CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Third Wave Innovations vs UpGuard

Third Wave Innovations helps growing businesses understand cyber risk, reduce exposure, stay insurable, and recover when something goes wrong. UpGuard sells tools that move third-party risk monitoring from static snapshots to continuous oversight. CISO Tribune files both under Third-party risk and security ratings. 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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  • Third Wave Innovations
  • UpGuard
Third Wave Innovations vs UpGuard: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
Third Wave InnovationsThird Wave Innovations helps growing businesses understand cyber risk, reduce exposure, stay insurable, and recover when something goes wrong.3rdwave.ioUpGuardUpGuard sells tools that move third-party risk monitoring from static snapshots to continuous oversight.upguard.com
What it sells
  • Security Awareness Training[1][5]Training that builds employee cyber knowledge and meets compliance training requirements.
  • 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
Not stated on its pages2012[2]
Ownership and funding
Not stated on its pagesPrivately held[2][3]
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: Not stated on its pages
  • 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, Third Wave Innovations sells mainly to growing businesses, including small and midsized organizations without a full security team. The pages describe customers such as a mid-sized technology company operating in the healthcare space, a services-based organization, and a manufacturing company. Third Wave Innovations aligns security controls with what insurers expect, so organizations that want to maintain cyber insurance coverage and pass underwriting are part of its audience. Security Awareness Training addresses the training requirements of compliance standards including SOC2, PCI DSS, and HIPAA. Automated Detection & Response works with existing tools for network, identity, cloud, endpoint, and office productivity.Not written yet
Last verified
October 19, 2026September 27, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Third Wave Innovations and UpGuard are both filed under Third-party risk and security ratings.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Third Wave Innovations's primary category is MDR and managed SOC; UpGuard's is Third-party risk and security ratings.
  • Third Wave Innovations is also filed under Security awareness training and Vulnerability management. UpGuard is also filed under External attack surface management and Human risk management.
  • Third Wave Innovations lists Security Awareness Training. UpGuard lists User Risk, Risk Automations and Questionnaire AI.
  • UpGuard is headquartered in Hobart, Australia.
  • UpGuard was founded in 2012.
  • UpGuard is privately held.

What it sells: Third Wave Innovations

What Security Awareness Training does[1][5]
Security Awareness Training offers a library of over 200 short videos available in multiple languages. It includes customizable phishing simulations and pre-designed courses with dashboards and reports for tracking employee progress. It addresses training requirements of compliance standards including SOC2, PCI DSS, and HIPAA.

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 Third Wave Innovations and UpGuard

What do Third Wave Innovations and UpGuard sell?
Third Wave Innovations sells Security Awareness Training. UpGuard sells User Risk, Risk Automations and Questionnaire AI.
Are Third Wave Innovations and UpGuard in the same category?
They share Third-party risk and security ratings. Third Wave Innovations's primary category is MDR and managed SOC and UpGuard's is Third-party risk and security ratings.
Where are Third Wave Innovations and UpGuard headquartered?
UpGuard is headquartered in Hobart, Australia.
When were Third Wave Innovations and UpGuard founded?
UpGuard was founded in 2012.
Who owns Third Wave Innovations and UpGuard?
UpGuard is privately held.
Who are Third Wave Innovations and UpGuard sold to?
From its own pages, Third Wave Innovations sells mainly to growing businesses, including small and midsized organizations without a full security team.

About Third Wave Innovations

Third Wave Innovations helps growing businesses understand cyber risk, reduce exposure, stay insurable, and recover when something goes wrong. Third Wave Innovations was founded in 2017. Third Wave Innovations helps small and midsized organizations build a security capability without having to build an entire security organization themselves. Third Wave Innovations connects cybersecurity, continuous monitoring, risk management, response, and cyber insurance readiness.

Third Wave Innovations says most businesses don’t have a clear picture of their cyber risk. Third Wave Innovations offers protection designed for growing businesses without a full security team.[1][3]

Third Wave Innovations identifies the gaps attackers could exploit and helps fix them before they become real problems. Third Wave Innovations implemented attack surface monitoring to identify and continuously track external exposures across assets and applications. Third Wave Innovations deployed Cyber Risk Management capabilities to provide continuous visibility into vulnerabilities, threats, and exposures.[3][4]

Third Wave Innovations offers Automated Detection & Response. Automated Detection & Response works with existing tools for network, identity, cloud, endpoint, and office productivity. Every alert from Automated Detection & Response includes a record of what happened, why, and how it was resolved. Automated Detection & Response includes executive dashboards that summarize key performance and incident trends.[3]

Third Wave Innovations implemented MDR for continuous monitoring, rapid detection, and response. Third Wave Innovations deployed MDR to provide 24/7 monitoring, automated containment, and verified response actions. Third Wave Innovations integrated monitoring across Microsoft 365, identity systems, and endpoint controls without replacing existing tools. Third Wave Innovations conducted a HIPAA-focused compliance readiness review that translated regulatory requirements into operational controls and workflows.[4]

Third Wave Innovations sells Security Awareness Training to build employee cyber knowledge and meet compliance training requirements. Security Awareness Training offers a regularly-refreshed library of over 200 short videos available in multiple languages. Security Awareness Training teaches employees the signs of phishing tactics such as email scams, fraudulent messages, invoice change requests, and gift card requests. Security Awareness Training includes customizable simulations that test employees’ ability to identify and report phishing emails from their inboxes. Security Awareness Training provides pre-designed courses and dashboards and reports for tracking employee progress. Security Awareness Training addresses the cybersecurity training requirements of compliance standards, including SOC2, PCI DSS, and HIPAA. Third Wave Innovations integrates training into its cyber risk program so human security risks and other cyber threats are managed in one unified platform.[1][3][4][5]

Third Wave Innovations on the record

Sources

Third Wave Innovations full record

  1. [1]3rdwave.ioThird Wave Innovations · 3rdwave.io · undated page, accessed October 19, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]About Us | Third Wave InnovationsThird Wave Innovations · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Home | Third Wave InnovationsThird Wave Innovations · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Case Studies | Third Wave InnovationsThird Wave Innovations · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Security Awareness Training | Third Wave InnovationsThird Wave Innovations · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

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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