CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Aqua Security vs RAD Security

Aqua Security sells a cloud native application protection platform that secures applications from development through production, along with a Secure AI product for AI applications. RAD Security sells AI Workers that investigate, triage, and act on threats across a customer's entire stack. CISO Tribune files both under Cloud-native application protection (CNAPP) and Cloud workload protection. 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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  • Aqua Security
  • RAD Security
Aqua Security vs RAD Security: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
Aqua SecurityAqua Security sells a cloud native application protection platform that secures applications from development through production, along with a Secure AI product for AI applications.aquasec.comRAD SecurityRAD Security sells AI Workers that investigate, triage, and act on threats across a customer's entire stack.radsecurity.ai
What it sells
  • Aqua Security PlatformCloud native application protection platform for development through production.
  • RAD Bot[6][7][8][9]An AI agent with direct access to a customer's live environment data.
  • RADQL[9][10][11]A SQL-like query language built for security data.
  • AgentKeeper[2][14]An open-source tool that maps a cloud identity attack surface.
  • Evidence Room[12]Aggregates vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, runtime threats, and attack paths into one prioritized view.
  • AI Insights[13]Continuously analyzes a cloud-native environment and surfaces what matters most.
  • Explore[6][10]Asset discovery and investigation across a Kubernetes environment, powered by RAD Bot.
  • Dashboards[11]Pre-built and customizable dashboards powered by RADQL.
Categories
Headquarters
Boston, United States[1]Not stated on its pages
Founded
2015[1][5]Not stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Privately held[4][5][6]Not stated on its pages
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
  • February 12, 2026Aqua Security announced the next phase of its company transformation, centered on helping enterprises reduce cloud risk faster.[8]
Not 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
From its own pages, Aqua Security sells mainly to organizations running cloud native applications and workloads in containers, Kubernetes, serverless functions and VMs. Aqua Security says its platform covers public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud and on-premises environments, including air gapped settings. Secure AI is aimed at teams running AI applications on Kubernetes and IBM Z mainframes.RAD Security says RADQL lets security teams explore, analyze, and visualize cloud security data. The Evidence Room is described for people who are triaging alerts, remediating issues, or preparing for an audit. RAD Security provides audit-ready compliance documentation for CIS, HIPAA, and NSA Hardening frameworks, among others, and a weekly summary for leadership.
Last verified
September 27, 2026October 21, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Cloud-native application protection (CNAPP) is the primary category of both Aqua Security and RAD Security; both are also filed under Cloud workload protection.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Aqua Security is also filed under Software supply chain security. RAD Security is also filed under Cloud security posture management and Vulnerability management.
  • Aqua Security lists Aqua Security Platform. RAD Security lists RAD Bot, RADQL, AgentKeeper, Evidence Room, AI Insights and 2 more.
  • Aqua Security is headquartered in Boston, United States.
  • Aqua Security was founded in 2015.
  • Aqua Security is privately held.

How they differ

CISO Tribune files both Aqua Security and RAD Security under Cloud-native application protection (CNAPP) as the primary category, and both also appear under Cloud workload protection. Aqua Security sells the Aqua Security Platform, a cloud native application protection platform that covers applications from development through production, plus a Secure AI product for AI applications.

On the Aqua Security side, the platform connects risk in code and images with live workload behavior, and Aqua Security says it turns runtime insight into inline enforcement at the point of execution. Aqua Security says its agent-based architecture enforces protection locally, even in air gapped environments. RAD Security deploys lightweight eBPF-based agents that collect runtime signals, and it lists an admission controller that catches policy violations before they reach clusters. RAD Security also lists cloud posture coverage for AWS, GCP, Azure, and Linode, and 50+ integrations. Aqua Security's Secure AI finds AI models running in applications and blocks prompt injection and jailbreaks.

Aqua Security is headquartered in Boston, United States, was founded in 2015, and is privately held. On February 12, 2026, Aqua Security announced the next phase of its company transformation, centered on helping enterprises reduce cloud risk faster. Aqua Security says it protects workloads across public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, and on-premises environments. RAD Security provides audit-ready compliance documentation for CIS, PCI-DSS, SOC2, HIPAA, and NSA Hardening frameworks.

What it sells: Aqua Security

What Aqua Security Platform does
The Aqua Security Platform connects risk in code and images with live workload behavior. Aqua Security says it brings together application risk, runtime visibility, threat detection, prevention and response.

What it sells: RAD Security

What RAD Bot does[6][7][8][9]
RAD Bot queries a customer's live environment, correlates the results, and delivers findings with full source attribution. RAD Bot connects to Jira, Slack, ServiceNow, and email so users can escalate, assign, and remediate without leaving the conversation. RAD Bot workflows run multi-step investigations automatically and deliver results to an inbox, Slack, email, or ticketing system.
What RADQL does[9][10][11]
RADQL is a SQL-like query language built for security data. RADQL searches containers, correlates vulnerabilities, analyzes runtime behavior, and investigates incidents. RAD Bot can generate RADQL queries from natural language descriptions. RADQL results can be exported to CSV or JSON.
What AgentKeeper does[2][14]
AgentKeeper is RAD Security's open-source tool that maps a cloud identity attack surface. AgentKeeper visualizes IAM permissions, detects over-privileged roles, and uncovers hidden access paths.
What Evidence Room does[12]
The Evidence Room aggregates vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, runtime threats, and attack paths into a single prioritized view. Findings in the Evidence Room are automatically mapped to compliance frameworks such as CIS, SOC 2, PCI-DSS, and NIST. Findings flow into existing tools so that users can create tickets, alert teams, and export to a SIEM.
What AI Insights does[13]
AI Insights continuously analyzes a cloud-native environment and surfaces what matters most. Every insight is categorized so that issues route to the right team with the right context. Rankings are based on exploitability, blast radius, business context, and attack path relevance.
What Explore does[6][10]
Explore is powered by RAD Bot and the same query engine behind every feature on the platform. RAD Security's sensors continuously discover and track every asset in a Kubernetes environment, including containers, images, workloads, network connections, and process executions.
What Dashboards does[11]
RAD Security dashboards visualize security posture, infrastructure, and compliance data with pre-built templates, flexible widgets, and real-time updates powered by RADQL. Dashboards pull from Kubernetes, cloud, runtime, and external integrations.

Questions about Aqua Security and RAD Security

What do Aqua Security and RAD Security sell?
Aqua Security sells Aqua Security Platform. RAD Security sells RAD Bot, RADQL, AgentKeeper, Evidence Room, AI Insights and 2 more.
Are Aqua Security and RAD Security in the same category?
Yes. Cloud-native application protection (CNAPP) is the primary category of both on CISO Tribune.
Where are Aqua Security and RAD Security headquartered?
Aqua Security is headquartered in Boston, United States.
When were Aqua Security and RAD Security founded?
Aqua Security was founded in 2015.
Who owns Aqua Security and RAD Security?
Aqua Security is privately held.
Who are Aqua Security and RAD Security sold to?
From its own pages, Aqua Security sells mainly to organizations running cloud native applications and workloads in containers, Kubernetes, serverless functions and VMs. RAD Security says RADQL lets security teams explore, analyze, and visualize cloud security data.
What have Aqua Security and RAD Security announced recently?
February 12, 2026: Aqua Security announced the next phase of its company transformation, centered on helping enterprises reduce cloud risk faster.

About Aqua Security

Aqua Security sells a cloud native application protection platform that secures applications from development through production, along with a Secure AI product for AI applications. Aqua Security says its platform brings together application risk, runtime visibility, threat detection, prevention and response.

Aqua Security describes the problem it addresses as follows: sensors collect and report back for a human to act on, and security teams are flooded with alerts they cannot prioritize because they lack production context. Aqua Security also says scanning only finds what is already known. Aqua Security says its platform turns runtime insight into inline enforcement, denying unauthorized actions at the point of execution.

The Aqua Security platform connects risk in code and images with live workload behavior. Aqua Security says it filters vulnerability risk based on what is actually executing in the workload, and that it applies compensating controls at runtime to stop exploitation without waiting for a patch. Aqua Security says its agent-based architecture enforces protection locally, even when environments are disconnected or air gapped.

Secure AI is the Aqua Security product for AI applications. Secure AI finds the AI models running in applications and protects them at two layers, blocking prompt injection and jailbreaks and denying supported actions such as credential theft or data exfiltration inside the workload. Secure AI also discovers AI models, providers, frameworks and versions in use across workloads, and lets security teams authorize specific AI services and models. Aqua Security says Secure AI scans repositories and CI/CD pipelines for undocumented AI use.

Secure AI is delivered without an application SDK or code rewrite. Runtime protection for the workload runs through the Aquasec Enforcer, the same component that protects containers and Kubernetes. Secure AI protects AI applications in containers and Kubernetes across public cloud, private cloud, hybrid and on premises environments, including containerized AI on IBM Z mainframes. Through a partnership with Akamai, Akamai Firewall for AI Applications adds prompt and output analysis at the edge.

Aqua Security says it protects cloud native applications and workloads across public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud and on-premises environments, across containers, Kubernetes and other cloud native workloads. Aqua Security describes its integrations as covering clouds, container and serverless platforms, CI/CD pipelines, registries, DevOps tools and orchestrators, through to Security, SIEM and Analytics.

Aqua Security describes itself as one of the most established Israeli cybersecurity companies.[2][3]

Aqua Security on the record

Sources

Aqua Security full record

  1. [1]60m additional fundingAqua Security · aquasec.com · published January 3, 2024 · Tier A
  2. [2]Aqua cloud native security platformAqua Security · aquasec.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]aquasec.comAqua Security · aquasec.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Aqua security hires datto veteran as cmo eyes potential ipoAqua Security · aquasec.com · published July 27, 2021 · Tier A
  5. [5]Aqua Cloud Native Security, Container & Serverless SecurityAqua Security · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Secure AI: AI Application Security | AquasecAqua Security · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Aqua Security Announces Leadership Transition as Company Enters Its Next Phase of GrowthAqua Security · published November 6, 2025 · Tier A
  8. [8]Aqua Security Doubles Down on Runtime to Deliver Measurable Cloud Risk ReductionAqua Security · published February 12, 2026 · Tier A

RAD Security full record

  1. [1]Female foundersRAD Security · radsecurity.ai · published April 29, 2024 · Tier A
  2. [2]radsecurity.aiRAD Security · radsecurity.ai · undated page, accessed October 21, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]PressRAD Security · radsecurity.ai · undated page, accessed October 21, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]AI-Native Cloud Security Platform | RAD Security | RAD SecurityRAD Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Stop Managing Alerts. Start Running Security. | RAD SecurityRAD Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Explore — Asset Discovery & Investigation | RAD SecurityRAD Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Ask RAD — AI Security Assistant | RAD SecurityRAD Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Knowledge Base — Searchable Security Knowledge | RAD SecurityRAD Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]RADQL — Security Query Language | RAD SecurityRAD Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]RADQL Engine — Advanced Security Analytics | RAD SecurityRAD Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Security Dashboards — Real-Time Visibility | RAD SecurityRAD Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Evidence Room — Unified Security Findings | RAD SecurityRAD Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]AI Insights — Prioritized Security Intelligence | RAD SecurityRAD Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Exports | RAD Security | RAD SecurityRAD Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

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