Breach and attack simulation tools: Top vendors, key features, how to choose

• Representative attack vectors to simulate a wide range of attacks relevant to your company.
• Realistic attack scenarios that are similar to what attackers are actually using, using frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK.
• Customizable scenarios to test unique aspects of your infrastructure.
• Automated testing so that the simulations can run regularly and efficiently without impacting operations or requiring additional headcount.
• Detailed reporting and analytics to help explain what the tests mean and identify areas that need improvements.
• Ability to scale to the current — and future — size and complexity of the enterprise environment.
• Ability to test across hybrid environments in production, which is critical for identifying how controls perform in real-world conditions.
• Ease of use and deployment, including out-of-the-box integrations with your existing security tools and platforms.
• Expert guidance and support, especially for companies that are new to BAS or who don’t have large, experienced security teams.
• And, of course, cost. BAS vendors typically don’t publish pricing information, and pricing models can vary. Make sure that the pricing structure is a good fit for your company’s use case.

9 leading BAS vendors

Enterprise technology research firm Expert Insights has curated a list of the top 9 BAS vendors. The list takes into consideration key features such as threat emulation, reporting granularity, and ease of integration. Expert Insinghts’ top 9 are AttackIQ, Cymulate, Fortinet FortiTester, Mandiant Red Team Assessment, NetSPI Breach and Attack Simulation, Picus Security, RedScan Breach and Attack Simulation, ReliaQuest GreyMatter Verify, and SafeBreach Breach and Attack Simulation Platform.

Cymulate, Picus, AttackIQ, SafeBreach, Fortinet, and NetSPI are also among the top vendors according to Gartner’s Peer Insights BAS tool rankings. The Gartner list is more comprehensive and lists 17 vendors, however, six of those have received no customer reviews while companies like XM Cyber and Keysight do not show in Expert Insights but have a high number in the ratings system.

AttackIQ

According to Expert Insights, AttackIQ’s core emulation platform replicates adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures in line with the MITRE ATT&CK framework. The company recently released the second generation of its managed breach and attack simulation-as-a-service platform, called Ready!, to make it easier and faster for companies to deploy a continuous security validation program.