CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Corelight vs Network Critical

Corelight sells the Open NDR Platform, which transforms network data into evidence. Network Critical sells modular TAP and Packet Broker solutions for network visibility. CISO Tribune files both under Network visibility and traffic brokering. 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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  • Corelight
  • Network Critical
Corelight vs Network Critical: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
CorelightCorelight sells the Open NDR Platform, which transforms network data into evidence.corelight.comNetwork CriticalNetwork Critical sells modular TAP and Packet Broker solutions for network visibility.networkcritical.com
What it sells
  • Investigator[1][4][9][10][12][13][15][18]A SaaS-based NDR platform for investigations. It uses Agentic Triage playbooks to triage alerts.
  • Corelight Sensors[8][12][13]Sensors that capture a copy of traffic out-of-band and turn it into network evidence with Zeek.
  • Smart PCAP[1][4][12]Links Zeek logs, detections and extracted files to only the packets needed for investigations.
  • AI/ML detections[8]A subscription-based module of AI/ML detections that can be purchased with Corelight Sensors.
  • Threat Intelligence[4][8][13]A licensed feature for Corelight Sensors and Investigator.
  • Cloud Sensors[14]Corelight sensors for cloud networks, available for AWS, GCP and Azure.
  • Network TAPs[1][3]A network TAP creates an exact copy of all data flowing between two points in a network.
  • Packet Brokers[1][7][8][13]Network packet brokers process inputs from multiple sources and deliver the right traffic to the right tools.
  • Hybrid TAP and Packet Broker[8]A hybrid test access point and packet broker combines the functions of a TAP and a packet broker in one package.
  • Bypass TAPs[9][10]A bypass TAP monitors security devices and reroutes network traffic around failing tools.
  • INVIKTUS[1][11][12]INVIKTUS is a zero-trust security solution.
  • Ethernet TAPs[6]Ethernet TAPs capture network traffic without impacting performance.
  • Passive Fiber TAPs[5]Passive fiber TAPs provide always-on monitoring, including when the power is out.
Categories
Headquarters
San Francisco, United States[3]Not stated on its pages
Founded
2016Not stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
  • October 6, 2026Corelight announced the establishment of Corelight Canada, a standalone entity intended to work more closely with customers, partners and public sector organizations in Canada.[17]
  • July 27, 2026Corelight announced the appointment of Amanda Berger as its Chief Customer Officer.[5]
  • June 9, 2026Corelight announced that its Open NDR Platform, including Investigator and Hosted Fleet Manager, was listed on the FedRAMP Marketplace as FedRAMP In Process at the Class C (Moderate) level.[18]
  • June 9, 2026Corelight announced it has reached FedRAMP In Process status.[6]
Not stated on its pages
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: listed, seen November 5, 2026[7]
  • 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, Corelight sells mainly to SOC teams that want network evidence for detection, investigation and threat hunting. Corelight describes customers extending visibility across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Customer examples on its pages include a global beauty retailer protecting point-of-sale terminals and a major U.S mortgage lender with data centers and multi-cloud workloads in AWS and Azure.Network Critical provides bypass TAPs for data centres running inline IPS, firewalls and DDoS mitigation tools. Network Critical describes its data diodes as suitable for highly regulated sectors, such as military, ICS and SCADA infrastructure. Network Critical describes its environmentally protected OT devices as suited to manufacturing floors, utility substations and outdoor installations.
Last verified
September 27, 2026November 8, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Corelight and Network Critical are both filed under Network visibility and traffic brokering.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Corelight's primary category is Network detection and response; Network Critical's is Network visibility and traffic brokering.
  • Network Critical is also filed under OT and ICS security and DDoS protection.
  • Corelight lists Investigator, Corelight Sensors, Smart PCAP, AI/ML detections, Threat Intelligence and 1 more. Network Critical lists Network TAPs, Packet Brokers, Hybrid TAP and Packet Broker, Bypass TAPs, INVIKTUS and 2 more.
  • Corelight is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.
  • Corelight was founded in 2016.

What it sells: Corelight

What Investigator does[1][4][9][10][12][13][15][18]
Investigator is Corelight's SaaS-based NDR platform that streamlines complex investigations. Agentic Triage uses transparent, expert-written playbooks. SIEM Verdict Export sends triage verdicts, reasoning chains and evidence links into a SIEM.
What Corelight Sensors does[8][12][13]
The sensor captures a copy of all traffic out-of-band, then deduplicates and cleans the data. Powered by Zeek, it performs deep protocol parsing across 70+ data types. The evidence is routed to Investigator, a SIEM or a data lake.
What Smart PCAP does[1][4][12]
Corelight Smart PCAP links Zeek logs, detections and extracted files to only the packets needed for investigations. Corelight says it lets teams store packets longer and find them faster.
What AI/ML detections does[8]
AI/ML detection is a subscription-based module that can be purchased with Corelight Sensors. It can be deployed across air-gapped, hybrid, cloud or multicloud environments. Models are enabled, managed and tuned through Fleet Manager. Many detections run directly on-sensor with no cloud dependency.
What Threat Intelligence does[4][8][13]
Threat Intelligence is a licensed feature for Corelight Sensors and Investigator. It is supported on all sensor options. It is managed through Fleet Manager or the sensor's Threat Intelligence framework.
What Cloud Sensors does[14]
Corelight Cloud Sensors are available for AWS, GCP and Azure. Corelight supports AWS, Azure and GCP native packet mirroring, and third-party packet brokers.

What it sells: Network Critical

What Network TAPs does[1][3]
A network TAP creates an exact copy of all data flowing between two points in a network. TAPs are used to monitor network traffic for performance, security, or compliance.
What Packet Brokers does[1][7][8][13]
Network packet brokers process inputs from multiple sources and deliver the right traffic to the right tools. SmartNA-PortPlus is a packet broker that aggregates low-speed links onto fewer high-speed tools.
What Hybrid TAP and Packet Broker does[8]
A hybrid test access point and packet broker combines the functions of a TAP and a packet broker in one package. Hybrid TAP and packet brokers offer traffic aggregation, load balancing and port mapping. They use interchangeable, hot-swappable TAP modules, including fail-safe copper.
What Bypass TAPs does[9][10]
A bypass TAP monitors security devices and reroutes network traffic around failing tools. Bypass TAPs send small test signals, known as heartbeats, to security appliances. SmartNA-XL bypass TAPs detect when inline security tools fail and redirect traffic in real-time.
What INVIKTUS does[1][11][12]
INVIKTUS is a zero-trust security solution. INVIKTUS network security is built on the zero-trust framework and analyzes and validates traffic.
What Ethernet TAPs does[6]
Ethernet TAPs capture network traffic without impacting performance. Ethernet TAPs can be deployed as standalone TAPs or within SmartNA chassis for advanced traffic management.

Questions about Corelight and Network Critical

What do Corelight and Network Critical sell?
Corelight sells Investigator, Corelight Sensors, Smart PCAP, AI/ML detections, Threat Intelligence and 1 more. Network Critical sells Network TAPs, Packet Brokers, Hybrid TAP and Packet Broker, Bypass TAPs, INVIKTUS and 2 more.
Are Corelight and Network Critical in the same category?
They share Network visibility and traffic brokering. Corelight's primary category is Network detection and response and Network Critical's is Network visibility and traffic brokering.
Where are Corelight and Network Critical headquartered?
Corelight is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.
When were Corelight and Network Critical founded?
Corelight was founded in 2016.
Who are Corelight and Network Critical sold to?
From its own pages, Corelight sells mainly to SOC teams that want network evidence for detection, investigation and threat hunting. Network Critical provides bypass TAPs for data centres running inline IPS, firewalls and DDoS mitigation tools.
What have Corelight and Network Critical announced recently?
October 6, 2026: Corelight announced the establishment of Corelight Canada, a standalone entity intended to work more closely with customers, partners and public sector organizations in Canada.

About Corelight

Corelight sells the Open NDR Platform, which transforms network data into evidence. Corelight says that evidence powers AI-driven detection and expert-authored workflows.

Corelight sensors capture a copy of all traffic out-of-band. The sensor then deduplicates and cleans the data, discarding redundant multicast traffic. Powered by Zeek, the sensor performs deep protocol parsing across 70+ data types. The resulting evidence is routed to Corelight Investigator, a SIEM, or a data lake for long-term forensics.[9]

Investigator is Corelight's SaaS-based NDR platform. Corelight says it streamlines complex investigations by eliminating repetitive review steps and enables up to 10x faster triage. Agentic Triage uses transparent, expert-written playbooks to follow consistent triage logic for every investigation. SIEM Verdict Export sends every triage verdict, including the reasoning chain, evidence links and recommended next steps, directly into the customer's SIEM. Investigator also offers host isolation, IP blocking and identity actions through integrated EDR, firewall and identity provider workflows.[1][10]

Corelight fuses machine learning, behavioral analytics and curated signatures in its threat detection. AI/ML detection is a subscription-based module that can be purchased with Corelight Sensors, and AI/ML models are enabled, managed and tuned through Fleet Manager. Many of these detections run directly on-sensor, with no cloud dependency. Threat Intelligence is a licensed feature for Corelight Sensors and Investigator, and it is supported on all sensor options. Corelight Smart PCAP links Zeek logs, detections and extracted files to only the packets needed for investigations.[8][11][12][13]

For cloud environments, Corelight Cloud Sensors are available for AWS, GCP and Azure. Corelight supports AWS, Azure and GCP native packet mirroring, and third-party packet brokers. Performance and Asset Visibility is a Corelight Open NDR module that passively extracts asset classification and network performance telemetry from traffic the sensors are already collecting.[14][15]

Corelight also sells services. Corelight says it can provide a resident engineer to work alongside a customer's team, and services can be purchased standalone or bundled with the platform. Corelight describes integrations with Splunk Enterprise Security and Splunk SOAR, and with Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Sentinel and Microsoft Entra ID.[1][2][10][12][14][16]

Corelight on the record

Sources

Corelight full record

  1. [1]All productsCorelight · corelight.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]About corelightCorelight · corelight.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]H i g growth partners invests in corelights 75m series d financingH.I.G. Capital · hig.com · published September 3, 2021 · Tier C
  4. [4]Corelight | Evidence-Based NDR & Threat Hunting PlatformCorelight · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Corelight Welcomes Veteran Customer Advocate Amanda Berger as Chief Customer OfficerCorelight · published July 27, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Corelight Achieves FedRAMP In Process Certification, Advancing Network Detection and Response for Federal Government AgenciesCorelight · published June 9, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Corelight Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features - G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier C
  8. [8]AI/ML Detections: Transparent, Evidence-Based NDR | CorelightCorelight · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Network Visibility: Complete Visibility for Security Operations | CorelightCorelight · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Investigator: Agentic AI Triage for NDR | CorelightCorelight · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]AI-Powered Threat Detection Platform | CorelightCorelight · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Intrusion Detection System (IDS) Powered by Suricata | CorelightCorelight · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Cyber Threat Intelligence for Open NDR | CorelightCorelight · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Cloud Solutions | CorelightCorelight · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]Performance and Asset Visibility | CorelightCorelight · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]Professional & Consulting Services | CorelightCorelight · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  17. [17]Corelight establishes Corelight CanadaCorelight · published October 6, 2026 · Tier A
  18. [18]Corelight Achieves FedRAMP In Process Certification, Advancing Network Detection and Response for Federal Government AgenciesPR Newswire · published June 9, 2026 · Tier A

Network Critical full record

  1. [1]networkcritical.comNetwork Critical · networkcritical.com · undated page, accessed November 8, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Stars group case studyNetwork Critical · networkcritical.com · undated page, accessed November 8, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Aviation Case Study | Network CriticalNetwork Critical · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Network TAPs | Network CriticalNetwork Critical · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Passive Fiber TAPs | Network CriticalNetwork Critical · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Ethernet TAPs | Network CriticalNetwork Critical · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Network Visibility Solutions | Network CriticalNetwork Critical · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Hybrid TAP and Packet Broker | Network CriticalNetwork Critical · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Bypass TAPs for Inline Data Centre Security | Network CriticalNetwork Critical · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Network Bypass TAPs | Network CriticalNetwork Critical · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Healthcare Case Study | Network CriticalNetwork Critical · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]OT Network Monitoring Solutions | Network CriticalNetwork Critical · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Data Diodes | Network CriticalNetwork Critical · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

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