CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Hilt vs SquareX

Hilt sells a platform that maps data movement across cloud and endpoint infrastructure. SquareX sells a Browser Detection and Response (BDR) solution that organizations use to detect, mitigate and threat-hunt client-side attacks. CISO Tribune files both under Data loss prevention. 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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  • Hilt
  • SquareX
Hilt vs SquareX: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
HiltHilt sells a platform that maps data movement across cloud and endpoint infrastructure.hilt.aiSquareXSquareX sells a Browser Detection and Response (BDR) solution that organizations use to detect, mitigate and threat-hunt client-side attacks.sqrx.com
What it sells
  • Platform[3][4][5]Maps data movement across cloud and endpoint infrastructure.
  • Infrastructure[1][2][3][4]Collectors read activity at the kernel across Linux hosts, VMs, containers, and bare metal.
  • Endpoints[4]Kernel collectors on macOS and Windows plus a managed browser extension.
  • Auto-update agent[5]Optional agent that rolls out collector updates in the customer's cluster.
  • Browser Detection and Response (BDR)[2][7][9]Detects, mitigates and threat-hunts client-side web attacks against employees in real time.
  • SquareX Browser Extension (Enterprise Browser)Installs as an extension that turns any browser on any device into an enterprise-grade secure browser.
  • Browser DLP[2]Applies data loss prevention controls inside the browser to secure any browser on any device.
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 pagesOwned by Zscaler since 2026[3][10]
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
Not stated on its pages
  • February 6, 2026Zscaler announced its acquisition of SquareX, a Singapore-based browser detection and response technology startup.[10]
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • 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
Hilt describes cases involving regulated customer records leaving onto an engineer's laptop and trading strategies leaving a firm for personal accounts. Hilt collectors cover Linux hosts, VMs, containers, and bare metal, and macOS and Windows devices. For airgapped environments, Hilt ships an offline bundle.From its own pages, SquareX sells mainly to organizations that want to detect, mitigate and threat-hunt client-side attacks. SquareX describes access for contractors and BYOD users through a containerized browser session. SquareX describes developer environments built from containerized desktops tailored to each developer or team. SquareX access controls work across managed, unmanaged and BYOD devices.
Last verified
November 6, 2026November 2, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Hilt and SquareX are both filed under Data loss prevention.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Hilt's primary category is Data loss prevention; SquareX's is Browser protection extensions.
  • Hilt is also filed under Insider risk management, Workforce AI usage security and Third-party risk and security ratings.
  • Hilt lists Platform, Infrastructure, Endpoints and Auto-update agent. SquareX lists Browser Detection and Response (BDR), SquareX Browser Extension (Enterprise Browser) and Browser DLP.
  • SquareX is owned by Zscaler, since 2026.

What it sells: Hilt

What Platform does[3][4][5]
Hilt ties each move to a real person and the job that ran it, then scores it against how the data normally moves. Hilt uses a temporal GNN with proprietary ML models to score every move, and agentic investigation writes the case. Hilt deploys as a single-tenant platform inside the customer's own cloud account.
What Infrastructure does[1][2][3][4]
Hilt collectors read process, file, and network activity at the kernel across Linux hosts, VMs, containers, and bare metal. Hilt collectors roll across a fleet, one per host, with no reboot and no inline tap.
What Endpoints does[4]
Hilt device endpoints run kernel collectors on macOS and Windows, plus a managed browser extension across Edge, Safari, Firefox, and Chromium browsers. On macOS, Hilt uses a system collector and a managed browser extension to watch the last hop, resolved to the person and process behind it.
What Auto-update agent does[5]
The Hilt auto-update agent runs as a Kubernetes CronJob in the customer's cluster. The Hilt auto-update agent polls the Hilt release registry, mirrors new images into the customer's registries, rolls out the update, verifies health after rollout, and reports status to a configured webhook.

Questions about Hilt and SquareX

What do Hilt and SquareX sell?
Hilt sells Platform, Infrastructure, Endpoints and Auto-update agent. SquareX sells Browser Detection and Response (BDR), SquareX Browser Extension (Enterprise Browser) and Browser DLP.
Are Hilt and SquareX in the same category?
They share Data loss prevention. Hilt's primary category is Data loss prevention and SquareX's is Browser protection extensions.
Who owns Hilt and SquareX?
SquareX is owned by Zscaler, since 2026.
Who are Hilt and SquareX sold to?
Hilt describes cases involving regulated customer records leaving onto an engineer's laptop and trading strategies leaving a firm for personal accounts. From its own pages, SquareX sells mainly to organizations that want to detect, mitigate and threat-hunt client-side attacks.
What have Hilt and SquareX announced recently?
February 6, 2026: Zscaler announced its acquisition of SquareX, a Singapore-based browser detection and response technology startup.

About Hilt

Hilt sells a platform that maps data movement across cloud and endpoint infrastructure. Hilt is Data Movement Governance for modern infrastructure. Hilt ties each move to a real person and the job that ran it, then scores it against how the data normally moves. Hilt uses a temporal GNN with proprietary ML models to score every move, and agentic investigation writes the case. Hilt says the most valuable data leaves on credentials that are supposed to have it.[1][2][3][4]

Hilt collectors are agents on customer hosts that produce metadata-level telemetry, shipped as a Linux static binary and a macOS managed agent. Hilt reads metadata only by default: who moved what, from where, to where, and how many bytes. Content-aware inspection in Hilt is a toggle the customer controls. Hilt supports both metadata-only and content inspection data collection. Hilt collectors read process, file, and network activity at the kernel across Linux hosts, VMs, containers, and bare metal. On macOS, Hilt uses a system collector and a managed browser extension to watch the last hop, resolved to the person and process behind it. Hilt device endpoints run kernel collectors on macOS and Windows, plus a managed browser extension across Edge, Safari, Firefox, and Chromium browsers. Hilt presents a move that begins on Linux and ends on macOS as one story, not three logs.[2][3][4][5]

One example rule is to alert when payroll data is uploaded outside the approved payroll job. Hilt can send findings to Slack or email, or export them to any SIEM. Hilt response options are to alert, block the upload, or isolate the host. Hilt observation runs off the data path, and enforcement is opt-in and acts at the endpoint, never inline on a server's high-throughput path.[2]

Hilt can isolate a host at the network from the control plane, quarantined while the rest of the fleet keeps running. Hilt intervention is optional and set per workload; on Linux the response is host quarantine, and on macOS Hilt can block the exfil itself. Whether Hilt alerts or quarantines the host, the customer gets a written case covering what happened, why it is unusual, the evidence, and what was done, in plain language. Hilt response is opt-in and off by default.[4]

Hilt deploys as a single-tenant platform inside the customer's own cloud account. Each customer receives a dedicated deployment in its own AWS account, GCP project, Azure subscription, or Ali Cloud account. Hilt applies a Terraform configuration to create the platform infrastructure in the account the customer nominates. The Hilt dashboard is a web application for investigation, detection rules, and administration, reached over private networking. The Hilt analytics database is a column store that holds normalized telemetry and findings. Hilt does not receive, mirror, or hold out-of-band access to customer events. The single exception is the anonymized data export, a core pipeline that transfers only anonymized statistical features after the customer's review and approval. A Hilt collector has exactly one outbound destination: the ingest endpoint, over HTTPS on TCP/443.[3]

Hilt collectors roll across a fleet, one per host, with no reboot, no inline tap, and nothing in front of the traffic. Hilt collectors run off the data path with no listening ports and one outbound rule, and cannot drop, delay, or alter a packet. Hilt operates the platform components in the customer's account, shipping releases, applying updates, and monitoring platform health. The Hilt auto-update agent runs as a Kubernetes CronJob in the customer's cluster. For airgapped environments, Hilt ships an offline bundle with the full artifact set.[4][5]

Hilt engineers do not hold standing access to the customer's environment. In the Hilt dashboard, teams constrain which hosts a user can see. Hilt records security-relevant actions to the audit log, which administrators manage.[1][2][5][6]

Hilt on the record

Sources

Hilt full record

  1. [1]hilt.aiHilt · hilt.ai · undated page, accessed November 6, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Hilt | Data Movement Governance at the KernelHilt · undated page, accessed November 11, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Architecture & data flow - Hilt DocumentationHilt · published October 8, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]The Hilt platform | Agentic Data Movement Governance at the kernelHilt · undated page, accessed November 11, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Security operations - Hilt DocumentationHilt · published October 8, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Access & identity - Hilt DocumentationHilt · published October 8, 2026 · Tier A

SquareX full record

  1. [1]Squarex discloses architectural limitations of browser devtools in debugging malicious extensions 302518583SquareX via PR Newswire · prnewswire.com · published July 31, 2025 · Tier A
  2. [2]sqrx.comSquareX · sqrx.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Zscaler acquires squarexZscaler · zscaler.com · published February 5, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Showcasing our Industry-First BDR Solution in Singapore | by SquareX | SquareX LabsSquareX Labs · published October 23, 2024 · Tier A
  5. [5]An Evening of Browser Security: SquareX’s RSAC Networking Dinner | by SquareX | SquareX LabsSquareX Labs · published May 7, 2025 · Tier A
  6. [6]SquareX | Browser Detection and Response (BDR) SolutionSquareX · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]SquareX: Pioneering Browser Detection and Response (BDR)SquareX · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]SquareX Receives the Technology Excellence Award by SBR in Cybersecurity, Internet and New Media Category | by SquareX | SquareX LabsSquareX Labs · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]6 Reasons Why Enterprises Are Shifting from VDI to SquareX | by Engineering @ SquareX | SquareX LabsSquareX Labs · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Zscaler extends zero-trust security to browsers with SquareX acquisition | CSO OnlineCSO Online · published February 6, 2026 · Tier B

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