DNSFilter, the DNS-first security company, powered by AI, today announced the appointment of Justin Foster as CTO. The appointment strengthens DNSFilter’s executive team, building on the recent appointments of Rich Scott as CRO and Conor Coughlan as CMO, as the company scales its AI-powered DNS-first security platform.

Justin Foster joins DNSFilter from Forescout, where he most recently served as Chief Technology Officer and oversaw the company’s research and development organization. Foster brings more than 25 years of information security experience with deep expertise in server, cloud, and network security, as well as security analytics and encryption.

He joined Forescout through its acquisition of Cysiv, where he was co-founder and CTO. Earlier in his career, Foster held technical, product management, and go-to-market roles at Trend Micro and Third Brigade.

AI tools are now part of everyday work, and employees adopt them faster than IT and security teams can inventory them. 40.3% of organizations say their next security dollar will go to AI security and governance, yet 43% learn an AI tool has access to their systems only after the fact, or never. Much of that activity happens outside sanctioned systems with Shadow AI now the number one concern CISOs cite going into 2027. Every one of those interactions begins with a DNS lookup and DNSFilter sees that first connection before any application, data store, or model is reached, which puts DNS in a position to govern AI use at the point where it starts.

“Justin has built security companies from the ground up – he co-founded Cysiv, then ran R&D at Forescout. We just launched LUMINATE by DNSFilter™ at Nasdaq and opened the platform up to a much bigger market, and Justin is the right leader to scale it. Our customers are going to see the impact in the product quickly,” said Ken Carnesi, CEO of DNSFilter.

“Shadow AI is one of the biggest gaps security teams face today, and it starts with the first connection a user makes,” said Justin Foster, CTO, DNSFilter. “I’m joining DNSFilter at a strategically important time. The new platform LUMINATE by DNSFilter™ extends our DNS-first protection capabilities to include AI governance and controls, behavior analytics, and threat intelligence for the first time. I look forward to working with Ken and the team to build on that amazing foundation and scaling it for all our customers and partners.”

More than 57,000 customers worldwide rely on DNSFilter, from global enterprises and mid-market companies to educational institutions, government agencies, MSPs and MSSPs. DNSFilter reaches them directly and through a global partner ecosystem that includes CrowdStrike, Amazon, GuidePoint Security, Climb, SHI, Pax8, N-able and Midis Group.

About DNSFilter

DNSFilter, the DNS-first security company, powered by AI, protects every user at the first click, preventing threats before a connection is ever made, securing organizations and their people wherever they work, live and travel.

DNSFilter stops cyber criminals, rogue states and other malicious actors from hacking your world by delivering best-in-class DNS filtering; behavior analytics; AI governance and controls; encryption and privacy and threat intelligence services that are built upon its proprietary DNS-first platform and intelligence engine.

Its LUMINATE by DNSFilter™ platform is trusted by more than 57,000 organizations around the world, helping to protect thousands of global enterprises, mid-market companies, educational institutions, agencies and MSPs that operate across government, transportation, retail, hospitality, healthcare and many more verticals. 100 million+ users worldwide rely on DNSFilter to keep them safe every day. Deployed in minutes, it protects users at the first source of contact. Learn more at dnsfilter.com.

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