Check Point CEO kept on his toes amid cyber stock surge

New York

HIGH-profile cyberattacks have driven shares of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd to the highest since 2001. But the world's top firewall provider isn't getting too comfortable.

Chief executive officer Gil Shwed, who reports first-quarter earnings on April 20, is stepping up efforts to defend against younger competitors such as Palo Alto Networks Inc, whose sales are forecast to grow nearly six times faster than Check Point's in 2015. The Tel Aviv-based company bought two cybersecurity startups this year, its first acquisitions since 2011, Bloomberg data show.