US-Israel cyber-security firm ForeScout gets $76m funding for IoT security

US-Israel firm, ForeScout, that aims to provide 'agentless' cybersecurity, says it has raised $76m in funding to accelerate its presence in the Internet of Things (IoT) security space. ForeScout's CounterACT technology allows organisations to control the fast-growing number of unsecured and dark devices. The company has seen its valuation triple over the past year and a half, even as its revenue crossed the $125m mark in the 2015 fiscal year.

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ForeScout Technologies, a company which aims to provide ‘agentless’ cybersecurity, has announced it has raised $76 million (£53.2m) in funding to accelerate leadership in the “underserved” Internet of Things (IoT) security space.

The round of funding for the California-based company, which currently possesses a valuation of $1 billion, was led by Wellington Management. ForeScout has seen its valuation triple in the past year and a half even as its revenue crossed the $125 million mark in the 2015 fiscal year. The company has witnessed over 50% CAGR since 2012, experiencing this kind of growth while functioning near cash flow neutral.

The latest round in financing will aid ForeScout’s global expansion of its field operations while improving its R&D efforts to make the best of the latent potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) security segment. Gartner projects the presence of 30 billion connected devices by 2020. ForeScout technology allows organisations to control the fast-growing number of unsecured and dark devices. ForeScout CounterACT is capable of enhancing over 70 security tools with its security portfolio across enterprise networks.

Michael DeCesare, ForeScout CEO & President, said: “It took 25 years for the world to get to five billion connected devices, but with the explosion of the IoT we’ll see around 30 billion by 2020—an entirely new approach to security is required.

“Device proliferation and IoT deployments are easy entrances for cyber criminals if not detected and protected,” he added. “With agentless visibility, intuitive automated controls and a commitment to integrating with leading security and IT management solutions, ForeScout is well-positioned to own the burgeoning IoT security market.”

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