Check Point
Encyclopedia
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. is a global provider of IT security solutions. Best known for its firewall and VPN products, Check Point first pioneered the industry with FireWall-1
and its patented stateful inspection technology. Today the company develops, markets and supports a wide range of software and combined hardware
and software products that cover all the aspects of IT security, including network security
, endpoint security
, data security
and security management
.
Founded in 1993 in Ramat-Gan, Israel
, Check Point today counts approximately 2,300 employees worldwide.
The company's development centers are located in Israel
, California
(ZoneAlarm), Sweden (Former Protect Data development centre) and in Belarus
. The company also has offices in the United States, in Redwood City, California
and in the Dallas, Texas
area, as well as in Canada in the Ottawa
, Ontario
area.
, at the age of 25, together with two of his friends, Marius Nacht (currently serving as Vice Chairman) and Shlomo Kramer (who left Check Point in 2003 to set up a new company – Imperva
, where he serves as President and CEO). Gil had the initial idea for the company’s core technology known as stateful inspection, which became the foundation for the company’s first product (simply called FireWall-1
); soon afterwards they also developed one of the world’s first VPN products (VPN-1). Shwed developed the idea while serving in the Israel Defense Forces
, where he worked on securing classified networks.
Initial funding of $600,000 was provided by BRM Group, a venture capital
fund established by brothers Eli and Nir Barkat (who on November 11, 2008 was elected as mayor of Jerusalem).
The company’s first commercial breakthrough came in 1994 when Check Point signed an OEM
agreement with Sun Microsystems
, followed by a distribution agreement with HP
in 1995. The same year, the U.S. head office was established in Redwood City, California
.
By February 1996, the company was named worldwide firewall
market leader by IDC
with a market share of 40 percent.
In June 1996, Check Point raised $67 million from its initial public offering
on NASDAQ
.
In 1998, Check Point established a successful partnership with Nokia
, which bundled Check Point’s Software with Nokia’s computer Network Security Appliances
, by 2000 the company became the world’s leading provider of VPN solutions (in terms of market share).
During the 2000s, Check Point started acquiring other IT security companies, culminating in the acquisition of Nokia’s network security business unit in 2009, just over 10 years after first establishing the partnership with Nokia.
In 2005, Check Point tried to acquire intrusion prevention system developers Sourcefire
for $225 million, but later withdrew its offer after it became clear US authorities would try to block the acquisition.
Relations between Check Point and the SofaWare founders went sour after the company acquisition in 2002. In 2004, Etay Bogner, co-founder of SofaWare scored a legal victory over Check Point. Bogner sought court approval to file a shareholder
derivative suit
, claiming Check Point was not transferring funds to SofaWare as required for its use of SofaWare's products and technology. His derivative suit was ultimately approved and Check Point was ordered to pay SofaWare NIS 13 million for breach of contract.
In 2006, the Tel Aviv
District Court Judge ruled that Bogner SofaWare could sue Check Point by proxy for $5.1 million in alleged damage to SofaWare. Bogner claimed that Check Point, which owns 60% of Sofaware, has behaved belligerently, and withheld monies due for use of SofaWare technology and products Check Point appealed the ruling, but later lost the appeal.
In 2009, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that a group of founders of SofaWare, which includes Bogner, has veto power to prevent SofaWare from taking any decision of which he disapproves. The court ruled that the three founders could not individually exercise their veto power, but only as a group and by majority rule.
In 2011, Check Point settled all litigation relating to SofaWare. As part of the settlement it acquired the SofaWare shares held by Bogner and Ruppin, and began a process of acquiring the remaining shares, resulting in SofaWare becoming a wholly owned subsidiary.
FireWall-1
VPN-1 is a firewall and VPN product developed by Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.VPN-1 is a stateful firewall which also filters traffic by inspecting the application layer. It was the first commercially available software firewall to use stateful inspection. Later , Check Point registered U.S...
and its patented stateful inspection technology. Today the company develops, markets and supports a wide range of software and combined hardware
Hardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
and software products that cover all the aspects of IT security, including network security
Network security
In the field of networking, the area of network security consists of the provisions and policies adopted by the network administrator to prevent and monitor unauthorized access, misuse, modification, or denial of the computer network and network-accessible resources...
, endpoint security
Check Point Integrity
Check Point Integrity is an endpoint security software product developed by Check Point Software Technologies. It is designed to protect personal computers and the networks they connect to from computer worms, Trojan horses, spyware, and intrusion attempts by hackers. The software aims to stop new...
, data security
Data security
Data security is the means of ensuring that data is kept safe from corruption and that access to it is suitably controlled. Thus data security helps to ensure privacy. It also helps in protecting personal data. Data security is part of the larger practice of Information security.- Disk Encryption...
and security management
Security management
Security Management is a broad field of management related to asset management, physical security and human resource safety functions. It entails the identification of an organization's information assets and the development, documentation and implementation of policies, standards, procedures and...
.
Founded in 1993 in Ramat-Gan, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Check Point today counts approximately 2,300 employees worldwide.
The company's development centers are located in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
(ZoneAlarm), Sweden (Former Protect Data development centre) and in Belarus
Economy of Belarus
Recently, the Belarusian economy has shifted into sustained high gear, along with Ukraine, Russia, and many other Commonwealth of Independent States economies. The economic boom provided by mineral wealth of Russia and other CIS nations and its key location as a transit route between the EU and...
. The company also has offices in the United States, in Redwood City, California
Redwood City, California
Redwood City is a California charter city located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California, approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco, and 24 miles north of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans from its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people, to its tradition as a port for...
and in the Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
area, as well as in Canada in the Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
area.
History
Check Point was established in 1993, by the company’s current Chairman & CEO Gil ShwedGil Shwed
Gil Shwed is an Israeli programmer and entrepreneur.-Biography:Shwed took computer courses at Hebrew University in Jerusalem while he was still in high school....
, at the age of 25, together with two of his friends, Marius Nacht (currently serving as Vice Chairman) and Shlomo Kramer (who left Check Point in 2003 to set up a new company – Imperva
Imperva
Imperva , is a data security company headquartered in the United States, which provides solutions for high-value business data protection and prevents sensitive data theft from hackers and malicious insiders by securing data across three main areas: databases, file systems, and web...
, where he serves as President and CEO). Gil had the initial idea for the company’s core technology known as stateful inspection, which became the foundation for the company’s first product (simply called FireWall-1
FireWall-1
VPN-1 is a firewall and VPN product developed by Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.VPN-1 is a stateful firewall which also filters traffic by inspecting the application layer. It was the first commercially available software firewall to use stateful inspection. Later , Check Point registered U.S...
); soon afterwards they also developed one of the world’s first VPN products (VPN-1). Shwed developed the idea while serving in the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
, where he worked on securing classified networks.
Initial funding of $600,000 was provided by BRM Group, a venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
fund established by brothers Eli and Nir Barkat (who on November 11, 2008 was elected as mayor of Jerusalem).
The company’s first commercial breakthrough came in 1994 when Check Point signed an OEM
OEM
OEM means the original manufacturer of a component for a product, which may be resold by another company.OEM may also refer to:-Computing:* OEM font, or OEM-US, the original character set of the IBM PC, circa 1981...
agreement with Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
, followed by a distribution agreement with HP
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
in 1995. The same year, the U.S. head office was established in Redwood City, California
Redwood City, California
Redwood City is a California charter city located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California, approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco, and 24 miles north of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans from its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people, to its tradition as a port for...
.
By February 1996, the company was named worldwide firewall
Firewall (computing)
A firewall is a device or set of devices designed to permit or deny network transmissions based upon a set of rules and is frequently used to protect networks from unauthorized access while permitting legitimate communications to pass....
market leader by IDC
International Data Corporation
International Data Corporation is a market research and analysis firm specializing in information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology. IDC is a subsidiary of International Data Group...
with a market share of 40 percent.
In June 1996, Check Point raised $67 million from its initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
on NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
.
In 1998, Check Point established a successful partnership with Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
, which bundled Check Point’s Software with Nokia’s computer Network Security Appliances
Security appliance
A security appliance is any form of server appliance that is designed to protect computer networks from unwanted traffic.-Types of security appliances:* Active devices block unwanted traffic...
, by 2000 the company became the world’s leading provider of VPN solutions (in terms of market share).
During the 2000s, Check Point started acquiring other IT security companies, culminating in the acquisition of Nokia’s network security business unit in 2009, just over 10 years after first establishing the partnership with Nokia.
Products
Check Point offers the following primary solutions and product lines, which are sold to small and medium businesses (SMBs), enterprises, managed service providers, and telecommunications carriers:- Network Security - Check Point's core business has historically focused on network security components including Firewall, IPsec VPN, Mobile Access, Intrusion Prevention, Antivirus, Anti-spam, URL filtering, Data Loss Prevention and Application Control. These products are deployed as software on x86 based servers or appliances, either from technology partners like CrossbeamCrossbeam SystemsCrossbeam Systems is headquartered in Boxborough, Massachusetts and has offices in Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. The company makes an open, high-performance hardware and software network security platform that is designed to deploy network security applications from third-party security...
and Hewlett-Packard, or on Check Point’s own line of appliances which includes Safe@Office, UTM-1 Edge, UTM-1, Power-1, IP Appliances, and Integrated Appliance Solutions platforms.
- Virtualization Security - The Security Gateway VE product for virtual environments, which runs on VMware ESX and ESXiVMware ESXVMware ESX is an enterprise-level computer virtualization product offered by VMware, Inc. ESX is a component of VMware's larger offering, VMware Infrastructure, and adds management and reliability services to the core server product...
, secures virtual machines and applications via either hypervisor integration using the VMSafe API, or as a VMware network appliance. A separate product called VPN Power-1 VSX can host multiple virtual security gateways on a single machine.
- Data Security - Data security solutions focus on securing data throughout the stages of the data lifecycle. VPNs, access controls, and the DLP security gateway product secure data-in-motion and data-in-use. Check Point Document Security focuses on protecting data-in-use. Full Disk Encryption, Media Encryption and Port Control secure data-at-rest on endpoints.
- Endpoint Security - deployed as a single security agent that combines firewall, antivirus, anti-spyware, full disk encryption, removable media encryption, I/O port protection (e.g. USB), network access control, and a VPN client. The security policies for networked endpoints can be centrally managed from a single location via the Endpoint Policy Management Software Blade product.
- Mobile Security - the Check Point Mobile Access software product provides secure access to corporate resources via a SSL VPN portal for devices such as laptops, mobile phones, and tablet PCs. The Check Point GO USB device provides a secure virtual desktop for Microsoft Windows machines, allowing remote access of the corporate network via a VPN connection, and also contains encrypted storage for confidential data.
- Security Management - Allows administrators to manage events, set policy and apply protections across the entire security infrastructure from a single interface. Solutions are based on the Software Blade architecture, with a portfolio of 11 management software blades including event analysis, correlation, multi-domain security management, and device provisioning.
Acquisitions
- SofaWare Technologies, in January 2002 (partial acquisition).
- Zone Labs, makers of the ZoneAlarm personal firewall software, in 2003, for $205 million in cash and shares.
- Protect Data, the holding company for PointSec Mobile Technologies, in a cash deal valued at $586m in late 2006. Prior to their acquisition by Check Point, Protect Data acquired Reflex Software.
- NFR security, an intrusion prevention system developer, for $20 million in late 2006, following its failed plan to acquire the larger IPS vendor Sourcefire.
- NokiaNokiaNokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
Security Appliances division, was acquired in April 2009. - Liquid Machines, a data security startup companyStartup companyA startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
based in BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, was acquired in June 2010. - Dynasec, a provider of enterprise governance, risk management, and compliance solutions was acquired in November 2011. Dynasec offers a Web-based enterprise application for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, Basel IIBasel IIBasel II is the second of the Basel Accords, which are recommendations on banking laws and regulations issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision...
compliance, operational risk managementRisk managementRisk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities...
, information security management, HIPAA compliance, and internal audit management.
In 2005, Check Point tried to acquire intrusion prevention system developers Sourcefire
Sourcefire
Sourcefire, Inc develops network security hardware and software. The Sourcefire 3D System is based on Snort, an open-source intrusion detection engine.-Background:...
for $225 million, but later withdrew its offer after it became clear US authorities would try to block the acquisition.
SofaWare Legal Battle
SofaWare Technologies was founded in 1999, as a cooperation between Check Point and SofaWare's founders, Adi Ruppin and Etay Bogner, with the purpose of extending Check Point's success in the enterprise market, to the small business, consumer and branch office market. According to SofaWare's co-founder Adi Ruppin,"The Company's vision is to take this enterprise-strength technology and make it as simple to use and as affordable as possible without detracting from its quality. One of the key aspects of this effort has been the creation of a management system designed to enable service providers or value added resellers to lift the burden of security management from the end users while at the same time delivering additional services such as automatic security and software updates, content filtering, anti-virus and more.In 2001, SofaWare began selling firewall appliances under the SofaWare S-Box brand. In 2002, the company started selling the Safe@Office / Safe@Home line of security appliances, under the Check Point brand. By the fourth quarter of 2002, sales of SofaWare's Safe@Office firewall/VPN appliances skyrocketed, and SofaWare held the #1 revenue position in the worldwide firewall/VPN sub-$490 appliance market, with a 38% revenue market share.
"
Relations between Check Point and the SofaWare founders went sour after the company acquisition in 2002. In 2004, Etay Bogner, co-founder of SofaWare scored a legal victory over Check Point. Bogner sought court approval to file a shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
derivative suit
Derivative suit
A shareholder derivative suit is a lawsuit brought by a shareholder on behalf of a corporation against a third party. Often, the third party is an insider of the corporation, such as an executive officer or director. Shareholder derivative suits are unique because under traditional corporate law,...
, claiming Check Point was not transferring funds to SofaWare as required for its use of SofaWare's products and technology. His derivative suit was ultimately approved and Check Point was ordered to pay SofaWare NIS 13 million for breach of contract.
In 2006, the Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
District Court Judge ruled that Bogner SofaWare could sue Check Point by proxy for $5.1 million in alleged damage to SofaWare. Bogner claimed that Check Point, which owns 60% of Sofaware, has behaved belligerently, and withheld monies due for use of SofaWare technology and products Check Point appealed the ruling, but later lost the appeal.
In 2009, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that a group of founders of SofaWare, which includes Bogner, has veto power to prevent SofaWare from taking any decision of which he disapproves. The court ruled that the three founders could not individually exercise their veto power, but only as a group and by majority rule.
In 2011, Check Point settled all litigation relating to SofaWare. As part of the settlement it acquired the SofaWare shares held by Bogner and Ruppin, and began a process of acquiring the remaining shares, resulting in SofaWare becoming a wholly owned subsidiary.
Certification
Check Point has a long-running history of training and certification on their products, including the following:- CPCS - Check Point Certified Specialist
- CCSA - Check Point Certified Security Administrator
- CCSE - Check Point Certified Security Expert
- CCSE+ - Check Point Certified Security Expert Plus
- CCMSE - Check Point Certified Managed Security Expert
- CCMA - Check Point Certified Master Architect