Secure Computing

Secure Computing Corporation was a cybersecurity technology company whose products protected computer networks, users, email systems, and web traffic. Its origins lay in the Secure Computing Technology Center, a research group established within Honeywell in Minneapolis in 1984. The center worked on high-assurance operating systems for the United States National Security Agency, including the Secure Ada Target and Logical Coprocessing Kernel projects. These efforts were associated with the most demanding A1 level of the Trusted Computer Systems Evaluation Criteria and gave the business an unusually strong background in trusted operating-system design. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the organization shifted from defense-oriented research toward commercial security products. The change reflected growing demand for commercially packaged protection for enterprise networks and the expanding Internet, as well as stronger investor interest in private-sector technology companies than in traditional defense contractors. Secure Computing became a public company in 1995. Its early market performance was volatile, following the pattern of many Internet-related technology stocks of the period, but the company subsequently developed a broad portfolio through internal development, product transfers, mergers, and acquisitions. The company expanded beyond its original operating-system and firewall expertise by acquiring or absorbing several specialist businesses. Enigma Logic added one-time-password and challenge-response authentication capabilities. Webster Network Strategies brought the SmartFilter web-filtering product line. A subsequent combination with Border Network Technologies added Borderware firewall technology and established broader international sales channels, although the Borderware and Sidewinder product families were never completely unified. Secure Computing later assumed the Gauntlet Firewall business from Network Associates, acquired N2H2 and its Bess web-filtering technology, and completed its large 2006 acquisition of CyberGuard. CyberGuard contributed multiple firewall families, filtering systems, management tools, and the Webwasher and SnapGear businesses. The company also merged with CipherTrust in 2006, strengthening its email-security portfolio and adding the TrustedSource reputation service. By the late 2000s, Secure Computing organized its business around three principal areas. Secure Web, formerly Webwasher, combined malware protection, reputation-based URL controls, content caching, and secure traffic inspection. Secure Mail, formerly IronMail, offered anti-spam protection, malware defense, encryption, and data-leakage controls. Its firewall portfolio centered on Sidewinder, later marketed as Firewall Enterprise, and was supported by reporting, centralized management, embedded firewall, and legacy firewall products. TrustedSource supplied reputation and behavioral intelligence across the company's web, mail, firewall, and hosted-service products by analyzing traffic and content data. Secure Computing also operated in a politically sensitive area because SmartFilter filtering technology was identified by research organizations as being used by governments to restrict Internet access. Reports linked the software to censorship systems in Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Sudan, and Tunisia. The company said that use in Iran was unauthorized and contrary to United States sanctions, and argued that vendors could not fully control how customers used software after purchase. Critics responded that the products had nevertheless been deployed for extended periods in restrictive environments. In 2008, Secure Computing sold its SafeWord authentication product line to Aladdin Knowledge Systems as part of a sharper focus on web security, email security, and firewalls. Later that year McAfee announced an agreement to acquire Secure Computing. The transaction was completed in 2008, ending Secure…

Secure Computing began in 1984 as the Secure Computing Technology Center, a Honeywell research group based in Minneapolis. Its early work was directed toward high-assurance computing for national-security applications. The center developed the Secure Ada Target and Logical Coprocessing Kernel, systems intended to satisfy stringent security evaluation requirements associated with the A1 level of the Trusted Computer Systems Evaluation Criteria. The organization gradually moved into commercial security because the emerging Internet created demand for packaged enterprise security products and because commercial technology companies offered a more attractive investment model than defense contractors. Secure Computing became a public company in 1995 and subsequently expanded through acquisitions and product transfers. In 1996 it merged with Enigma Logic, a company associated with one-time-password authentication, and acquired Webster Network Strategies, bringing the SmartFilter web-filtering product line into the business. It also combined with Canada's Border Network Technologies, whose Borderware firewall product had an established customer and channel base. Borderware was later separated into a new company in 1998. The company continued to consolidate the security market. It took over the Gauntlet Firewall line from Network Associates in 2002 and acquired N2H2 in 2003, adding the Bess web-filtering system. In 2005 Secure Computing announced an agreement to acquire CyberGuard; the transaction received approval and closed in January 2006. CyberGuard broadened the portfolio with additional firewall families, filtering products, enterprise management tools, and development facilities in the United States, Germany, and Australia. Secure Computing then merged with CipherTrust in 2006, adding email-security capabilities and the TrustedSource reputation platform. TrustedSource became a central layer across the company's offerings. It generated reputation assessments for IP addresses, domains, URLs, messages, and other content using behavioral analysis and statistical classification of traffic and content. This intelligence supported web filtering, anti-spam, malware defense, and firewall products. Secure Computing's principal late-period product groups were Secure Web, Secure Mail, and Secure Firewall. Secure Web evolved from Webwasher and combined malware scanning, URL categorization and reputation controls, caching, and SSL inspection. Secure Mail evolved from IronMail and provided anti-spam, anti-malware, encryption, and data-loss protection. Secure Firewall centered on Sidewinder, which was later renamed Firewall Enterprise, together with reporting, centralized management, embedded SnapGear products, and inherited lines such as Gauntlet and CyberGuard. The company faced public criticism because SmartFilter was reported to be deployed by governments that restricted online expression. Research linked the technology to filtering systems in Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Sudan, and Tunisia. Secure Computing maintained that Iranian use was unauthorized and inconsistent with United States sanctions, and argued that customers controlled the use of products after sale. Critics and researchers emphasized that the technology had nonetheless been used for extended periods to block political, religious, social, and human-rights material. In 2008 Secure Computing sold SafeWord to Aladdin Knowledge Systems and emphasized web, mail, and firewall security. McAfee announced an acquisition in September 2008, and the transaction was completed later that year. Secure Computing consequently ceased operating as an independent public company. Its technologies were absorbed into McAfee, while parts of the former firewall business later passed through subsequent ownership; McAfee sold Sidewinder to Forcepoint in 2016.

1. 2008SafeWord divestiture and McAfee acquisition

   Secure Computing sold SafeWord and was then acquired by McAfee, ending its independent corporate identity.

   Source
2. 2006CyberGuard and CipherTrust combinations

   CyberGuard expanded firewall and management products, while CipherTrust added email security and TrustedSource intelligence.

   Source
3. 2003N2H2 acquisition

   N2H2's Bess web-filtering system joined the Secure Computing portfolio and was later associated with SmartFilter.

   Source
4. 2002Gauntlet Firewall transfer

   Secure Computing took over the Gauntlet Firewall product from Network Associates.

   Source
5. 1996Enigma Logic and SmartFilter expansion

   The company merged with Enigma Logic and acquired Webster Network Strategies, adding authentication and SmartFilter web-filtering capabilities.

   Source
6. 1995Initial public offering

   Secure Computing became a publicly traded company as it shifted further toward commercial Internet and enterprise security products.

   Source
7. 1984Secure Computing Technology Center is formed

   Honeywell established the research center in Minneapolis to work on high-assurance operating systems and trusted computing for national-security applications.

   Source

Secure Computing positioned itself as an enterprise and government cybersecurity provider combining high-assurance operating-system research with commercial firewalls, content filtering, email protection, authentication, and security intelligence. Its portfolio was assembled around protecting network boundaries and controlling access to web and email content.

• Secure WebWeb security appliance and service

  Secure Web was the company's main web-security offering and evolved from the Webwasher product line. It combined malware protection, URL filtering informed by TrustedSource reputation data, content caching, and SSL traffic inspection. In 2008 Secure Computing also introduced Secure Web Protection Service, a hosted version intended for customers that preferred cloud-delivered protection rather than deploying dedicated equipment on their own networks.

• Secure MailEmail security appliance

  Secure Mail, formerly marketed as IronMail, protected enterprise email systems against spam, malware, and data leakage. Its feature set included reputation-based filtering through TrustedSource, encryption, and data-loss-prevention controls. The product represented the CipherTrust contribution to Secure Computing's strategy of applying a shared intelligence layer across email, web, and network-security products.

• Sidewinder Firewall / Firewall EnterpriseEnterprise firewall

  Sidewinder was Secure Computing's flagship enterprise firewall and was later renamed McAfee Firewall Enterprise. It was associated with SecureOS, a security-focused operating-system lineage derived from BSD-related systems and later FreeBSD. The firewall incorporated concepts related to the company's high-assurance LOCK research, including type-enforcement techniques, and achieved an EAL-4+ Common Criteria evaluation. Its broader ecosystem included reporting and centralized management tools.

• SmartFilterWeb content filtering1996

  SmartFilter was a web-content filtering product line obtained through the Webster Network Strategies transaction and later supplemented by N2H2's Bess technology. It classified and controlled access to websites and online content for enterprise and government customers. Researchers also documented its use in national filtering systems, making the product the subject of controversy over the role of commercial security software in restricting online speech.

• TrustedSourceReputation and security intelligence platform2006

  TrustedSource was acquired through CipherTrust and became a shared intelligence service for Secure Computing's product portfolio. It produced reputation assessments for IP addresses, URLs, domains, email, web content, and related traffic by analyzing behavioral patterns and applying statistical and machine-learning classification methods. The resulting intelligence supported anti-spam controls, URL filtering, malware defense, and broader network-security decisions.

• Gauntlet FirewallApplication-layer firewall2002

  Gauntlet was an early application-layer firewall originally developed by Trusted Information Systems and later transferred to Secure Computing from Network Associates. It had a substantial customer base in United States defense and government environments. Secure Computing maintained the line alongside Sidewinder, although Gauntlet was eventually phased down as the portfolio consolidated.

• SafeWordAuthentication

  SafeWord was an authentication and one-time-password product family associated with Secure Computing's Enigma Logic heritage. It supported stronger remote-access authentication through token-based credentials. Secure Computing sold the product line to Aladdin Knowledge Systems in 2008 as part of a decision to focus the remaining company on web security, email security, and firewalls.

• 2008Divest SafeWordStrategy

  The company sought to concentrate on web security, email security, and firewall products.

  What changed. Secure Computing agreed to sell its SafeWord authentication product line to Aladdin Knowledge Systems.

  Aftermath. The divestiture narrowed the independent company's portfolio shortly before its acquisition by McAfee.

  Source
• 2008Accept McAfee acquisitionM&A

  McAfee sought to expand its enterprise security portfolio with Secure Computing's firewall, web, email, and hosted-security technologies.

  What changed. McAfee announced its intention to acquire Secure Computing in September 2008, and the transaction was completed later that year.

  Aftermath. Secure Computing ceased to operate as an independent public company and its technologies were integrated into McAfee.

  Source
• 2006Acquire CyberGuardM&A

  Secure Computing sought to broaden its firewall and network-security portfolio after CyberGuard had previously attempted to acquire Secure Computing.

  What changed. The companies completed the acquisition in January 2006, bringing in CyberGuard, Webwasher, SnapGear, additional firewalls, filtering products, and enterprise management capabilities.

  Aftermath. The transaction became Secure Computing's largest merger at that time and expanded its geographic footprint into Florida, Germany, and Australia.

  Source
• 2006Merge with CipherTrustM&A

  Secure Computing wanted stronger email-security capabilities and a common intelligence platform for its product families.

  What changed. The company announced and completed a merger with Atlanta-based CipherTrust, adding email-security products and TrustedSource.

  Aftermath. TrustedSource became a central reputation and behavioral-analysis capability supporting the web, mail, firewall, and hosted-service portfolios.

  Source

• 2007SmartFilter and government Internet censorshipControversy

  OpenNet Initiative research identified SmartFilter as a component of filtering systems used by governments including Iran and Saudi Arabia, and also reported use in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Sudan, and Tunisia. The systems were used to restrict access to religious, social, political, opposition, and human-rights content. Secure Computing stated that Iranian use was unauthorized and contrary to United States sanctions, while critics argued that the company still bore responsibility for the foreseeable use of its technology in censorship environments.

  Source

• 2008Secure Computing launches Secure Web Protection Service

  The hosted service extended Secure Web capabilities into a cloud-delivered model, reducing the need for customers to deploy on-premises security appliances.

  Product launch
  Source
• 2008SafeWord authentication business is sold to Aladdin Knowledge Systems

  Secure Computing agreed to sell the SafeWord authentication product line, concentrating the remaining business on web security, email security, and firewalls.

  M&A
  Source
• 2008McAfee announces acquisition of Secure Computing

  McAfee announced its intention to acquire Secure Computing, a transaction that ended Secure Computing's existence as an independent public company.

  M&A
  Source
• 2006CyberGuard acquisition is completed

  The completed CyberGuard transaction expanded Secure Computing's firewall, filtering, management, embedded-security, and international development capabilities.

  M&A
  Source
• 2006CipherTrust merger adds email-security capabilities

  The combination with CipherTrust strengthened Secure Computing's email-security business and added TrustedSource, which became a shared reputation and intelligence layer.

  M&AProduct generation
  Source
• 2003Secure Computing acquires N2H2

  The acquisition brought N2H2's Bess web-filtering technology into Secure Computing's portfolio, where it was subsequently associated with the SmartFilter brand.

  M&A
  Source
• 2002Secure Computing takes over the Gauntlet Firewall product

  Secure Computing assumed responsibility for the Gauntlet Firewall business from Network Associates, adding an established application-layer firewall line.

  M&AProduct generation
  Source
• 1998Secure Computing moves headquarters to San Jose

  The company relocated its headquarters from the Minneapolis area to San Jose, while retaining a substantial workforce in Minnesota.

  Other
  Source
• 1995Secure Computing becomes publicly traded

  Secure Computing completed its transition into a public company as it pursued a commercial cybersecurity strategy distinct from its defense-research origins.

  Other
  Source

1. Secure Computing Corporation