CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

CyCognito vs NetSPI

CyCognito sells a platform for external attack surface management that identifies and validates exposures across an organization's internet-facing assets. NetSPI sells pentesting as a service (PTaaS), attack surface management (ASM), and breach and attack simulation (BAS) as a service. CISO Tribune files both under External attack surface management. 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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  • CyCognito
  • NetSPI
CyCognito vs NetSPI: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
CyCognitoCyCognito sells a platform for external attack surface management that identifies and validates exposures across an organization's internet-facing assets.cycognito.comNetSPINetSPI sells pentesting as a service (PTaaS), attack surface management (ASM), and breach and attack simulation (BAS) as a service.netspi.com
What it sells
  • CyCognito PlatformA platform that automatically discovers, tests and prioritizes an organization's internet-facing assets and risks by simulating how an attacker would view the organization.
  • AI/ML Pentesting[3]Pentesting of AI and ML systems that includes LLM testing and jailbreaking.
  • Red Team Operations[6]Red team exercises that test security controls, policies, incident response and training.
  • Detective Controls Testing[7]Attack simulations that validate whether security tools detect threats.
  • Social Engineering[6]Email, text, phone and physical social engineering assessments.
Categories
Headquarters
Palo Alto, United StatesNot 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
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: listed, seen November 3, 2026[3]
  • 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, CyCognito sells mainly to enterprise security teams that want to find and test their internet-facing assets. A case study covers a healthcare conglomerate running a hospital network. CyCognito says its testing covers attack surfaces with millions of assets and tens of thousands of web applications.Not written yet
Last verified
November 2, 2026November 13, 2026

Where they overlap

  • CyCognito and NetSPI are both filed under External attack surface management.

Where they differ, field by field

  • CyCognito's primary category is External attack surface management; NetSPI's is Penetration testing and red team services.
  • NetSPI is also filed under Breach simulation and automated pen-testing and Exposure prioritisation and CTEM.
  • CyCognito lists CyCognito Platform. NetSPI lists AI/ML Pentesting, Red Team Operations, Detective Controls Testing and Social Engineering.
  • CyCognito is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States.

What it sells: NetSPI

What AI/ML Pentesting does[3]
NetSPI's AI/ML Pentesting includes expert LLM testing and jailbreaking. Microsoft partnered with NetSPI to build a standardized AI security testing framework for its 70+ products.
What Red Team Operations does[6]
NetSPI's Red Team Operations test security controls, policies, incident response and training. NetSPI partners with selected threat intelligence providers to test the resiliency of critical systems.
What Detective Controls Testing does[7]
NetSPI Detective Controls Testing validates that security tools operate effectively across endpoint security solutions, network security solutions, SIEMs and MSSPs. NetSPI's ransomware simulation pack covers TTPs and behaviors from real-world ransomware campaigns.
What Social Engineering does[6]
NetSPI's social engineering experts deliver findings from email, text, phone and physical scenarios. NetSPI runs custom phishing engagements to identify gaps in security procedures and technical controls.

Questions about CyCognito and NetSPI

What do CyCognito and NetSPI sell?
CyCognito sells CyCognito Platform. NetSPI sells AI/ML Pentesting, Red Team Operations, Detective Controls Testing and Social Engineering.
Are CyCognito and NetSPI in the same category?
They share External attack surface management. CyCognito's primary category is External attack surface management and NetSPI's is Penetration testing and red team services.
Where are CyCognito and NetSPI headquartered?
CyCognito is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States.
Who are CyCognito and NetSPI sold to?
From its own pages, CyCognito sells mainly to enterprise security teams that want to find and test their internet-facing assets.

About CyCognito

CyCognito sells a platform for external attack surface management that identifies and validates exposures across an organization's internet-facing assets.[4]

CyCognito says its platform continuously identifies and validates critical exposures so that security teams can act where it matters most.[4]

On discovery, CyCognito says it maps every asset through deep black-box discovery and keeps running reconnaissance as the attack surface changes. CyCognito states that its discovery requires zero input, zero seeds, zero configuration and zero onboarding. The company says it auto-attributes each asset to its owner, the business function it serves and the data it holds, and fingerprints the tech stack the asset runs.[4][5]

On testing, CyCognito says it runs active security tests across the entire external footprint. CyCognito states that it runs more than 100,000 security tests across more than 30 exposure categories, including OWASP application weaknesses, authentication bypass, exposed data and injection vulnerabilities. CyCognito says it uses unauthenticated black-box techniques designed not to disrupt live traffic, modify data or require downtime. The company also says it tests whether WAF, API security controls, CSPM policies and authentication surfaces are present and behaving as expected.[6]

CyCognito says it uses Target Graph to map business, security and stack context across all exposed assets, and that agents use it to orchestrate pentesting campaigns that chain attacks, deliver proof and adjust as the surface changes.[6]

On prioritization, CyCognito says its prioritization considers asset attractiveness to attackers, business context, targeted threat intelligence and results from 100,000+ tests. CyCognito says its remediation validation feature automatically checks if a remediation attempt has been successful, and that its Remediation Planner tool builds remediation plans for organizations and their subsidiaries.[5][6]

On customers, CyCognito publishes a case study on Asklepios, a healthcare conglomerate, which the page describes as operating a hospital network with 50,000 employees.[7]

CyCognito's CEO and Co-Founder is Rob Gurzeev, who the company says has led the development of offensive security solutions for both the private sector and intelligence agencies.[1][2][4][5][8]

CyCognito on the record

Sources

CyCognito full record

  1. [1]CompanyCyCognito · cycognito.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Cycognito secures 100m to accelerate next evolution of attack surface managementDark Reading · darkreading.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier B
  3. [3]CyCognito Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features - G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier C
  4. [4]Preemptive Exposure Management | ASM Leader | CyCognitoCyCognito · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Qualys vs CyCognito | Qualy AlternativesCyCognito · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Continuous Security Validation | AutoPT | CyCognitoCyCognito · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Healthcare Conglomerate Asklepios Significantly Improves Risk Exposure with CyCognitoCyCognito · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]API Security: 2026 Guide to Threats, Challenges, and Best Practices | CyCognitoCyCognito · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A

NetSPI full record

  1. [1]netspi.comNetSPI · netspi.com · undated page, accessed November 13, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]About Us - NetSPINetSPI · undated page, accessed November 13, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]NetSPI - Proactive Cyber Security | PTaaS, ASM, BASNetSPI · undated page, accessed November 13, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]The NetSPI Platform - NetSPINetSPI · undated page, accessed November 13, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Customer Stories - NetSPINetSPI · undated page, accessed November 13, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Cyber Security Assessments & Strategic Advisory Services - NetSPINetSPI · undated page, accessed November 13, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Detective Controls Testing: Attack Simulation & Control ValidationNetSPI · undated page, accessed November 13, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Model Context Protocol - NetSPINetSPI · undated page, accessed November 13, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]NetSPI Customer Case Study – ChubbNetSPI · undated page, accessed November 13, 2026 · Tier A

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