The 20 Coolest Network Security Companies Of 2026: The Security 100

From vendors offering SASE platforms and next-gen firewalls to those focused on protecting IoT and edge devices, here’s a look at 20 key companies in network security.

The rapid adoption of AI and agentic tools has had massive implications for the network security market, sparking a fundamental reshaping of the way network threats are monitored, analyzed and mitigated. Industry vendors have rapidly embedded AI-powered capabilities across their platforms, enabling faster detection and response to threats.

At the same time, many vendors in the network security and SASE (secure access service edge) space have also expanded into providing security for the growing use of AI itself, directly addressing the widespread need for protecting AI applications and agents.

Across IT infrastructure, top vendors are rolling out advancements around AI-powered threat prevention while also taking initial steps to move into enabling quantum-resistant encryption. Many vendors are also adding AI-driven assistance into their SASE platforms. A number of companies have also doubled down on providing network detection and response that uses new AI capabilities to correlate network telemetry with other sources, as a way to better prevent threats in real time. And for edge environments, many industry vendors are implementing AI-powered functionality to boost visibility and analyze risk within the operational technology (OT) and IoT space.

For CRN’s 2026 Security 100 list, CRN is recognizing 20 network security vendors that have stood out over the past year through delivering a combination of technical advancements and expanded opportunities for solution and service provider partners.

What follows are the 20 network security companies that made CRN’s Security 100 list for 2026.

Armis

Yevgeny Dibrov

Co-Founder, CEO

Armis, which has reached an agreement to be acquired by ServiceNow for $7.75 billion, has stood out with its asset intelligence engine that can analyze network traffic and discover everything that is communicating on the network. With version 25.3 of its Centrix platform, the company revamped its Centrix Assistant to make interactions simpler and more intuitive.

Cato Networks

Shlomo Kramer

Co-Founder, CEO

A top provider in the crucial SASE (secure access service edge) market, Cato Networks has expanded its SASE Cloud platform to provide protection for AI adoption with the recent acquisition of Aim Security. Capabilities include protecting the usage of both public and private AI applications, including AI agents, as well as AI security posture management (AI-SPM) for improved visibility into AI models and applications.

Check Point Software Technologies

Nadav Zafrir

CEO

Check Point Software Technologies debuted its latest branch firewalls, the Quantum Force Branch Office Security Gateways, which aim to provide massive AI-powered improvements to threat prevention. The company also debuted a major expansion to its secure access service edge platform, Harmony SASE, with the introduction of its Enterprise Browser offering.

Cisco Systems

Chuck Robbins

Chair, CEO

Cisco introduced next-generation network devices with a focus on delivering critical security capabilities. The C9350 and C9610 Smart Switches for campus networks provide quantum-resistant secure networking and include Hypershield, the tech giant’s AI-powered security architecture for data center protection, as a service.

Claroty

Yaniv Vardi

CEO

Recent expansions to Claroty’s cyber-physical systems protection platform included the debut of a new asset catalog, the CPS Library. The offering is the “first” in the industry to provide visibility into CPS assets and vulnerability attribution at a truly deep level, according to the vendor.

Darktrace

Jill Popelka

CEO

Darktrace recently unveiled updates to its ActiveAI Security Platform, including with the debut of its Network Endpoint eXtended Telemetry (NEXT) agent. The technology can bring together network insight—leveraging full network packet data—with endpoint telemetry in order to trace network threats “directly to their endpoint root cause,” the company said.

ExtraHop

Rob Greer

CEO

Major enhancements to ExtraHop’s RevealX platform include capabilities for correlating insight from Zscaler’s Private Access offering with its own network telemetry, enabling a faster response to threats. The company also expanded its visibility around anomalous activity with privileged users for preventing misuse of sensitive data.

Forescout

Barry Mainz

CEO

Forescout recently debuted what it’s calling a “first-of-its-kind” offering for the industry, with capabilities for real-time detection of encryption that is not resilient against high-powered quantum computers. The offering can detect gaps in post-quantum cryptography across IT, OT and IoT technologies, Forescout said.

Fortinet

Ken Xie

Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO

Fortinet has doubled down on its sovereign SASE offering, which allows organizations to deploy FortiSASE in their own data centers as a way to meet data privacy, sovereignty and compliance requirements. Other recent updates from Fortinet included the launch of FortiAI-Assist within Unified SASE for analyzing the performance of networks, applications and endpoints.

Gigamon

Shane Buckley

President, CEO

Major updates from Gigamon in its recent release of GigaVUE 6.12 included the introduction of post-quantum cryptography support. The move, which significantly extends the vendor’s “deep” observability capabilities, provides visibility into where cryptography is being used and reveals weaknesses and noncompliance in the systems, according to Gigamon.

HPE

Antonio Neri

President, CEO

HPE expanded its network security by injecting enhanced zero-trust security capabilities into both HPE Aruba Networking Central, the company’s flagship network management tool, and the HPE GreenLake Cloud. The company also added network access control directly into the HPE Aruba Networking Central platform.

Illumio

Andrew Rubin

Co-Founder, CEO

Illumio debuted the latest expansion of its breach containment platform with the introduction of Illumio Insights. The cloud detection and response offering provides the ability to protect all workloads and resources across multi-cloud and hybrid environments, while providing AI-driven observability into traffic and connections, Illumio said.

Meter

Anil Varanasi

Co-Founder, CEO

Meter recently unveiled new security firewalls including the Meter F3, which is a dual, high-availability 20-Gbps appliance that the company described as an industry first. The company also debuted a 50-Gbps WAN firewall, the Meter F1, as well as the Meter F2 with 20-Gbps throughput. The firewalls are designed to “seamlessly integrate” with access points, switches and software, according to the company.

Nozomi Networks

Edgard Capdevielle

CEO

Nozomi Networks offers an OT and IoT security platform combining network and endpoint visibility with threat detection and AI-powered analysis to protect critical infrastructure. Key capabilities include offering its platform in heterogeneous environments with agnosticism for the OEM.

Palo Alto Networks

Nikesh Arora

Chairman, CEO

Palo Alto Networks enhanced its Prisma SASE platform with the launch of a new version of its secure browser, the Prisma Access Browser 2.0, which now provides real-time visibility and access control for usage of GenAI tools. Meanwhile, the cybersecurity giant recently debuted its offering for building and governing AI agents, Cortex AgentiX, and introduced a number of prebuilt agents that can assist in areas including network security.

SonicWall

Paul Ilse

CEO

With the recent debut of its Generation 8 firewall devices, SonicWall expanded capabilities for edge protection with the inclusion of built-in ZTNA (zero trust network access) for secure remote access. Other key capabilities included a unified console for managing devices, policies, accounts and access controls.

Todyl

John Nellen

Founder, CEO

Todyl’s MSP-focused cybersecurity platform includes a managed SASE (secure access service edge) offering that provides “unified” management of network threats, the company said. Other key benefits of the SASE offering include simplified compliance management as well as high performance and secure connectivity, according to Todyl.

Vectra AI

Hitesh Sheth

President, CEO

Vectra AI recently debuted an updated version of its platform featuring “unified observability across the entire AI enterprise,” the company said. Other key capabilities include automatic discovery of AI agents and rapid detection of anomalous agent behaviors, while the platform also aids analyst investigations with its Vectra AI Assistant, according to the company.

WatchGuard Technologies

Joe Smolarski

CEO

WatchGuard Technologies has brought a major focus on network detection and response (NDR) across IT environments with its ThreatSync+ NDR platform. Key capabilities include AI-powered threat detection, continuous monitoring for network changes and blocking of ransomware encryption.

Zero Networks

Benny Lakunishok

Co-Founder, CEO

Zero Networks offers a network microsegmentation platform that delivers significantly greater automation, providing MSPs with an easier way to deploy the technology, according to the company. The startup’s platform can create the necessary rules and policies for microsegmentation and doesn’t require software agents.