Bradford Networks, Inc.

Bradford Networks, Inc. was a privately held network security company that operated as a subsidiary of Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) following its acquisition in 2018. Founded in 1999 and formerly headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Bradford Networks was acquired by Fortinet on June 4, 2018. The acquisition was valued at approximately $17 million in initial consideration. Prior to the acquisition, the company had around 53 employees.

The company was an operating company specializing in network access control (NAC) and security automation for enterprise networks. Its flagship product was Network Sentry, a platform designed to identify, profile, and control every user and device—including bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and Internet of Things (IoT) endpoints—accessing a corporate network. Network Sentry provided continuous visibility and could automatically contain compromised or non-compliant devices, integrating with security products from other vendors to automate threat response. After the acquisition, the technology was integrated into the Fortinet Security Fabric to enhance its visibility, segmentation, and automated response capabilities.

Bradford Networks' patent litigation history consists of defending its technology against patent infringement claims. The company is tracked as a defendant in one case and has not been a plaintiff. This posture is typical of an operating company being targeted by a patent assertion entity. The single lawsuit, Network Security Technologies, LLC v. Bradford Networks, Inc., was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware on October 24, 2017, approximately eight months before the company was acquired by Fortinet. The plaintiff, Network Security Technologies, LLC, has been identified in other litigation as a patent assertion entity.