Blue Coat Systems

Blue Coat Systems Inc., formerly CacheFlow, based in Sunnyvale, California, United States is a provider of security and networking solutions. In February 2012, Blue Coat was acquired by private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo for $1.3 billion and began operating as a privately held company.

Its products have been used by dictatorships to censor the internet and, as a result, reporters without borders declared it a corporate enemy of the internet.

History
Blue Coat Systems was founded in 1996 as CacheFlow, with the original headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

Blue Coat provides products to more than 15,000 customers worldwide. It identifies itself as a business assurance technology specialist. Blue Coat products are primarily used by enterprises, schools, hospitals and public agencies to block malware and malicious threats, control access to inappropriate applications or content in the workplace, and improve the performance of network applications. Usually used in conjunction with a firewall rather than in lieu of same.

On December 9, 2011, Blue Coat agreed to be acquired by Thoma Bravo for $1.3 billion. With the closing of the transaction, Blue Coat stock was delisted from NASDAQ and it was no longer a publicly traded company.

Products

 * Security
 * ProxySG, Multi-part enterprise software and hardware appliance, designed for companies with a large number of computers
 * Web Security Service, Cloud-based web security
 * Mobile Device Security Service, Cloud-based web security for mobile devices and applications
 * Content Analysis System, Security appliance with malware scanning and application whitelisting for the web gateway
 * Malware Analysis Appliance, Sandboxing appliance for detection and analysis of unknown files and downloads
 * SSL Visibility Appliance, SSL decryption to identify hidden threats
 * Security Analytics Platform, Analytics to detect anomalies and threats already on the network
 * X-Series, Scalable network security platform that supports virtualized third-party security applications


 * WAN Optimization
 * MACH5, Accelerate internal and external applications for distributed employees
 * PacketShaper, Content-aware visibility and control over network and applications


 * Personal Security
 * K9 Web Protection, Free to use Protection for use as a parental control and to filter internet browsing


 * Service Provider Caching
 * CacheFlow, Caching solutions for carriers customers

Acquisitions
In 2000, Blue Coat acquired Entera for its streaming technologies. The deal was valued at $170 million.

Following its entry into the security market, Blue Coat acquired several companies to build additional functionality into its product portfolio. From 2003-2006, Blue Coat acquired three companies: Anti-virus appliance vendor Ositis Software, Inc. for $7.1 million, URL filtering vendor Cerberian for $17.5 million and Permeo Technologies for its SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) VPN appliance.

As Blue Coat moved into the WAN optimization market, it shifted its acquisition focus to companies with caching and performance technologies. In 2006, Blue Coat acquired the NetCache business from NetApp. In 2008, Blue Coat acquired Packeteer, a bandwidth management company, for $268 million. In 2010, Blue Coat acquired S7 Software Solutions, a provider of software migration products and services.

Beginning in 2012, Blue Coat refocused its acquisitions on expanding its product portfolio into adjacent security markets. In December 2012, Blue Coat acquired Crossbeam Systems, maker of a scalable network security platform that can virtualize network security applications from third-party security software vendors (including McAfee, Sourcefire, Check Point, and Imperva). In May 2013, Blue Coat acquired SSL technology from Netronome. Also in May, Blue Coat acquired Solera Networks, a maker of security analytics products that help businesses detect and resolve threats already on the network.

In December 2013, Blue Coat acquired Oslo based Norman Shark, a provider of threat discovery and malware analysis solutions for enterprises, service providers and government.

Syria
In October 2011 it was reported that the U.S. government is looking into claims made by Telecomix that the Syrian government is using the company's products in order to restrict internet access. The hacktivist group released 54 GB of log data alleged to have been taken from seven Blue Coat web gateway appliances that depict search terms, including "Israel" and "proxy" were blocked in the country using the appliances.

In April 2013, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced a $2.8 million civil settlement with Computerlinks FZCO for violations of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) related to the transfer to Syria of Blue Coat products. The penalty was the maximum allowed. According to the BIS, Computerlinks FZCO provided Blue Coat with false end user information. Computerlinks FZCO knew that the items were destined for end users in Syria but stated that the end users for the items were the Iraq Ministry of Telecom or the Afghan Internet service provider Liwalnet.

Reporters Without Borders
On March 12, 2013, Reporters Without Borders named Blue Coat Systems as one of five "Corporate Enemies of the Internet" and “digital era mercenaries” for selling products that have been or are being used by governments to violate human rights and freedom of information. Blue Coat equipment has been sold to the governments of Bahrain, Burma (Myanmar), China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.

Use by the governments of Sudan and Iran
On July 8, 2013, The Washington Post reported on a Citizen Lab study, led by Morgan Marquis-Boire, showing that Blue Coat equipment is being used by the governments of Sudan and Iran.