Many big networks could not answer a basic question: what is plugged in right now. Forescout could. Its software spotted laptops, phones, printers, cameras and factory machines as they joined, without an agent installed on any of them. Then it applied rules to block or isolate the risky ones. When Forescout filed to go public in 2017, internet-connected devices were multiplying in offices, hospitals and plants, and few companies knew how many they had.

Researchers from Israel

Forescout was founded in Israel in 2000 by a group of researchers and engineers led by Professor Hezy Yeshurun. Its early product focused on stopping network attacks. Over time it shifted toward visibility. The thinking was plain: a company cannot protect devices it does not know about. Forescout later moved its headquarters to San Jose, California, and kept its research in Tel Aviv.

A Buyout Fought Over

Forescout priced at $22 a share in October 2017. It grew by selling to large enterprises and government agencies, and to hospitals and factories, where unmanaged devices were a growing worry. In 2020 Advent International agreed to buy the company. The two sides fought over the deal during the pandemic, then settled on a lower price. Forescout became private later that year.

Cover: Sentinel Rock, Echo Canon, Andrew Joseph Russell. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a sentinel rock (watchfulness).