SecureWorks was the first tech company to go public in 2016, and it priced below its target range. Its analysts watched other companies' networks around the clock, hunted for intruders and stepped in when attacks happened. Dell had bought the company in 2011 and sold only a small piece of it in the offering. Data breaches were front page news, but the tech offering market had nearly frozen.

A Threat Unit in Atlanta

SecureWorks began in Atlanta in 1999. It sold security monitoring to banks and other firms that could not staff their own security teams. Its counter threat unit became known for research on hacking groups. The bet was that most companies would rather rent expert defenders than build their own teams in-house. Dell saw the business as a way to add security to its enterprise offerings.

Dell Lets Go to Sophos

SecureWorks priced at $14 a share in April 2016, below its target range. Dell kept most of the shares and voting control, and it stayed the majority owner for the rest of SecureWorks' public life. The company later shifted toward its own extended detection and response software. In 2025 the British security firm Sophos completed its purchase of SecureWorks for about $859 million.

Cover: A Warrior in Full Armor in a Grotto, Salvator Rosa. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a warrior in armor (defense).