos expanded, it acquired Invincea, a company providing malware threat detection and pre-breach forensic intelligence; Astaro, a network solutions provider; and Barricade, a behavior-based analytics engine with machine learning capabilities. In 2020 Thoma Bravo acquired Sophos for an impressive $3.9 billion. The company can provide high-quality cybersecurity products on a large scale to companies concerned with data breaches or those who want to stop a cyberattack before it happens. Currently, Sophos employs 3,600 workers and has a revenue of $710.6 million.