Publisher: Forbes (Thomas Brewster)
Date Published: July 13, 2026
Relevant To: Vendor-tracking entry: Cognyte’s cell-site-simulator vans and predictive-crime-analytics software sold to multiple US state/local law enforcement agencies, including confirmed warrantless-use disclosures
Verification Status: Verified (original Forbes article inaccessible directly; archive.is mirror also blocked; content confirmed via extensive verbatim-matching search snippets from the original Forbes URL)
Notes: Forbes (Thomas Brewster) reports Cognyte — an Herzliya, Israel-based, Nasdaq-listed ($560M market cap) surveillance company spun out of Verint in 2021, marketed as the “leading alternative” to Palantir — is selling ~$1M surveillance vans equipped with cell-site simulators (IMSI catchers, branded “FalcoNet,” functionally similar to L3Harris’s Stingray) to US law enforcement, alongside AI data-analytics/predictive-crime software. Confirmed customers/contracts: Texas DPS ($4.5M, largest US deal on record), Albuquerque PD, New York State Police (used without warrant in “exigent circumstances” per spokesperson), Baltimore PD ($920K cell-site simulator, 2022, usable up to 48 hours without warrant for “serious” crimes), Florida DLE ($765K in 2024 for Operation Vigilant Sentry, a Caribbean migration-monitoring mission; separately a $2.1M “data acquisition system” contract with details kept confidential), Muscogee County GA Sheriff’s Office ($800K analytics software). FalcoNet can be vehicle-mounted, backpack-portable, or helicopter-mounted. Forbes’ own Texas public-records request for van details was returned heavily redacted by both the police department and Cognyte; the Texas AG is reviewing whether redactions should be lifted. US revenue for Cognyte grew from $10M (2023) to $15M (2025) per SEC filings, still a small fraction of its ~$400M global 2025 revenue (mostly Israel/Europe). Relevant to BPA as a vendor-tracking entry for a growing, second-tier-but-rising Palantir-adjacent surveillance vendor with confirmed multi-state US law-enforcement penetration and warrantless-use disclosures.