CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Acalvio vs Cayosoft

Acalvio sells ShadowPlex, a deception platform built to operationalize 360 Deception at enterprise scale. Cayosoft sells products for managing and protecting Microsoft environments, covering security and control across Active Directory, Azure AD, Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online. CISO Tribune files both under Identity threat detection and response. This page sets the two records side by side: what each sells, where it is based, who owns and funds it, the customers it names and its recent news, each fact numbered to its source.

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  • Acalvio
  • Cayosoft
Acalvio vs Cayosoft: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
AcalvioAcalvio sells ShadowPlex, a deception platform built to operationalize 360 Deception at enterprise scale.acalvio.comCayosoftCayosoft sells products for managing and protecting Microsoft environments, covering security and control across Active Directory, Azure AD, Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online.cayosoft.com
What it sells
  • ShadowPlex Advanced Threat Defense[5]ShadowPlex Advanced Threat Defense uses AI-powered deception to surface stealthy attacker behavior during reconnaissance, lateral movement, and privilege escalation.
  • ShadowPlex Cloud Security[1][8]ShadowPlex Cloud Security delivers AI-powered deception and honeytokens to IAM and cloud-native services across public clouds.
  • ShadowPlex Targeted Threat Intel[1][10]ShadowPlex Targeted Threat Intel provides threat intelligence from external-facing decoys, including APIs and IPv6 IIoT devices, to detect reconnaissance and credential attacks early.
  • Cayosoft Guardian Audit & Restore[5]Monitors all directory changes and lets administrators roll back those changes.
  • Guardian Protector[4][5]A free, agentless tool for continuous monitoring and real-time threat detection.
  • Cayosoft Management and Protection Suite[6]A suite that includes Cayosoft Administrator and Cayosoft Guardian standard.
  • Cayosoft Group Policy Management[12]Governs, documents and restores GPO changes across every domain.
Categories
Headquarters
Not stated on its pagesWesterville, United States[1]
Founded
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Privately held[8]Privately held[4]
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
Acalvio offers deployment from Cloud, on-premises, or through managed service providers. Acalvio describes deception-powered preemptive defense for mission-critical government systems and for complex financial environments. Acalvio describes AI-powered deception for healthcare environments, across identity systems, clinical apps, and cloud workloads. The Acalvio Active Defense Platform covers IT, OT, and Cloud environments.Not written yet
Last verified
November 6, 2026September 27, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Acalvio and Cayosoft are both filed under Identity threat detection and response.
  • Both are privately held.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Acalvio's primary category is Deception technology; Cayosoft's is Directory backup and recovery.
  • Acalvio is also filed under Cloud detection and response and Threat intelligence. Cayosoft is also filed under Identity governance and administration.
  • Acalvio lists ShadowPlex Advanced Threat Defense, ShadowPlex Cloud Security and ShadowPlex Targeted Threat Intel. Cayosoft lists Cayosoft Guardian Audit & Restore, Guardian Protector, Cayosoft Management and Protection Suite and Cayosoft Group Policy Management.
  • Cayosoft is headquartered in Westerville, United States.

What it sells: Acalvio

What ShadowPlex Advanced Threat Defense does[5]
ShadowPlex Advanced Threat Defense uses AI-powered deception to surface stealthy attacker behavior during reconnaissance, lateral movement, and privilege escalation. Advanced Threat Defense correlates detected behaviors to MITRE ATT&CK TTPs for rapid investigation. ShadowPlex operates agentlessly across IT, cloud, and OT environments, deploying deception assets without interfering with production traffic or operations.
What ShadowPlex Cloud Security does[1][8]
ShadowPlex Cloud Security is deployed via native cloud APIs and protects cloud-native workloads and IAM infrastructure. ShadowPlex Cloud Security unifies threat detection across AWS, Azure, and GCP with no agents. ShadowPlex Cloud Security places deception in identity repositories like Instance Metadata and Secrets Store.
What ShadowPlex Targeted Threat Intel does[1][10]
ShadowPlex Targeted Threat Intel delivers threat intelligence with IPs, credentials, and attack patterns. ShadowPlex Targeted Threat Intel uses decoys for web apps, APIs, and IPv6 IIoT services to detect reconnaissance and credential attacks. ShadowPlex Targeted Threat Intel shares indicators in real time in STIX and other standard formats. ShadowPlex Targeted Threat Intel is delivered as a managed cloud service or as an on-premises/cloud appliance.

What it sells: Cayosoft

What Cayosoft Guardian Audit & Restore does[5]
Cayosoft Guardian Audit & Restore monitors all directory changes and lets administrators roll back those changes. Cayosoft Guardian Audit & Restore is for recovering and protecting Active Directory and hybrid AD data.
What Cayosoft Management and Protection Suite does[6]
The Cayosoft Management and Protection Suite includes Cayosoft Administrator and Cayosoft Guardian standard, to manage, monitor and recover hybrid Microsoft directories, users, groups and other critical objects and settings. The suite can be expanded by adding Cayosoft Guardian Forest Recovery, which protects Active Directory from ransomware and other full forest directory outages.
What Cayosoft Group Policy Management does[12]
Cayosoft Group Policy Management governs, documents and restores GPO changes across every domain. Each GPO moves through edit, check-in, submit, approve and deploy steps so that only approved policy reaches Active Directory. Each checked-in version is archived rather than overwritten, supporting comparison, documentation, rollback to a known-good state and audit review.

Questions about Acalvio and Cayosoft

What do Acalvio and Cayosoft sell?
Acalvio sells ShadowPlex Advanced Threat Defense, ShadowPlex Cloud Security and ShadowPlex Targeted Threat Intel. Cayosoft sells Cayosoft Guardian Audit & Restore, Guardian Protector, Cayosoft Management and Protection Suite and Cayosoft Group Policy Management.
Are Acalvio and Cayosoft in the same category?
They share Identity threat detection and response. Acalvio's primary category is Deception technology and Cayosoft's is Directory backup and recovery.
Where are Acalvio and Cayosoft headquartered?
Cayosoft is headquartered in Westerville, United States.
Who owns Acalvio and Cayosoft?
Acalvio is privately held. Cayosoft is privately held.
Who are Acalvio and Cayosoft sold to?
Acalvio offers deployment from Cloud, on-premises, or through managed service providers.

About Acalvio

Acalvio sells ShadowPlex, a deception platform built to operationalize 360 Deception at enterprise scale. ShadowPlex deployment is agentless across identity, cloud, network, endpoints, and OT/ICS. Acalvio extends preemptive defense across identity, cloud, OT, advanced threats, agentic AI, and targeted threat intelligence. Acalvio has four ShadowPlex offerings powered by 360 Deception, its approach to preemptive cybersecurity and disruption of AI-driven attacks. Built on 360 Deception, the Acalvio platform unifies preemptive threat detection across identity, cloud, and modern environments. The Acalvio platform uses dynamic deception, honeytokens, deceptive credentials, and evolving attack paths to expose malicious activity before attackers can escalate access or gain control.[1][3][4][6][9]

360 Deception goes beyond decoys to manipulate the signals attackers and autonomous systems rely on to validate targets, credentials, and movement paths. Preemptive cyber deception works to deny, deceive, and disrupt before the attacker reaches impact.[3]

ShadowPlex Advanced Threat Defense uses AI-powered deception to surface stealthy attacker behavior during reconnaissance, lateral movement, and privilege escalation. Advanced Threat Defense correlates detected behaviors to MITRE ATT&CK TTPs for rapid investigation. ShadowPlex integrates AI into every phase of deception, from network discovery to adversary analysis. ShadowPlex operates agentlessly across IT, cloud, and OT environments, deploying deception assets without interfering with production traffic or operations.[5]

ShadowPlex uses deception to protect credentials at rest and in use, exposing misuse, lateral movement, and privilege escalation. ShadowPlex automatically recommends token types, volume, and placement based on Active Directory structure and endpoint characteristics.[6][7]

ShadowPlex Cloud Security delivers AI-powered deception and honeytokens to IAM and cloud-native services across public clouds. ShadowPlex Cloud Security is deployed via native cloud APIs and protects cloud-native workloads and IAM infrastructure. ShadowPlex Cloud Security unifies threat detection across AWS, Azure, and GCP with no agents. ShadowPlex Cloud Security places deception in identity repositories like Instance Metadata and Secrets Store. Acalvio CDR is agentless and API-driven, and integrates directly with cloud control planes and infrastructure services. Acalvio CDR delivers detections enriched with adversary behavior context to a SIEM, SOAR, or XDR platform.[9]

ShadowPlex Targeted Threat Intel provides threat intelligence from external-facing decoys, including APIs and IPv6 IIoT devices, to detect reconnaissance and credential attacks early. ShadowPlex Targeted Threat Intel delivers threat intelligence with IPs, credentials, and attack patterns. ShadowPlex Targeted Threat Intel uses decoys for web apps, APIs, and IPv6 IIoT services to detect reconnaissance and credential attacks. ShadowPlex Targeted Threat Intel shares indicators in real time in STIX and other standard formats. ShadowPlex Targeted Threat Intel is delivered as a managed cloud service or as an on-premises/cloud appliance. When delivered as a service, Acalvio hosts and manages the decoys, isolating attacker traffic from the production network. Acalvio integrates with CrowdStrike Falcon® Identity Protection, Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, and other SIEM/SOAR solutions. Acalvio integrates with EDR/XDR platforms including CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender, Palo Alto Cortex XDR, and VMware Carbon Black, and with SIEM/SOAR solutions.[1][6][10]

Acalvio plants honeypots and honeytokens across sensitive systems, without disrupting operations. Acalvio baits insiders with decoy assets such as files, credentials, or systems to trigger early warning before critical assets are touched. Acalvio engages ransomware early with deceptive assets that expose encryption behaviors. Acalvio uses deception as an enforcement layer to expose policy violations and unauthorized access. In healthcare, Acalvio uses AI-powered deception to detect adversary behavior early across identity systems, clinical apps, and cloud workloads, without adding risk to care delivery.[11][13]

Based in Silicon Valley, Acalvio serves midsize to Fortune 500 companies and government agencies. Acalvio offers deployment from Cloud, on-premises, or through managed service providers. The Acalvio Active Defense Platform is backed by 25 patents and enables advanced threat defense across IT, OT, and Cloud environments. The Acalvio Active Defense Platform provides Identity Protection, Advanced Threat Defense, and Threat Hunting products. The Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) solutions from Acalvio with Honeytokens enable Zero Trust security models. Acalvio offers deception-powered, preemptive cybersecurity for complex financial environments.[1][2][3][4][6][9]

Acalvio on the record

Sources

Acalvio full record

  1. [1]acalvio.comAcalvio · acalvio.com · undated page, accessed November 6, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Acalvio technologies secures investment from gv formerly google venturesAcalvio · acalvio.com · published November 3, 2016 · Tier A
  3. [3]Acalvio | Cyber Deception Technology for Preemptive CybersecurityAcalvio · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Deception Technology Platform & Products | AcalvioAcalvio · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Advanced Threat Defense with Deception | AcalvioAcalvio · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) | AcalvioAcalvio · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Honeytoken Protection for CrowdStrike Falcon | AcalvioAcalvio · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Cloud Security with Agentless Deception | AcalvioAcalvio · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) | AcalvioAcalvio · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]ShadowPlex Threat Intel | AcalvioAcalvio · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Insider Threat Detection | AcalvioAcalvio · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Cyber Deception Solutions for Enterprise Security | AcalvioAcalvio · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Healthcare Cybersecurity Solutions & Services | AcalvioAcalvio · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

Cayosoft full record

  1. [1]AboutCayosoft · cayosoft.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]cayosoft.comCayosoft · cayosoft.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Cayosoft achieves record sales company growthCayosoft · cayosoft.com · published April 17, 2024 · Tier A
  4. [4]Cayosoft – Hybrid Active Directory Management & Recovery PlatformCayosoft · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Products - CayosoftCayosoft · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Manage and Protect Microsoft AD and O365 for EnterprisesCayosoft · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Hybrid Active Directory and Office 365 AdministrationCayosoft · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Active Directory Reporting - Unified AD ReportingCayosoft · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Hybrid Microsoft AD Self-Service and Help DeskCayosoft · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Dynamic Groups - CayosoftCayosoft · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Microsoft Teams ManagementCayosoft · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Group Policy Management That Controls Every Change | Cayosoft Group Policy ManagementCayosoft · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Manage and Protect Microsoft AD and O365 for K-12 school districts and higher educationCayosoft · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Manage and Protect Microsoft AD and O365 for state, local and federal governmentCayosoft · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

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