NetScreen Technologies
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Internet security, Network security |
| Founder | Yan Ke, Ken Xie, Feng Deng |
| Fate | Acquired by Juniper Networks |
| Successor | Juniper Networks |
Key people | Ken Xie (co-founder and CTO), Robert Thomas (CEO from 1998), Anson Chen (VP of R&D from 2003) |
| Products | ASIC-driven firewalls, VPNs, traffic management appliances |
| Parent | Juniper Networks (from 2004) |
NetScreen Technologies was a U.S.-based technology firm that Juniper Networks acquired in 2004 through a stock transaction valued at $4 billion.
Specializing in ASIC-driven Internet security solutions, NetScreen produced high-performance firewalls, VPNs, and traffic management appliances tailored for Internet data centers, e-business platforms, broadband providers, and application service providers. Notably, it pioneered the first gigabit-capable firewall with its NetScreen-1000 model.
History
The company was established by Yan Ke, Ken Xie, and Feng Deng. Ken Xie, who was both co-founder and CTO, held the CEO position until Robert Thomas joined in 1998. Thomas brought experience from Sun Microsystems, where he oversaw software business units focused on security and networking.
In 2000, Ken Xie departed from NetScreen to launch Fortinet, another company specializing in ASIC-based firewall technology.
NetScreen expanded its capabilities in 2002 by acquiring OneSecure, Inc. for $45 million in stock. OneSecure's founders were Rakesh Loonkar and Nir Zuk, the latter having been an early employee at Check Point Software and instrumental in IPS technology development.
By 2003, Anson Chen was appointed as vice president of research and development at NetScreen. Previously with Cisco Systems, Chen directed engineering initiatives encompassing firewalls, IPSec VPNs, intrusion detection and prevention systems, along with secure access solutions.
2015 "unauthorized code" incident
In December 2015, Juniper Networks disclosed the discovery of "unauthorized code" embedded within its ScreenOS software—used in NetScreen devices since 2012. This code introduced two critical vulnerabilities: a backdoor granting root password access and an alteration to Dual_EC_DRBG that enabled attackers to exploit a cryptographic backdoor for passive decryption of encrypted communications. This incident underscored major weaknesses in cryptographic protection and adversely affected Juniper's standing in network security.