- Capability group
- Connectivity, Cyber & Trust Technologies
- Domain
- Critical Technology · Hard Power
- Identifier
- factbase.org/cap/4MZ9YZKS2J
- Reference
- Computer security Wikipedia
Papers
7.1k
2020–2024
Paper growth
+105%
2020–24 on 2015–19
Patent families
216k
2020–2024
Filed abroad
18%
families in more than one office
What it covers
What the capability covers and what it leaves to others, and the indicators it will be measured by.
Bounds
Covers the protective technology base; defensive operations belong to National Security's Defensive Cyber Operations, the protected infrastructure to Strategic Infrastructure, and the security workforce to Human Capital. The seam is technology versus operation: the tool is held here, its employment there.
Lineage
Carried from v0.0 (formerly Protective cyber security technologies) with the same identifier; retained in its original group as the security layer of connectivity, with the operational seam to National Security stated.
Indicators
- cybersecurity patent familiesPatents
- cybersecurity industry revenuePending
- security firms of global standingPending
Who publishes it
Papers classified to the capability, by year and by the nation of their authors' institutions, 2020–2024. Read from the v0.0 research topic Protective cyber security technologies.
Papers by year
The five leading nations, papers by year
Share of papers, 2020–2024
Of papers with a known author nation; 46% have none and are left out.
- 1India18.1%804 papers
- 2United States16.1%716 papers
- 3China9.0%399 papers
- 4United Kingdom5.2%230 papers
- 5Germany2.6%117 papers
- 6Saudi Arabia2.5%113 papers
- 7Russia2.5%111 papers
- 8Canada2.2%99 papers
- 9Australia2.2%99 papers
- 10Italy2.0%87 papers
Leading institutions, 2020–2024
By fractional count: each paper divided among its authors' institutions.
- 1SRM Institute of Science and Technology25fractional papers
- 2Vellore Institute of Technology University22fractional papers
- 3Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham22fractional papers
- 4Chitkara University21fractional papers
- 5Chandigarh University16fractional papers
- 6Graphic Era University13fractional papers
- 7Lovely Professional University13fractional papers
- 8China Southern Power Grid (China)13fractional papers
- 9University of Tennessee at Chattanooga12fractional papers
- 10Jain University12fractional papers
Who patents it
Patent families by the nation of origin of their applicants and their earliest priority year, from the CPC and IPC classes the capability is read from. 2025 onwards is incomplete: families are published 18 months after priority.
Families by priority year
The five leading origins, families by year
28,103 applicants filed here in 2015–2024; the five largest held 9% of families (HHI 35 of 10,000: unconcentrated).
Share of families by origin, 2020–2024
- 1China70.9%153,069 families
- 2United States14.1%30,423 families
- 3South Korea4.6%9,835 families
- 4Japan3.0%6,533 families
- 5Germany1.5%3,198 families
- 6France0.7%1,427 families
- 7Taiwan0.6%1,370 families
- 8United Kingdom0.6%1,226 families
- 9Sweden0.5%1,109 families
- 10Israel0.4%878 families
Applicants filing most internationally, 2015–2024
Families filed in more than one office, by applicant as the offices name them.
- 1HUAWEI TECH CO LTD3,932international families
- 2SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD2,340international families
- 3MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC1,943international families
- 4ERICSSON TELEFON AB L M1,527international families
- 5ZTE CORP1,248international families
- 6INTEL CORP1,151international families
- 7QUALCOMM INC1,119international families
- 8ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD975international families
- 9SIEMENS AG896international families
- 10NEC CORP881international families
Classification read
- G06F21/50 Platform integrity: malware and intrusion detection, secure boot · 345.8k documents
- G06F21/60 Protecting data: access control and encryption services · 378.2k documents
- G06F21/70 Hardware security of computer components · 179.7k documents
- H04L63/00 Network security: firewalls, access control, malicious-traffic detection · 1.4m documents
- H04L9/40 Network security protocols · 126k documents
- H04W12/00 Wireless network security · 547.1k documents
Shares inventions with
Capabilities whose classes the same families also fall in, by overlap (Jaccard).
- Privacy, Identity & Trust Technologies45,520 families · 0.440
- Advanced Wireless Communication18,625 families · 0.059
Who makes it
The companies that research, design, make, supply and operate the technology, the global leaders and the leading firms of every region.
50 companies in this capability, from 24 nations across 8 regions. Sorted by how experts see each company's global relevance in the field, from very high to very low.
- Very high4 companies
- 1Very highSoftware & platformsRedmondUnited States1975228kMSFT
Largest security vendor by revenue, with Defender (XDR/endpoint), Sentinel (SIEM), Entra (identity) and Purview, and among the top international patent applicants in this field.
Very high relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Redmond · founded 1975 · 228k staff
- 2Very highSoftware & platformsSanta ClaraUnited States200515kPANW
Largest pure-play cybersecurity firm (next-generation firewalls, Prisma SASE, Cortex XSIAM, Unit 42); it completed its $25bn acquisition of Israel's CyberArk (identity security) in February 2026.
Very high relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Santa Clara · founded 2005 · 15k staff
- 3Very highSoftware & platformsAustinUnited States201110kCRWD
Market leader in cloud-delivered endpoint detection and response through its Falcon platform, which has expanded into cloud, identity and next-gen SIEM.
Very high relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Austin · founded 2011 · 10k staff
- 4Very highSoftware & platformsSunnyvaleUnited States200014kFTNT
Ships more firewall units than any other vendor, built on its own FortiGate security ASICs and FortiOS, alongside SASE and SecOps products.
Very high relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Sunnyvale · founded 2000 · 14k staff
- High10 companies
- 5HighHardware & devicesSan JoseUnited States198486kCSCO
Major security vendor for firewalls, Duo identity, Talos threat intelligence and Splunk SIEM/SOAR (acquired 2024 for $28bn).
High relevance · Hardware & devices · United States, San Jose · founded 1984 · 86k staff
- 6HighSoftware & platformsMountain ViewUnited States1998183kGOOGL
Google Security Operations, Mandiant incident response and threat intelligence, and Wiz cloud security (its $32bn acquisition closed in March 2026) make it a top-tier security player.
High relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Mountain View · founded 1998 · 183k staff
- 7HighSoftware & platformsTel AvivIsrael19936,669CHKP
Check Point Software TechnologiesPioneer of the stateful firewall and still a leading network, cloud and email security vendor through its Infinity platform; Israel's largest security company.
High relevance · Software & platforms · Israel, Tel Aviv · founded 1993 · 6,669 staff
- 8HighSoftware & platformsSan JoseUnited States20077,348ZS
Leading security service edge (SSE) and zero-trust cloud provider; its Zero Trust Exchange processes hundreds of billions of transactions a day.
High relevance · Software & platforms · United States, San Jose · founded 2007 · 7,348 staff
- 9HighOperations & infrastructureSan FranciscoUnited States20094,263NET
Global edge network providing DDoS mitigation, web application firewall, zero-trust access and SASE services.
High relevance · Operations & infrastructure · United States, San Francisco · founded 2009 · 4,263 staff
- 10HighSoftware & platformsSan FranciscoUnited States20095,914OKTA
Leading independent identity and access management platform for workforce and customer identity (Okta and Auth0).
High relevance · Software & platforms · United States, San Francisco · founded 2009 · 5,914 staff
- 11HighSoftware & platformsTokyoJapan1988–4704
Japan's leading security vendor, covering endpoint, cloud workload and network security through its Vision One XDR platform and the Zero Day Initiative.
High relevance · Software & platforms · Japan, Tokyo · founded 1988
- 12HighSoftware & platformsMountain ViewUnited States20132,800S
Its AI-driven Singularity platform covers endpoint, cloud and identity detection and response; the company was founded by Israeli engineers.
High relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Mountain View · founded 2013 · 2,800 staff
- 13HighSoftware & platformsSunnyvaleUnited States2002–Private
Leading email security and data-loss protection vendor (owned by Thoma Bravo since 2021), used by most Fortune 100 companies.
High relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Sunnyvale · founded 2002
- 14HighSoftware & platformsCambridgeUnited States199811kAKAM
Security is now its largest business: web application and API protection, DDoS mitigation (Prolexic) and Guardicore micro-segmentation.
High relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Cambridge · founded 1998 · 11k staff
- Moderate16 companies
- 15ModerateSoftware & platformsBeijingChina2014–688561
China's largest dedicated cybersecurity vendor, supplying endpoint, network and SOC products to government and enterprises; it was the official cybersecurity provider for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Moderate relevance · Software & platforms · China, Beijing · founded 2014
- 16ModerateDesignPalo AltoUnited States196137kAVGO
Owns the Symantec enterprise security portfolio (endpoint, DLP, secure web gateway) and VMware Carbon Black, a major installed base in large enterprises.
Moderate relevance · Design · United States, Palo Alto · founded 1961 · 37k staff
- 17ModerateSoftware & platformsShenzhenChina2000–300454
Major Chinese vendor of next-generation firewalls, endpoint security and SASE, with strong sales across Southeast Asia.
Moderate relevance · Software & platforms · China, Shenzhen · founded 2000
- 18ModerateSystems integrationParisFrance189383kHO
European leader in encryption, hardware security modules (Luna), data security and identity (Imperva acquired 2023), and sovereign cyber defence.
Moderate relevance · Systems integration · France, Paris · founded 1893 · 83k staff
- 19ModerateSoftware & platformsTempeUnited States1982–GEN
World's largest consumer cybersecurity company (Norton, Avast, AVG, Avira) and co-headquartered in Prague, with roughly 500 million users.
Moderate relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Tempe · founded 1982
- 20ModerateSoftware & platformsAbingdonUnited Kingdom1985–Private
UK's largest security vendor, offering endpoint, firewall and managed detection and response; it is owned by Thoma Bravo and acquired Secureworks in 2025.
Moderate relevance · Software & platforms · United Kingdom, Abingdon · founded 1985
- 21ModerateHardware & devicesShenzhenChina1987208kPrivate
Top international patent applicant in this capability; it supplies HiSecEngine firewalls and network security gateways and embeds security in telecom equipment.
Moderate relevance · Hardware & devices · China, Shenzhen · founded 1987 · 208k staff
- 22ModerateSoftware & platformsSanta ClaraUnited States2012–NTSK
Leading SASE and cloud access security broker vendor; it listed on Nasdaq in 2025.
Moderate relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Santa Clara · founded 2012
- 23ModerateSoftware & platformsColumbiaUnited States2002–TENB
Leader in vulnerability management and exposure management (Nessus, Tenable One), including OT security.
Moderate relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Columbia · founded 2002
- 24ModerateSoftware & platformsBostonUnited States2000–RPD
Vulnerability management, SIEM and managed detection and response vendor, and steward of the Metasploit penetration-testing framework.
Moderate relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Boston · founded 2000
- 25ModerateSoftware & platformsCambridgeUnited Kingdom20132,400Private
Self-learning AI network detection and response vendor; Thoma Bravo took it private for $5.3bn in October 2024.
Moderate relevance · Software & platforms · United Kingdom, Cambridge · founded 2013 · 2,400 staff
- 26ModerateSoftware & platformsMoscowRussia1997–Private
Major global antimalware and threat-research firm (its GReAT team and endpoint products); its software has been banned in the US since 2024.
Moderate relevance · Software & platforms · Russia, Moscow · founded 1997
- 27ModerateSoftware & platformsBratislavaSlovakia1992–Private
Central Europe's leading security vendor (NOD32, ESET PROTECT endpoint and XDR) and a prominent researcher of state-backed malware.
Moderate relevance · Software & platforms · Slovakia, Bratislava · founded 1992
- 28ModerateSoftware & platformsBucharestRomania2001–Private
Romanian endpoint protection and XDR vendor (GravityZone) whose antimalware engines are licensed by many OEMs; it acquired Singapore's Horangi in 2024.
Moderate relevance · Software & platforms · Romania, Bucharest · founded 2001
- 29ModerateProfessional & data servicesEden PrairieUnited States2012–Private
One of the largest managed detection and response providers; it acquired BlackBerry's Cylance endpoint business in 2025.
Moderate relevance · Professional & data services · United States, Eden Prairie · founded 2012
- 30ModerateSoftware & platformsTel AvivIsrael2015––
Israeli SASE pioneer that runs a global private cloud backbone combining SD-WAN and network security; one of Israel's most valuable cyber unicorns.
Moderate relevance · Software & platforms · Israel, Tel Aviv · founded 2015
- Low13 companies
- 31LowSoftware & platformsBeijingChina1996–002439
Long-established Chinese network security vendor (intrusion detection, UTM, security management platforms); China Mobile became its controlling shareholder in 2020.
Low relevance · Software & platforms · China, Beijing · founded 1996
- 32LowSoftware & platformsBeijingChina2005–601360
China's largest consumer antivirus provider (360 Total Security) and an active vulnerability and threat-intelligence researcher.
Low relevance · Software & platforms · China, Beijing · founded 2005
- 33LowSoftware & platformsBeijingChina2000–300369
Chinese vendor of anti-DDoS, intrusion prevention, WAF and vulnerability scanning products, sold to carriers and enterprises.
Low relevance · Software & platforms · China, Beijing · founded 2000
- 34LowSoftware & platformsSeongnamSouth Korea1995–053800
South Korea's leading security vendor (V3 antivirus, EDR, firewalls); Saudi PIF-owned SITE holds a 10% stake and a joint venture with it.
Low relevance · Software & platforms · South Korea, Seongnam · founded 1995
- 35LowHardware & devicesEssenGermany1997–YSN
German government's main IT-security partner, supplying the SINA high-assurance crypto systems approved for classified networks.
Low relevance · Hardware & devices · Germany, Essen · founded 1997
- 36LowSoftware & platformsHsinchuTaiwan2019––
Taiwanese specialist in operational-technology and industrial control security, spun out of a Trend Micro and Moxa joint venture; it protects semiconductor and manufacturing plants.
Low relevance · Software & platforms · Taiwan, Hsinchu · founded 2019
- 37LowSoftware & platformsMoscowRussia2002–POSI
Leading Russian vendor of SIEM (MaxPatrol), application firewalls and ICS security; it has been under US sanctions since 2021.
Low relevance · Software & platforms · Russia, Moscow · founded 2002
- 38LowSoftware & platformsPuneIndia1995–QUICKHEAL
India's main home-grown security product company, with Quick Heal consumer antivirus and Seqrite enterprise endpoint, ZTNA and XDR.
Low relevance · Software & platforms · India, Pune · founded 1995
- 39LowProfessional & data servicesSingaporeSingapore2018–Private
Asia's largest pure-play cybersecurity services firm (managed security, threat intelligence, security engineering), majority owned by Temasek.
Low relevance · Professional & data services · Singapore, Singapore · founded 2018
- 40LowProfessional & data servicesAbu DhabiUnited Arab Emirates2022500Private
UAE's national-scale cyber and physical security provider for government and critical infrastructure; G42 acquired it at the end of 2024.
Low relevance · Professional & data services · United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi · founded 2022 · 500 staff
- 41LowProfessional & data servicesRiyadhSaudi Arabia2017–State-owned
Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE)PIF-owned Saudi cybersecurity champion that provides national cyber defence solutions and is localising security technology through a joint venture with AhnLab; an IPO is being prepared.
Low relevance · Professional & data services · Saudi Arabia, Riyadh · founded 2017
- 42LowSoftware & platformsSão PauloBrazil2009–Private
Latin America's leading cybersecurity product vendor, selling a privileged access management and identity security platform internationally; it rebranded from senhasegura in 2025.
Low relevance · Software & platforms · Brazil, São Paulo · founded 2009
- 43LowProfessional & data servicesMelbourneAustralia2019–Private
Largest independent cybersecurity services provider in Australia and New Zealand (security testing, SOC, incident response); Accenture agreed to acquire it in 2025.
Low relevance · Professional & data services · Australia, Melbourne · founded 2019
- Very low7 companies
- 44Very lowSystems integrationAnkaraTürkiye1982–State-owned
Turkish state-owned defence software house (Turkish Armed Forces Foundation) that develops cyber defence products, SOC solutions and secure communications for Turkey's government.
Very low relevance · Systems integration · Türkiye, Ankara · founded 1982
- 45Very lowProfessional & data servicesRecifeBrazil2000–Private
Brazil's largest specialised cybersecurity services firm (MSS, offensive security, incident response); Embraer is its majority owner.
Very low relevance · Professional & data services · Brazil, Recife · founded 2000
- 46Very lowProfessional & data servicesMexico CityMexico–750Private
Scitum (Telmex / América Móvil)Mexico's largest managed security provider, the Telmex cybersecurity unit, with a next-generation SOC, a CERT and an MXDR partnership with Palo Alto Networks.
Very low relevance · Professional & data services · Mexico, Mexico City · 750 staff
- 47Very lowProfessional & data servicesCasablancaMorocco2009200Private
North Africa's leading cybersecurity integrator and SOC/MSSP provider, exporting about 60% of its revenue to more than 35 countries, with offices in Paris, Abidjan and Dubai.
Very low relevance · Professional & data services · Morocco, Casablanca · founded 2009 · 200 staff
- 48Very lowOperations & infrastructureJohannesburgSouth Africa2021–Private
Liquid C2 (Cassava Technologies)Pan-African cloud and cybersecurity arm of Cassava Technologies, running Cyber Security Fusion Centres in Johannesburg, Nairobi and Lusaka that provide managed detection and response.
Very low relevance · Operations & infrastructure · South Africa, Johannesburg · founded 2021
- 49Very lowProfessional & data servicesNairobiKenya––Private
East Africa's leading cybersecurity firm, providing managed security, threat intelligence and incident response across Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Uganda, and publisher of the annual Africa Cyber Security Report.
Very low relevance · Professional & data services · Kenya, Nairobi
- 50Very lowProfessional & data servicesHanoiVietnam2019–State-owned
Vietnam's leading cybersecurity company, a subsidiary of the military-run Viettel Group, offering SOC/MSS, threat intelligence and security products; it has reported more than 400 zero-day vulnerabilities.
Very low relevance · Professional & data services · Vietnam, Hanoi · founded 2019
