Barry Mainz

Chief Executive Officer, Forescout

Search every verified Barry Mainz interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Barry Mainz, CEO of Forescout Technologies, has been discussing the cybersecurity industry's shift toward protecting critical infrastructure, including operational technology (OT) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. He stated that nation-state actors are using "crowdsourced" methods, employing thousands of engineers to breach systems, and described the trend of bad actors targeting "critical infrastructure things like planes, trains" and utilities. Mainz noted that the U.S. has 153,000 public drinking water systems and 16,000 wastewater treatment plants, with OT systems averaging 14 years in the field, which he described as a "big risk." He attributed increased attention on OT security to government regulations, such as the U.S. disclosure act requiring CEOs and CFOs to report breaches involving OT and IoT devices within four days, and said that "the new battleground is critical infrastructure." Mainz has also discussed his leadership philosophy, stating that "you don't manage your way to greatness you hire your way to greatness" and that he prefers "the best learners" over "the smartest people in the room." He described Forescout's focus on discovering and securing unmanaged devices without an agent, including OT and IoT devices, and mentioned the company's acquisition of Security Matters in 2019 as a bet on this market. Mainz emphasized the importance of having quantum-safe technology in cybersecurity products, saying "if your vendor you're working with cyber vendor doesn't have quantum safe technology built in, game over."