CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Darktrace vs Material Security

Darktrace sells security for AI systems and agents, for network, cloud and OT environments, and for email and collaboration tools. Material Security is the company behind Material, an automated cloud workspace security platform for lean security teams that need to protect the email, files, and accounts that live in Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. CISO Tribune files both under Email 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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  • Darktrace
  • Material Security
Darktrace vs Material Security: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
DarktraceDarktrace sells security for AI systems and agents, for network, cloud and OT environments, and for email and collaboration tools.darktrace.comMaterial SecurityMaterial Security is the company behind Material, an automated cloud workspace security platform for lean security teams that need to protect the email, files, and accounts that live in Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.material.security
What it sells
  • Darktrace / EMAIL[14][15]Email security that catches phishing, business email compromise, executive impersonation and social engineering attacks.
  • Email Security[2][3][5][8]Remediates email attacks that bypass traditional controls in Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.
  • File Security[2][6][8][13]Finds sensitive data in files and remediates excessive permissions and sharing.
  • Account Security[2][7][8]Detects account takeovers, contains their impact and hardens accounts.
  • OAuth Remediation Agent[8]Watches third-party clients and AI agents across Google Workspace.
  • Drive Agent[9][10]Investigates and remediates over-shared sensitive documents in Google Drive.
Categories
Headquarters
Cambridge, United Kingdom[2]Redwood City, United States[1]
Founded
2013[2]2017[1][13]
Ownership and funding
Owned by Thoma Bravo since 2024[3][12][13][17]Not stated on its pages
Named customers
  • Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast[4]
  • HARMAN International[5]
  • City of Las Vegas[6]
  • Centre Parcs[7]
  • Banco Galicia[8]
Not stated on its pages
Recent news
  • September 24, 2026Darktrace launched Signal Labs, a research unit that tests how AI models and agents misbehave in sandboxed environments, and published its first findings.[9]
  • September 22, 2026Darktrace made its SECURE AI product generally available, giving enterprises tools to discover AI use, monitor people and agents, and act on policy risks.[10]
  • August 4, 2026Darktrace announced an integration that feeds behavioral risk signals about AI agents from its SECURE AI product into the Microsoft Agent 365 portal.[11]
Not stated on its pages
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: listed, seen November 3, 2026[13]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: listed, seen November 4, 2026[12]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
Not written yetNot written yet
Last verified
October 10, 2026September 27, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Darktrace and Material Security are both filed under Email security.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Darktrace's primary category is Network detection and response; Material Security's is Email security.
  • Darktrace is also filed under OT and ICS security. Material Security is also filed under Data security posture management, SaaS security posture and Identity threat detection and response.
  • Darktrace lists Darktrace / EMAIL. Material Security lists Email Security, File Security, Account Security, OAuth Remediation Agent and Drive Agent.
  • Darktrace is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Material Security is headquartered in Redwood City, United States.
  • Darktrace was founded in 2013. Material Security was founded in 2017.
  • Darktrace is owned by Thoma Bravo, since 2024.
  • Darktrace publicly names Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, HARMAN International, City of Las Vegas, Centre Parcs and Banco Galicia.

What it sells: Darktrace

What Darktrace / EMAIL does[14][15]
Darktrace / EMAIL learns from each organization's own activity and users, not a shared cross-customer model. Darktrace says it catches phishing, business email compromise, executive impersonation, and social engineering attacks. Behavioral detection extends across Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Slack. Each employee's risk score adapts their email controls.

What it sells: Material Security

What Email Security does[2][3][5][8]
Material runs on auto-pilot to remediate sophisticated email attacks that bypass traditional controls. It automates user report triage with AI-powered investigation and response workflows. It connects through native APIs rather than acting as a gateway.
What File Security does[2][6][8][13]
Material detects sensitive content in files and includes tools to automatically remediate excessive permissions and inappropriate sharing. It discovers and classifies sensitive data across Google Drive and maps it to every sharing permission.
What OAuth Remediation Agent does[8]
The agent classifies risk in real time and revokes access tokens the moment behavior turns suspicious. It can message the user in Slack to confirm whether an authorization was legitimate.

Questions about Darktrace and Material Security

What do Darktrace and Material Security sell?
Darktrace sells Darktrace / EMAIL. Material Security sells Email Security, File Security, Account Security, OAuth Remediation Agent and Drive Agent.
Are Darktrace and Material Security in the same category?
They share Email security. Darktrace's primary category is Network detection and response and Material Security's is Email security.
Where are Darktrace and Material Security headquartered?
Darktrace is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Material Security is headquartered in Redwood City, United States.
When were Darktrace and Material Security founded?
Darktrace was founded in 2013. Material Security was founded in 2017.
Who owns Darktrace and Material Security?
Darktrace is owned by Thoma Bravo, since 2024.
Which customers do Darktrace and Material Security name?
Darktrace publicly names Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, HARMAN International, City of Las Vegas, Centre Parcs and Banco Galicia.
What have Darktrace and Material Security announced recently?
September 24, 2026: Darktrace launched Signal Labs, a research unit that tests how AI models and agents misbehave in sandboxed environments, and published its first findings.

About Darktrace

Darktrace sells security for AI systems and agents, for network, cloud and OT environments, and for email and collaboration tools. Darktrace says it understands behavior across people, networks, applications, cloud, and AI. Darktrace says its Adaptive AI learns an organization's own operational patterns, unlike security tools that rely on static rules or training data from other organizations. Darktrace says its AI learns from each organization's own business data to identify anomalous activity for each asset across domains.[1][14]

Darktrace says a dynamic understanding of every email user in an organization allows Darktrace / EMAIL to take a targeted response to threats that others miss. Darktrace learns from each organization's own activity and users, not a shared cross-customer model. Darktrace says its email security catches phishing, business email compromise, executive impersonation, and social engineering attacks. Darktrace says its behavioral detection extends across Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Slack. When credentials are compromised, Darktrace responds autonomously by terminating sessions, forcing re-authentication, and restricting access across email, SaaS, and cloud. Darktrace says each employee's risk score adapts their email controls, so protection strengthens for higher-risk users as training progresses. The Darktrace Email Analysis Agent integrates with Microsoft Defender and Security Copilot to streamline investigation and response for SOC teams.[1][15][16]

Darktrace says one solution detects, investigates, and contains threats across network, cloud, OT, endpoint, and identity, and learns the environment from the ground up. Darktrace / HYBRID NETWORK passively ingests traffic from on-premises and virtual networks, multi-cloud environments, OT, endpoints, and identities. Darktrace analyzes encrypted and decrypted traffic across network, cloud, and OT to surface activity that does not fit the environment. Darktrace then contains that activity with response actions taken natively or through firewalls, EDR, SOAR, and ITSM tools. Darktrace says it can flag account takeover, privilege escalation, and insider misuse when an identity stops matching how that identity normally behaves. When a threat is identified, Darktrace automatically acquires host and workload artifacts across endpoints, cloud, containers, and SaaS environments. Darktrace says its approach detects zero-day threats an average of 8 days before public CVE disclosure.

For cloud, Darktrace says its Adaptive AI continuously monitors activity across cloud assets, workloads, APIs, containers, and identities. Darktrace says Cyber AI Analyst automatically investigates alerts and connects related cloud and infrastructure activity. Darktrace's coverage extends across Compute, Serverless, Containers, IAM, Storage Services, and beyond. Darktrace draws data from lightweight host-based server agents or a combination of traffic mirroring and API logs. Darktrace supports security investigations by combining its detection and response capabilities with Amazon Security Lake.[18][19]

For operational technology, Darktrace maintains a live asset inventory, obtained through passive and active scanning, and immediately reveals CVEs and End-Of-Life status. Darktrace says it identifies and contains threats across converged IT and OT environments with Adaptive AI. Darktrace says Cyber AI Analyst automatically investigates alerts and correlates related activity across OT and IT environments. Darktrace says it automatically maps its models to the MITRE for ICS attacks/techniques, and says it helps organizations meet NIST and other regulations and standards.[20]

Darktrace calls its endpoint functionality Network Endpoint eXtended Telemetry (NEXT), which shows the endpoint process root cause for network threats. Darktrace says Cyber AI Analyst autonomously investigates alerts, gathers evidence, tests hypotheses, and delivers incident context. Darktrace responds autonomously with targeted actions that contain threats and avoid business disruption. Darktrace lets customers set response policies with configurable actions based on device types, user groups, locations, business hours, and operational requirements. Darktrace complements Microsoft Defender for Endpoint by connecting endpoint signals with behavioral understanding across a wider infrastructure.[15][21]

Darktrace says action can be taken independently or via integrations with native security controls, and that alerts are sent wherever the customer wants them. Darktrace extends its autonomous response to Check Point firewalls and to Palo Alto firewalls. Darktrace incidents and model breach alerts can be analyzed in CIM compatible Splunk dashboards. Darktrace enriches its AI decision-making with alerts from the Crowdstrike Falcon platform. Darktrace's Cyber AI Analyst integrates with Microsoft Copilot for Security.[14][15][22][23]

HARMAN International uses Darktrace coverage for email, network, and OT systems. Centre Parcs turned to Darktrace to protect its network, email, and cloud environments with a single AI security platform. Darktrace says organizations across all sizes and industries rely on it to get proactive about cyber security.[14][16][20]

Darktrace on the record

Sources

Darktrace full record

  1. [1]ProductsDarktrace · darktrace.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Darktrace named technology pioneer by world economic forumDarktrace · darktrace.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Darktrace announces formal completion of its acquisition by thoma bravoDarktrace · darktrace.com · published October 1, 2024 · Tier A
  4. [4]Coca cola beverages northeastDarktrace · darktrace.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Harman internationalDarktrace · darktrace.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]City of las vegasDarktrace · darktrace.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Center parcs darktraceDarktrace · darktrace.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Banco galiciaDarktrace · darktrace.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Darktrace launches signal labs to research emerging risks of enterprise ai agentsDarktrace · darktrace.com · published September 24, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Darktrace extends behavioral security with general availability of darktrace secure aiDarktrace · darktrace.com · published September 22, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Darktrace among first cybersecurity companies selected to integrate risk signals into microsoft agent 365Darktrace · darktrace.com · published August 4, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Darktrace | The Essential AI Cybersecurity PlatformDarktrace · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Darktrace / HYBRID NETWORK Reviews & Product Details - G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier C
  14. [14]AI Cyber Security Solutions | Harden Defenses Inside & OutDarktrace · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]Microsoft Azure Security & Compliance | Security ServicesDarktrace · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]AI-Based Email Security Software | Email Threat ProtectionDarktrace · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  17. [17]Network Security Management | AI Network Security ProtectionDarktrace · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  18. [18]Cloud Security Solutions | AI for Cloud Cyber SecurityDarktrace · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  19. [19]AWS Data Loss Prevention, Security Compliance, & ProtectionDarktrace · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  20. [20]Operational Technology (OT) Cyber Security SolutionsDarktrace · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  21. [21]AI Endpoint Security | Cyber Security Endpoint Protection SuiteDarktrace · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  22. [22]Network Security Integrations | Darktrace/NetworkDarktrace · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  23. [23]Integrations | Darktrace/EndpointDarktrace · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A

Material Security full record

  1. [1]Material Security Raises $40 Million Series B To Protect the Worlds Email From the Next SolarWinds AttackMaterial Security via Business Wire · businesswire.com · published May 26, 2021 · Tier A
  2. [2]ProductMaterial Security · material.security · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Cloud Workspace Security Platform | Material SecurityMaterial Security · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Deployment and Security | Material SecurityMaterial Security · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Email Security Solutions for Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 | MaterialMaterial Security · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]File Security for Google Drive and Gmail | MaterialMaterial Security · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Account Takeover Prevention & Detection | Material SecurityMaterial Security · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]OAuth Security That Stops Malicious Apps | Material SecurityMaterial Security · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Material Security | Security for Google Workspace and Microsoft 365Material Security · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Google Drive Security for the Agentic AI Era | MaterialMaterial Security · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Helping Secure Our Customers | Material SecurityMaterial Security · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Material Security Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier C
  13. [13]About Us and Leadership | Material SecurityMaterial Security · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Our Pricing Packages | Material SecurityMaterial Security · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A

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