CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Cequence Security vs StackHawk

Cequence Security sells a single platform that combines agentic AI governance, API security, bot defense and web app protection. StackHawk sells two plans, Wingman and StackHawk Scale, that run on HawkScan, a runtime testing engine for running applications. CISO Tribune files both under API security. 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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Up to four companies side by side.

  • Cequence Security
  • StackHawk
Cequence Security vs StackHawk: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
Cequence SecurityCequence Security sells a single platform that combines agentic AI governance, API security, bot defense and web app protection.cequence.aiStackHawkStackHawk sells two plans, Wingman and StackHawk Scale, that run on HawkScan, a runtime testing engine for running applications.stackhawk.com
What it sells
  • Cequence API Security[7][12]Discovers, monitors and tests APIs.
  • Cequence AI Gateway[8]Contains agents and governs their actions in real time.
  • Wingman[15][16]Runs inside a coding agent and tests the running app.
  • StackHawk Scale[15][16]The plan for security teams covering every app in the organization.
  • HawkScan[3][15]The runtime testing engine that tests the running application with real requests.
Categories
Headquarters
Sunnyvale, United StatesNot stated on its pages
Founded
2015[2]Not stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Privately held[4]Not stated on its pages
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
  • October 7, 2026Cequence Security launched Agent Trust, a capability in its Application and API Protection that verifies AI agents presenting an identity and detects those that do not.[18]
  • August 6, 2026Cequence Security announced that NTT DOCOMO has deployed its application and API protection platform.[16]
  • June 23, 2026Cequence Security launched two new capabilities, Intent Graph and Biometric Check, for bot defense across web, mobile, API and agentic AI traffic.[17]
  • April 28, 2026Cequence Security announced general availability of Agent Personas in its AI Gateway, giving enterprises control over what AI agents are permitted to do.[15]
  • April 30, 2026StackHawk connected its scan findings to Wiz, where they are synced automatically and shown as enrichment data on the Attack Surface Findings page.[12]
  • December 16, 2025StackHawk launched Business Logic Testing, automated multi-user authorization testing aimed at BOLA, BFLA and privilege escalation vulnerabilities.[14]
  • November 20, 2025StackHawk announced an integration that correlates findings from Endor Labs' SAST with StackHawk DAST findings.[13]
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: listed, seen November 3, 2026[4]
  • 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, Cequence sells mainly to organizations that run applications and APIs and need to protect them against attacks, business logic abuse and fraud. Financial services organizations are a named audience, including those with digital banking, payment systems and open banking initiatives. Organizations that store, process or transmit credit card information are addressed through its PCI DSS content. Modern retailers with AI-powered shopping experiences and agentic checkout flows are another described audience. Enterprises whose teams delegate work to AI agents with access to internal apps, data and systems are a further stated audience.Application security and product security teams that need coverage across every app and API are named as buyers, and the Scale plan is for security teams covering every app in the organization. The industries named are financial services, health tech, insurance, media, transportation, education technology, and cloud analytics. Scans are described as fitting into any pipeline and any environment, with no vendor cloud.
Last verified
November 2, 2026November 2, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Cequence Security and StackHawk are both filed under API security.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Cequence Security's primary category is API security; StackHawk's is Dynamic application security testing.
  • Cequence Security is also filed under Bot and abuse management and WAF and WAAP.
  • Cequence Security lists Cequence API Security and Cequence AI Gateway. StackHawk lists Wingman, StackHawk Scale and HawkScan.
  • Cequence Security is headquartered in Sunnyvale, United States.
  • Cequence Security was founded in 2015.
  • Cequence Security is privately held.

What it sells: Cequence Security

What Cequence API Security does[7][12]
Cequence API Security is an AI-first solution that discovers, monitors and tests APIs. Cequence API Security assesses risks that can lead to compliance or governance issues, data loss and business disruption. Cequence API Security discovers internal, external and third-party APIs. Cequence API Security ships more than 200 pre-built risk rules mapped to 25 global frameworks.
What Cequence AI Gateway does[8]
Cequence AI Gateway contains every agent wherever it runs and governs its actions in real time, across any model, MCP server, API or application, at enterprise scale. Agent Personas scope every agent to the tools, APIs, skills and LLMs its job requires. Prompt Guard detects prompt injection, override instructions and safety filter bypass attempts before they reach a model or tool.

What it sells: StackHawk

What Wingman does[15][16]
Wingman runs inside the coding agent that engineers already use. When the agent finishes a feature, Wingman tests the running app with HawkScan, hands the findings to the same agent, and rescans after the fix.
What StackHawk Scale does[15][16]
StackHawk Scale adds attack surface discovery and program reporting for security teams. StackHawk Scale is priced by team, not by usage.
What HawkScan does[3][15]
HawkScan tests the running application with real requests. StackHawk scans run as a CLI or Docker container that spins up and shuts down per scan. StackHawk scan configuration is YAML config-as-code, versioned alongside the app.

Questions about Cequence Security and StackHawk

What do Cequence Security and StackHawk sell?
Cequence Security sells Cequence API Security and Cequence AI Gateway. StackHawk sells Wingman, StackHawk Scale and HawkScan.
Are Cequence Security and StackHawk in the same category?
They share API security. Cequence Security's primary category is API security and StackHawk's is Dynamic application security testing.
Where are Cequence Security and StackHawk headquartered?
Cequence Security is headquartered in Sunnyvale, United States.
When were Cequence Security and StackHawk founded?
Cequence Security was founded in 2015.
Who owns Cequence Security and StackHawk?
Cequence Security is privately held.
Who are Cequence Security and StackHawk sold to?
From its own pages, Cequence sells mainly to organizations that run applications and APIs and need to protect them against attacks, business logic abuse and fraud. Application security and product security teams that need coverage across every app and API are named as buyers, and the Scale plan is for security teams covering every app in the organization.
What have Cequence Security and StackHawk announced recently?
October 7, 2026: Cequence Security launched Agent Trust, a capability in its Application and API Protection that verifies AI agents presenting an identity and detects those that do not. April 30, 2026: StackHawk connected its scan findings to Wiz, where they are synced automatically and shown as enrichment data on the Attack Surface Findings page.

About Cequence Security

Cequence Security sells a single platform that combines agentic AI governance, API security, bot defense and web app protection. Cequence says the platform welcomes legitimate traffic and shuts out abuse.[5]

Cequence says its platform gives organizations the security, governance and control they need to protect their applications and data against attacks, business logic abuse and fraud. Cequence says that core technology now extends to securing the AI agents and workflows modern enterprises depend on.[6]

Cequence analyzes behavioral intent so good agents transact smoothly while fraud, abuse and account takeover are kept at bay. Cequence says the platform distinguishes humans and bots, and legitimate automation from threats. Cequence says the platform continuously evaluates live traffic to identify threats in real time and trigger countermeasures. Cequence says its detection runs independent of the client. Cequence also says customers do not need to replace their CDN, because Cequence is separate from the delivery network.[5][6]

Cequence API Security is an AI-first solution that discovers, monitors and tests APIs. Cequence API Security assesses a broad range of risks that can lead to compliance or governance issues, data loss and business disruption. Cequence API Security discovers internal, external and third-party APIs. Cequence integrates with existing infrastructure such as API gateways, or can be deployed inline. Cequence identifies and masks sensitive data using ML-based rules with predefined and customizable data patterns. Cequence API Security test plans can be generated automatically from Postman collections or API specifications. Cequence API Security exposes every capability as MCP tools.[7]

Cequence AI Gateway contains every agent wherever it runs and governs its actions in real time, across any model, MCP server, API or application, at enterprise scale. Cequence says its Agent Personas scope every agent to the tools, APIs, skills and LLMs its job requires. Agent Behavior Protection evaluates each tool call in the context of the full session. Agents authenticate with Agent Access Keys while the gateway brokers backend tokens, so agents never have direct access to backend credentials. Prompt Guard detects prompt injection, override instructions and safety filter bypass attempts before they reach a model or tool. Cequence AI Gateway can monitor, redact and block sensitive data across more than 100 out-of-the-box detection types. Budgets in Cequence AI Gateway cap spend per employee, team and agent persona, by day or by month. Trusted registries of MCP servers, APIs, LLMs and skills define exactly what agents can connect to.[8]

Cequence takes a network-based approach that monitors all API transactions to protect against AI bot attacks, IP scraping and sensitive data exposure. Cequence says its approach requires no application modification. Cequence discovery identifies and inventories all APIs in use, whether they are internal, external or third-party. Cequence actively monitors API transactions, including GenAI and agentic AI APIs, for inappropriate sensitive data flows. Cequence describes business logic abuse as targeting the intended functionality of applications and APIs rather than exploiting traditional technical vulnerabilities. Cequence says it protected multiple major telecommunications companies from a series of six high-profile BOLA API attacks.[9][10][11]

Cequence describes use cases that include stopping credential stuffing and brute force attacks before attackers seize legitimate user accounts. Cequence describes use cases that include neutralizing scalper bots that buy out high-demand inventory before real customers can. Cequence describes use cases that include blocking bots that enumerate account numbers and drain gift card and rewards balances. Cequence describes use cases that include identifying and redacting PII, credentials and regulated data moving through API traffic in real time. Cequence says PCI DSS v4.0.1 includes provisions that require capabilities found in Cequence API Security and Bot Management, including API discovery and sensitive data identification and masking. Cequence describes digital banking platforms, mobile apps, payment systems, trading portals, partner integrations and open banking initiatives as relying on interconnected APIs to move money and data in real time.[1][3][5][6][7][12][13][14]

Cequence Security on the record

Sources

Cequence Security full record

  1. [1]cequence.aiCequence Security · cequence.ai · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Cequence security opens emea headquarters and names key execs to accelerate protection of hyper connected enterprises across emeaCequence Security · cequence.ai · published December 23, 2024 · Tier A
  3. [3]PlatformCequence Security · cequence.ai · published July 22, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Cequence Security Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features - G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier C
  5. [5]Application & API SecurityCequence Security · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]The Cequence Platform – Securing Applications, APIs, and AICequence Security · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]API Security Tool | Posture Management, Compliance & TestingCequence Security · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]AI Gateway: The missing agentic AI security and governance layerCequence Security · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]AI Security Tool for Generative and Agentic AI | Cequence SecurityCequence Security · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Business Logic Vulnerabilities | Prevent Logic Abuse | CequenceCequence Security · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]BOLA Vulnerability Protection & Attack Prevention | CequenceCequence Security · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]PCI DSS 4.0 Compliance | Cequence SecurityCequence Security · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]API Security & Fraud Prevention for Financial Services | Cequence AICequence Security · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Agentic AI GovernanceCequence Security · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]Cequence Launches AI Gateway With Secure Agent PersonasCequence Security · published April 28, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]Cequence Security Deployment Expands to NTT DOCOMOCequence Security · published August 6, 2026 · Tier A
  17. [17]Cequence Launches Intent Graph for AI Agent SecurityCequence Security · published June 23, 2026 · Tier A
  18. [18]Meta's Muse Reached More Than Half of Customers Cequence Studied in Two Weeks Without Identifying Itself as an AI AgentGlobeNewswire · published October 7, 2026 · Tier A

StackHawk full record

  1. [1]stackhawk.comStackHawk · stackhawk.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Stackhawk launches sensitive data identification to help security teams protect high risk apis 302476776StackHawk via PR Newswire · prnewswire.com · published June 12, 2025 · Tier A
  3. [3]AI Coding Agent Security Platform | StackHawk, Inc.StackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]AI Coding Agent Security for Modern Security Teams | StackHawk, Inc.StackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]API Security Testing Trusted by HealthTechStackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]API Security that keeps pace with FinTech InnovationStackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Getting Started | Delivering Secure Applications, SimplifiedStackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]OWASP Top 10 Solution Page with StackHawk InsightsStackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]StackHawk: Your AppSec Intelligence PlatformStackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Secure Vibe Coding with StackHawkStackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Runtime Application Business Logic Testing for API-Driven AppsStackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]StackHawk and Wiz: One Risk Picture Across the Application and Cloud LayerStackHawk · published April 30, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]StackHawk + Endor Labs: Correlating and Prioritizing SAST and DAST FindingsStackHawk · published November 20, 2025 · Tier A
  14. [14]Introducing Intelligent Business Logic Testing: Find Authorization Flaws Pre-ProductionStackHawk · published December 16, 2025 · Tier A
  15. [15]About StackHawk | Security Feedback for Coding AgentsStackHawk · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]Pricing for StackHawk's AI Coding Agent Security PlatformStackHawk · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  17. [17]Modern DAST | StackHawk Dynamic Application Security TestingStackHawk · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  18. [18]The Developer-First Alternative to Bright SecurityStackHawk · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

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