CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Hadrian vs UpGuard

Hadrian is an agentic AI offensive security platform that continuously discovers an organization's external attack surface and tests it for exploitable exposures. UpGuard sells tools that move third-party risk monitoring from static snapshots to continuous oversight. 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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  • Hadrian
  • UpGuard
Hadrian vs UpGuard: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
HadrianHadrian is an agentic AI offensive security platform that continuously discovers an organization's external attack surface and tests it for exploitable exposures.hadrian.ioUpGuardUpGuard sells tools that move third-party risk monitoring from static snapshots to continuous oversight.upguard.com
What it sells
  • Atlas[1][4][5][6][7]Atlas continuously maps a company's external attack surface and validates exposures. Atlas discovers every domain, DNS record, IP, certificate, cloud service and app a company exposes.
  • Nova[1][4][5][9]Nova is an agentic penetration test powered by AI. Once pointed at an application, Nova's AI hacker agents work through it step by step until they can show real impact.
  • User Risk[1][5][10]Human risk management that gives visibility into human risk and enables safe AI adoption.
  • Risk Automations[1][10]Risk automation that connects a risk stack to system APIs to automate discovery, notification and remediation.
  • Questionnaire AI[11]Automatically completes questionnaires using a customer's own security documentation.
Categories
Headquarters
Not stated on its pagesHobart, Australia[2]
Founded
2021[2]2012[2]
Ownership and funding
Privately held[5][6][11][16]Privately held[2][3]
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
  • May 20, 2026Hadrian released OpenHack, a tool for AI-powered source code review.[14]
  • April 2, 2026Hadrian announced that its MCP server is live.[15]
Not stated on its pages
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: listed, seen November 10, 2026[16]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: listed, seen November 10, 2026[3]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
From its own pages, Hadrian sells an agentic AI offensive security platform to modern security teams. Hadrian describes mapping the external attack surface of every company in a group, including new acquisitions and legacy infrastructure. Hadrian states that role-based access lets each subsidiary or business unit see and act on its own assets while the group security team keeps the full view. Hadrian says many customers use the platform as their continuous baseline and bring in manual testers for targeted deep dives. Hadrian is delivered from the cloud.Not written yet
Last verified
October 30, 2026September 27, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Hadrian and UpGuard are both filed under External attack surface management.
  • Both are privately held.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Hadrian's primary category is External attack surface management; UpGuard's is Third-party risk and security ratings.
  • Hadrian is also filed under Breach simulation and automated pen-testing and Exposure prioritisation and CTEM. UpGuard is also filed under Human risk management.
  • Hadrian lists Atlas and Nova. UpGuard lists User Risk, Risk Automations and Questionnaire AI.
  • UpGuard is headquartered in Hobart, Australia.
  • Hadrian was founded in 2021. UpGuard was founded in 2012.

What it sells: Hadrian

What Atlas does[1][4][5][6][7]
Atlas discovers assets, technologies and service points, then uses agentic AI to confirm which exposures are actually exploitable. Atlas runs passive scans every hour, and event-driven testing starts automatically when a new asset or change is detected. Atlas pricing is based on the total asset count. Atlas offers two add-ons at additional cost: mergers and acquisitions assessment and infostealers credential leak detection.

What it sells: UpGuard

What User Risk does[1][5][10]
User Risk continuously detects unsanctioned applications running across a workforce and exposes over-privileged permissions and credential leaks. User Risk nudges employees mid-workflow and redirects them to approved corporate alternatives. User Risk sits in the browser and blocks unauthorized file uploads and copy-pastes.
What Risk Automations does[1][10]
UpGuard describes risk automation that connects a risk stack to system APIs to automate discovery, notification and remediation. The offering automates discovery, notification and resolution by integrating a risk stack.
What Questionnaire AI does[11]
Questionnaire AI automatically completes questionnaires using a customer's own security documentation. Customers upload documents such as a SOC 2 report, an information security report and previously completed questionnaires.

Questions about Hadrian and UpGuard

What do Hadrian and UpGuard sell?
Hadrian sells Atlas and Nova. UpGuard sells User Risk, Risk Automations and Questionnaire AI.
Are Hadrian and UpGuard in the same category?
They share External attack surface management. Hadrian's primary category is External attack surface management and UpGuard's is Third-party risk and security ratings.
Where are Hadrian and UpGuard headquartered?
UpGuard is headquartered in Hobart, Australia.
When were Hadrian and UpGuard founded?
Hadrian was founded in 2021. UpGuard was founded in 2012.
Who owns Hadrian and UpGuard?
Hadrian is privately held. UpGuard is privately held.
Who are Hadrian and UpGuard sold to?
From its own pages, Hadrian sells an agentic AI offensive security platform to modern security teams.
What have Hadrian and UpGuard announced recently?
May 20, 2026: Hadrian released OpenHack, a tool for AI-powered source code review.

About Hadrian

Hadrian is an agentic AI offensive security platform that continuously discovers an organization's external attack surface and tests it for exploitable exposures. Hadrian's Atlas and Nova products run on one platform, so exposures, pentests and evidence sit in one place. Atlas gives breadth across everything a company exposes, and Nova gives depth in the application that matters. Hadrian runs from the cloud and is ready in minutes.[1][3][4][7]

Atlas continuously maps a company's external attack surface and validates exposures. Atlas discovers assets, technologies and service points, then uses agentic AI to confirm which exposures are actually exploitable. Atlas discovers every domain, DNS record, IP, certificate, cloud service and app a company exposes, then tests all of it the way an attacker would. Atlas maps outward from the organization: subsidiaries and acquisitions, the domains each one registered, then every subdomain, IP, certificate and cloud host under them. Atlas starts from a few apex domains, maps how everything connects, flags what changed and proves which exposures are real. Atlas runs passive scans every hour, and event-driven testing starts automatically when a new asset or change is detected. Atlas matches a new CVE to the assets running the affected version, tests every one of them, and tells the customer which are really exposed.[7]

Hadrian's Orchestrator AI uses machine learning and pattern recognition to scan the internet for exposed assets tied to an organization, including Shadow IT. Hadrian continuously scans the internet to find forgotten subdomains, cloud instances and legacy servers that belong to an organization but are not in its official inventory. Hadrian's platform safely simulates real-world attack techniques to validate if a vulnerability is actually exploitable in the customer's specific environment. Hadrian only flags verified risks that have a confirmed path to compromise. Hadrian's agents safely test what they find and only raise what holds up, with the request, the response and the fix, and they check the fix when a risk is closed.[7][8]

Nova is an agentic penetration test powered by AI that performs the same techniques a skilled human pentester would, including reconnaissance, exploitation and lateral movement. Nova's agents sign in as every role, learn how an app's business logic works and chain small steps into real impact. Nova's testing stays within the scope the customer sets, at the pace the customer chooses, without changing a single record. Nova customers receive access to the Hadrian platform to see results and get a compliance-ready pdf report. Atlas's asset discovery and exposure mapping feeds directly into Nova, so penetration tests are automatically scoped against the real attack surface.[4][9]

Hadrian's hacker agents test the external attack surface continuously, chain what they find into attack paths, and report only the paths they can prove. Hadrian does not replace a scoped red team exercise, and internal networks, social engineering and physical access stay with the customer's human red team.[10]

Hadrian maps the external attack surface of every company in a group, including new acquisitions and legacy infrastructure, and starts testing it as soon as the deal closes. Hadrian uses ownership signals from DNS, certificates and registration records, and a customer's team can confirm or correct attribution in the platform. Role-based access lets each subsidiary or business unit see and act on its own assets, while the group security team keeps the full view. Hadrian connects to multiple cloud environments with a few clicks, providing a centralized view of exposed assets. Hadrian identifies exposed cloud assets and misconfigurations that could enable lateral movement and privilege escalation. Hadrian's ML algorithms prioritize risks based on business relevance, asset attractiveness, discoverability, impact and exploitation ease.[12]

Hadrian allows teams to assign leads, share risk details with third parties, track remediation progress and collaborate in a shared space. Hadrian's risk details include severity, impact, proof of concept and remediation steps.[1][3][9][13]

Hadrian on the record

Sources

Hadrian full record

  1. [1]hadrian.ioHadrian · hadrian.io · undated page, accessed October 30, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]CompanyHadrian · hadrian.io · undated page, accessed October 30, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Agentic Penetration Testing | HadrianHadrian · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Offensive Security Platform: Atlas + Nova | HadrianHadrian · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Know your attack surface, pentest it continuously | HadrianHadrian · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Atlas: Continuous Attack Surface Management | HadrianHadrian · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Continuous Attack Surface Management | HadrianHadrian · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Adversarial Exposure Validation (AEV) | HadrianHadrian · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Nova: On-Demand Agentic Pentesting | HadrianHadrian · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Automated Red Teaming for Your Attack Surface | HadrianHadrian · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Acquisition and Subsidiary Attack Surface | HadrianHadrian · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Cloud Exposure Visibility & Control | HadrianHadrian · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) | HadrianHadrian · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Hadrian releases OpenHack for AI vulnerability discoveryHadrian · published May 20, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]Hadrian's MCP server is liveHadrian · published April 2, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]Hadrian Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & FeaturesG2 · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier C

UpGuard full record

  1. [1]upguard.comUpGuard · upguard.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Upguard raises 75m in series c funding to accelerate market leadership in cyber risk posture managementUpGuard · upguard.com · published February 26, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]UpGuard Vendor Risk Reviews & Product DetailsG2 · undated page, accessed October 29, 2026 · Tier C
  4. [4]Continuous Third-Party Risk Monitoring | UpGuardUpGuard · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]The #1 Cyber Risk Posture Management Platform | UpGuardUpGuard · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Pricing For The UpGuard CRPM Platform | UpGuardUpGuard · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Third-party Risk Assessment Software | UpGuardUpGuard · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Lucid Security Rating & Data Breaches | UpGuardUpGuard · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]GiftPay Security Rating & Data Breaches | UpGuardUpGuard · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]User Risk: A Human Risk Management Platform | UpGuardUpGuard · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Free AI-Powered Security Questionnaires Done in MinutesUpGuard · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

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