CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Critical Start vs Leonardo

Critical Start sells managed detection and response (MDR) that combines AI-powered triage with human-led investigation. Leonardo provides cyber security and digital resilience offerings including managed SOC services, incident response, threat intelligence, investigation support systems and secure analytics platforms for governments, critical infrastructure operators and enterprises. CISO Tribune files both under MDR and managed SOC. 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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  • Critical Start
  • Leonardo
Critical Start vs Leonardo: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
Critical StartCritical Start sells managed detection and response (MDR) that combines AI-powered triage with human-led investigation.criticalstart.comLeonardoLeonardo provides cyber security and digital resilience offerings including managed SOC services, incident response, threat intelligence, investigation support systems and secure analytics platforms for governments, critical infrastructure operators and enterprises.leonardo.com
What it sells
  • CORR Platform[4]The MDR platform that gives a security operations team visibility into every alert, investigation and response action.
  • Managed Detection and Response[3][10][11]MDR that combines AI-powered triage with human-led investigation.
  • Service Credits[7]A prepaid, flexible currency included in every managed service contract.
  • Vulnerability Management Services[3]Vulnerability management delivered under the same tier structure as MDR.
  • MobileSOC[12]A native iOS and Android application for real-time security operations management.
  • SOC Managed Services[2]A family of security operations center services that provide round-the-clock cyber security detection and monitoring for national and international customers.
  • Cyber professional services[2]Consulting services that help customers develop cyber strategy and governance programs.
  • Incident handling and response services[2]A team of consultants that responds to cyber attacks, supported by artificial intelligence technologies.
  • Threat Intelligence[2]Continuous monitoring and analysis of the open web and dark web to detect and predict cyber threats.
  • Investigation Support Systems[2]Proprietary platforms that support government and law enforcement agencies in investigation, intelligence and crime interdiction activities.
  • Secure Analytics[2]Analytics platforms that process large volumes of data, including from IoT infrastructures, to secure the delivery of critical services for industrial and government organizations.
Categories
Headquarters
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Founded
Not stated on its pagesNot 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
  • July 22, 2026Critical Start announced the appointment of Francine Geist as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.[9]
  • June 3, 2026Critical Start released SOC AI, a multi-agent framework that powers its AI-led managed detection and response service.[11]
  • June 2, 2026Critical Start released SOC AI, a multi-agent framework that powers its AI-led managed detection and response service.[10]
  • August 4, 2026Leonardo US Cyber & Security Solutions introduced SignalTrace as the new name for its electronic signature detection solution, previously called EOC Plus.[3]
  • March 12, 2026Leonardo presented to the financial community an update to its Industrial Plan to 2030, including medium-term targets.[5]
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: listed, seen November 10, 2026[4]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
From its own pages, Critical Start sells mainly to organizations that need accountability from a managed security provider, with contractual SLA commitments as the central offer. The company says it protects financial services firms, healthcare systems, manufacturers and utilities. For financial institutions, it describes ransomware, wire fraud and insider threats as the threats its MDR addresses. Its compliance reporting covers frameworks such as PCI DSS, HIPAA and NERC CIP, which points to regulated buyers. Critical Start MDR works with the customer's existing tools, so it suits teams that want to keep the security products they already run.Not written yet
Last verified
September 27, 2026October 12, 2026

Where they overlap

  • MDR and managed SOC is the primary category of both Critical Start and Leonardo.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Leonardo is also filed under Incident response and forensics, Threat intelligence and Security consulting and advisory.
  • Critical Start lists CORR Platform, Managed Detection and Response, Service Credits, Vulnerability Management Services and MobileSOC. Leonardo lists SOC Managed Services, Cyber professional services, Incident handling and response services, Threat Intelligence, Investigation Support Systems and 1 more.

How they differ

CISO Tribune files both Critical Start and Leonardo under MDR and managed SOC as their primary category, but the rest of what each sells diverges. Critical Start sells Managed Detection and Response that combines AI-powered triage with human-led investigation, along with the CORR Platform, MobileSOC and Vulnerability Management Services. Its MDR connects to a customer's security stack through native APIs, and every managed service contract includes service credits. CISO Tribune also files Leonardo under incident response and forensics, threat intelligence, and security consulting and advisory. Leonardo sells SOC Managed Services, Cyber professional services, Incident handling and response services, Threat Intelligence, Investigation Support Systems and Secure Analytics.

Leonardo's registered head office is in Rome, Italy. It provides its offerings to governments, critical infrastructure operators and enterprises, and its Investigation Support Systems are built for government and law enforcement agencies. Critical Start says it protects financial services firms, healthcare systems, manufacturers and utilities, and its compliance reporting covers frameworks such as PCI DSS, HIPAA and NERC CIP.

On recent activity, Critical Start announced a new Chief Executive Officer on July 22, 2026. It released SOC AI, a multi-agent framework behind its AI-led managed detection and response service, with dated entries of June 2, 2026 and June 3, 2026. On August 4, 2026, Leonardo US Cyber & Security Solutions introduced SignalTrace as the new name for its electronic signature detection solution, previously called EOC Plus.

What it sells: Critical Start

What CORR Platform does[4]
CORR connects to a security stack through native APIs, with no proprietary agents and no forced replacements. It works through API-based integrations, with no agents to deploy and no additional infrastructure to manage.
What Managed Detection and Response does[3][10][11]
Critical Start MDR combines AI-powered triage with human-led investigation and backs every response time with a contractual SLA. Analysts contain threats directly in the customer's tools through 30+ advanced integrations.
What Service Credits does[7]
Every managed service contract includes service credits that can be spent across 30+ services. MDR for Endpoint, MDR for SIEM and VMS each include credits. Credits stack into a single bank when a customer has more than one.

Questions about Critical Start and Leonardo

What do Critical Start and Leonardo sell?
Critical Start sells CORR Platform, Managed Detection and Response, Service Credits, Vulnerability Management Services and MobileSOC. Leonardo sells SOC Managed Services, Cyber professional services, Incident handling and response services, Threat Intelligence, Investigation Support Systems and 1 more.
Are Critical Start and Leonardo in the same category?
Yes. MDR and managed SOC is the primary category of both on CISO Tribune.
Who are Critical Start and Leonardo sold to?
From its own pages, Critical Start sells mainly to organizations that need accountability from a managed security provider, with contractual SLA commitments as the central offer.
What have Critical Start and Leonardo announced recently?
July 22, 2026: Critical Start announced the appointment of Francine Geist as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. August 4, 2026: Leonardo US Cyber & Security Solutions introduced SignalTrace as the new name for its electronic signature detection solution, previously called EOC Plus.

About Critical Start

Critical Start sells managed detection and response (MDR) that combines AI-powered triage with human-led investigation. The company says tools produce thousands of alerts every day, and that Critical Start MDR works to resolve every one and backs every response time with a contractual SLA.[2][6]

CORR is the MDR platform that Critical Start uses to give a security operations team visibility into every alert, every investigation and every response action. CORR connects to a security stack through native APIs, with no proprietary agents and no forced replacements. Critical Start says CORR connects to an existing stack through API-based integrations, with no agents to deploy, no network architecture changes and no additional infrastructure to manage.[1][4][5]

More than 30 of these are advanced integrations where Critical Start analysts contain threats directly in the customer's tools. Inside the platform, AI agents analyze enriched case data, including URL analysis, suggested verdicts and investigation summaries. A certified SOC analyst validates every finding, with two-person verification on critical alerts. The Trusted Behavior Registry uses deterministic behavioral validation to auto-resolve 99.83% of known-good behaviors before a human analyst sees them.[5]

Critical Start also offers MobileSOC, a native iOS and Android application for real-time security operations management. CORR supports compliance reporting for SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA, GLBA, CMMC and NERC CIP.

Every managed service follows an Essentials, Enterprise and Signature packaging model. That tier structure applies across MDR for Endpoint, MDR for SIEM and Vulnerability Management Services (VMS).

Every Critical Start managed service contract includes service credits, a prepaid, flexible currency that can be spent across 30+ services. Essentials includes 5 credits, Enterprise includes 10 credits and Signature includes 20 credits per subscription. MDR for Endpoint, MDR for SIEM and VMS each include credits, and credits stack into a single bank when a customer holds more than one.[7]

Critical Start says that in 2012 three security experts who had led incident response and threat hunting at Fortune 500 companies recognized a gap in the market. The company says it protects financial services firms, healthcare systems, manufacturers and utilities across 7 continents. For financial institutions, Critical Start delivers MDR with contractual SLAs and audit-grade investigation documentation.[4][5][6][8]

Critical Start on the record

Sources

Critical Start full record

  1. [1]PlatformCritical Start · criticalstart.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Critical Start | Managed Detection and Response (MDR)Critical Start · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Managed Security Services | Critical StartCritical Start · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Security Integrations | Critical StartCritical Start · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Security Solutions by Environment | Critical StartCritical Start · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]About Critical Start | Cybersecurity CompanyCritical Start · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Service Credits: Flexible Security Currency | Critical StartCritical Start · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]MDR for Finance: PCI, SOX, SOC 2 | Critical StartCritical Start · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Critical Start Appoints Francine Geist as Chief Executive OfficerCritical Start · published July 22, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Critical Start Delivers SOC AI: A Production-Proven Agentic Architecture Built for Auditable, Human-Validated MDRBusiness Wire · published June 2, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Critical Start expands MDR capabilities with multi-agent AI systemHelp Net Security · published June 3, 2026 · Tier B
  12. [12]CORR Platform: See Everything. Question Nothing. | Critical StartCritical Start · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A

Leonardo full record

  1. [1]cybersecurity.leonardo.comLeonardo · cybersecurity.leonardo.com · undated page, accessed October 12, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Cyber digital solutionsLeonardo · cybersecurity.leonardo.com · undated page, accessed October 12, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Leonardo US Cyber & Security Solutions, Inc. Introduces SignalTrace™, the Next Evolution in Electronic Signature Detection TechnologyBusiness Wire · published August 4, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Leonardo.Ai Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2G2 · undated page, accessed November 1, 2026 · Tier C
  5. [5]Update to the business plan, including objectives and prioritiesLeonardo · published March 12, 2026 · Tier A

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