CyCognito
CyCognito helps enterprises discover and eliminate critical external security risks automatically.
CyCognito is an attack surface discovery platform that autonomously simulates attacker techniques to identify internet-exposed and unmanaged assets across an organization's infrastructure. Using machine learning, NLP, and graph data models, it discovers business relationships, subsidiaries, and cloud environments without requiring customer integration or configuration. The platform prioritizes critical risks by filtering false positives through advanced AI, enabling security teams to focus remediation efforts on actual threats rather than vulnerability lists.
Problem solved
Security teams lack visibility into internet-exposed and unmanaged assets across their entire business infrastructure, including acquired companies and cloud environments, leaving critical attack entry points undiscovered.
Target customer
Enterprise organizations in financial services, healthcare, and hospitality with complex infrastructure and multiple subsidiaries or acquisitions requiring continuous attack surface management.
Founders
R
Rob Gurzeev
CEO & Co-Founder
Former Director of Offensive Security and R&D lead at C4 Security (acquired by Elbit Systems) and CTO of the Product Department at Israeli Intelligence Corps Unit 8200.
D
Dima Potekhin
CTO & Co-Founder
Expert in mass-scale data analysis with four patents in CDNs and internet-scale infrastructure; founded Epicycle Technologies and Metaqube; recipient of Israel Defense Prize as IDF security researcher.
Funding history
Seed
Unknown
2018
Led by UpWest
Series A
Unknown
November 19, 2019
Led by Lightspeed Venture Partners
Series B
$30M
July 23, 2020
Led by Accel
· Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sorenson Ventures, UpWest
Series C
$100M
December 1, 2021
Led by The Westly Group
· Thomvest Ventures, The Heritage Group, Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sorenson Ventures, UpWest
Total raised:
$153M
Pricing
Not publicly available; companies can request customized quotes based on business needs.
Notable customers
Berlitz, Asklepios, Ströer, Human API, Scientific Games, Colgate-Palmolive, Tesco
Website
Competitors
Expanse (Palo Alto Networks)
Comprehensive view of global internet-facing assets, but now integrated into larger portfolio with broader platform advantages.
Censys
Specializes in continuous attack surface management and internet-wide scanning with strong asset discovery capabilities, but less focused on attacker behavior simulation.
BitSight
Security ratings and risk monitoring platform with broader scope, but different approach to asset discovery and prioritization.
Hadrian
Competitor in attack surface management space with alternative methodology.
spiderSilk
Alternative attack surface discovery solution with different technical approach.
Why this matters: CyCognito raised $153M from top-tier VCs and achieved an $800M valuation by solving a critical blind spot in enterprise security—most organizations don't know what internet-exposed assets they actually own. The Israeli founders' backgrounds in military intelligence and the platform's AI-driven attacker simulation approach represent a genuinely differentiated approach to a rapidly growing market segment.
Best for: Enterprise organizations with complex, multi-subsidiary infrastructure who need continuous, automated discovery of external attack surfaces without manual asset inventorying.
Use cases
Post-Acquisition Asset Visibility
After acquiring a company, security teams struggle to quickly identify all internet-exposed assets from the new subsidiary. CyCognito automatically discovers these assets through business relationship mapping without requiring IT integration, enabling rapid security assessment of the acquisition.
Shadow IT and Unmanaged Cloud Detection
Organizations unknowingly expose cloud instances and web services deployed by departments without IT oversight. CyCognito's continuous scanning identifies these unmanaged assets before attackers do, providing the context needed to prioritize remediation.
Attacker-Centric Risk Prioritization
Security teams overwhelmed by vulnerability scan results struggle to determine which exposures actually matter for real attacks. CyCognito simulates actual attacker techniques to identify which discovered assets represent genuine attack paths, reducing false positives.
Alternatives
Expanse
Now part of Palo Alto Networks with broader product integration, but CyCognito's attacker behavior simulation provides more targeted risk prioritization.
Censys
Strong on internet-wide scanning and asset discovery, but lacks CyCognito's business relationship mapping and attacker simulation capabilities.
BitSight
Focuses on security ratings and vendor risk, while CyCognito specializes specifically on external attack surface discovery and prioritization.
FAQ
What does CyCognito do? +
CyCognito is an attack surface discovery platform that autonomously identifies internet-exposed and unmanaged assets across your organization's infrastructure. It uses machine learning and graph data models to map business relationships (including subsidiaries and acquisitions) and then scans billions of internet devices to find security risks. The platform simulates real attacker behavior to prioritize the most critical exposures that actually matter.
How much does CyCognito cost? +
CyCognito does not publish pricing publicly. The company offers customized quotes and pricing discussions based on your organization's size, infrastructure complexity, and specific business needs. Contact their sales team for a detailed quote.
What are alternatives to CyCognito? +
Top alternatives include Expanse (now integrated into Palo Alto Networks), which provides comprehensive internet-facing asset visibility; Censys, which specializes in continuous attack surface management and internet-wide scanning; and BitSight, which focuses on security ratings and risk monitoring with broader scope.
Who uses CyCognito? +
CyCognito serves large enterprises, particularly in financial services, healthcare, and hospitality industries. Notable public customers include Berlitz, Asklepios, Ströer, Scientific Games, and Fortune 500 companies like Colgate-Palmolive and Tesco. The platform is designed for organizations with complex infrastructure, multiple subsidiaries, and significant cloud environments.
How does CyCognito compare to Expanse? +
Both provide visibility into internet-facing assets, but CyCognito uniquely simulates real attacker behavior to identify actual risks rather than just cataloging exposures. Expanse, now part of Palo Alto Networks, offers broader integration with enterprise security tools, while CyCognito focuses specifically on autonomous discovery and prioritization without requiring customer configuration or deployment.
Tags
attack surface discovery
external attack surface management
asset discovery
vulnerability management
AI-driven security
threat prioritization
cloud security