Talk:Fortra

COI

Mlpederson (talk) 20:28, 17 May 2023 (UTC)

Request for Additional Feedback on Declined Draft

Hello BuySomeApples,

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to you regarding the recent decline of this draft article. I appreciate the time and effort you have taken to review it.

I acknowledge that the previously deleted Fortra page was written without proper COI declarations and included arguably promotional framing. With this draft, I have aimed to provide a neutral, well-sourced, and encyclopedic article that adheres to Wikipedia's standards. I also understand the concerns raised in your decline notice regarding the need for in-depth, reliable, secondary, and independent references. I believe the references included both meet these criteria and represent a significant improvement over the original page.

It would be incredibly helpful if you would provide additional comments or feedback regarding where you find the article to still be lacking. In addition, I would like your opinion on expansion of a particular section, and whether this proposed addition would meaningfully help improve this article's notability case:

In April 2023, Fortra, Microsoft, and the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center (H-ISAC) initiated a legal and technical campaign against the illicit use of Cobalt Strike, a penetration testing tool developed by Fortra. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York granted a court order enabling the seizure of domains hosting manipulated versions of Cobalt Strike. This "advanced persistent disruption" strategy aims to disrupt the distribution of these tools, forcing criminals to re-evaluate their tactics. The initiative represents a shift from targeting specific malware groups to focusing on the tools used by a wide range of malicious actors.

Associated references:

Thanks again for your consideration.

Best, Mlpederson (talk) 16:04, 23 August 2023 (UTC)

Hi @Mlpederson: of course! Basically, those sources don't help too much because only one of them is clearly a RS to me. Overall the article is pretty well written and the sourcing is borderline. I recommend expanding and resubmitting for a second opinion. BuySomeApples (talk) 22:50, 26 August 2023 (UTC)

Discussion on Notability and Sources for Fortra

Hello Sirdog,

Thank you for your comments requesting a shortlist of reliable, independent sources that provide significant coverage of Fortra, formerly known as HelpSystems. I suggest the following:

1. Axios highlights Fortra's partnership with Microsoft in addressing cybersecurity threats. Microsoft and cybersecurity firm Fortra go after top hacking tool

2. Star Tribune offers an in-depth look at the company's history and evolution in Minnesota's tech landscape, documenting its growth and transition to Fortra. HelpSystems, one of Minnesota's largest software developers, changes name to Fortra

3. IT Jungle, while a more niche publication targeting IBM i IT professionals, provides detailed coverage of the acquisitions and business strategies leading up to the Fortra rebrand. How HelpSystems Became Fortra

4. The Wall Street Journal has reported on Fortra's business and investment strategies, enhancing its notability. Summit Selling HelpSystems Again, This Time to H.I.G. Capital

As an additional note, the notability of some subsidiaries, such as Linoma Software and Tripwire, suggests the potential for an overarching page detailing Fortra and its associated entities.

I look forward to any further insights or adjustments you might recommend.

Best regards, Mrmctorso (talk) 20:33, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

Requested updates: managed services wording, acquisition-chronology consolidation, and lead naming

Hello, I now have a COI with respect to this article (declared on my user page: Fortra, Boldon James, and Vera Security). I contributed to this article in the past, prior to the COI; I am now shifting to making edit requests rather than editing the article directly. Below are three narrow, source-backed requests, kept as specific as I can make them.

1. Managed security services subsection

Under Products and services: Managed security services, please make the following change:

−

Alert Logic delivers cloud-based managed detection and response (MDR), extended detection and response (XDR), and managed web application firewall (WAF).

+

In January 2026, LevelBlue announced a strategic partnership with Fortra under which LevelBlue would acquire the managed services of Fortra's Alert Logic Managed Detection and Response (MDR), Extended Detection and Response (XDR), and Web Application Firewall (WAF) solutions.

Reason: The current wording presents Alert Logic's managed services as straightforwardly part of Fortra's portfolio. The article should reflect the January 2026 transaction, in which LevelBlue agreed to acquire the managed services of Fortra's Alert Logic MDR, XDR, and WAF offerings.

2. Consolidate acquisition chronology into History

Please remove the standalone Acquisitions section heading and merge its 2019-2022 chronology into the History section, immediately after the existing paragraph that ends:

"In 2018, private equity firm HGGC became the lead investor, and HelpSystems acquired Midrange Performance Group."

Specifically, please insert the following three paragraphs at that point in History, retaining the existing citations currently attached to this material in the Acquisitions section:

In 2019, HelpSystems expanded its cybersecurity capabilities through the acquisition of Core Security and UK-based Clearswift. TA Associates and Charlesbank Capital Partners also became investors. In 2020, the company acquired the data classification firms Titus and Boldon James, and acquired the cloud-based data protection provider Vera.

In 2021, HelpSystems acquired several companies to expand its cybersecurity and data protection services, including FileCatalyst, Digital Defense, Beyond Security, Agari, PhishLabs, and Digital Guardian. During this time, private equity firm Harvest Partners SCF LP also acquired partial ownership in HelpSystems.

In 2022, HelpSystems expanded its portfolio with the acquisitions of Tripwire, Alert Logic, Terranova Security, and Outflank, adding offerings in IT security compliance, cloud-based security, security awareness training, and advanced threat detection. HelpSystems rebranded as Fortra in November 2022.

Please also remove the following sentence as part of this consolidation, as it is not acquisition chronology and reads as tangential here:

"In October of that year, PhishLabs by HelpSystems identified a weakness in Google Ads being used by attackers to target financial institutions."

Reason: This keeps the company's acquisition activity in chronological order within History rather than split into a separate section. The article currently jumps from 2018 to 2023 in History and then returns to 2019-2022 in Acquisitions (where the 2022 rebrand is also discussed). Consolidating should improve readability and reduce structural repetition without changing the underlying sourced chronology. No new references should be needed if the existing citations are carried over.

Note: I have a declared COI with Boldon James and Vera Security, both named in this section. I am only requesting that the existing, already-sourced wording be moved, not expanded or made more favorable; please scrutinize accordingly.

3. Simplify naming timeline in the lead

In the lead, please make the following change:

−

The company was founded as Help/38 in 1982, rebranded as HelpSystems in 1988, and became Fortra in 2022.

+

The company was known as HelpSystems until rebranding as Fortra in 2022.

Please leave the existing History wording about the Help/38 origin intact:

"Help/38 was founded in 1982 by Dick Jacobson. Help/38's first product, Robot/38, provided IT automation for the IBM System/38. In 1988, when IBM replaced the System/38 with the AS/400, the company became known as HelpSystems (sometimes stylized as Help/Systems)."

Reason: A narrow clarity request only. The detailed Help/38-to-HelpSystems origin remains in History; the lead just identifies the current and immediately prior names. No new references should be needed, as the 2022 rebrand is already cited in the article.

Thank you for considering these limited requests. Mrmctorso (talk) 20:46, 31 May 2026 (UTC)

Hi Mrmctorso, and thank you for your suggestions. I am declining your edit request because, in my opinion, this proposed edit is too promotional and does not adhere to Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy. For instance, the term "strategic partnership" is marketing speak. The list of acquisitions also appears intended to portray Fortra in a positive light and depict it as an expanding business. I am not convinced that those acquisitions need to be included in the article. Ideally, business articles should not become lists of acquisitions where the article is unable to explain why the merger had a significant impact on the business' corporate history. For those reasons, I am declining your proposed changes. We appreciate your understanding. Altamel (talk) 04:16, 20 July 2026 (UTC)

References