What is Cymulate and how does it help organizations like Nedbank?

Cymulate is a cybersecurity validation platform that enables organizations to automate security testing, validate controls, and prioritize vulnerabilities. For example, Nedbank uses Cymulate to run continuous assessments across on-premises and cloud environments, detect configuration drift, and ensure their security controls are effective against the latest threats. Read the case study: https://cymulate.com/customers/nedbank-increases-the-breadth-depth-of-its-cybersecurity-assessments-with-cymulate/.

How does Cymulate support continuous security validation?

Cymulate enables continuous control validation by allowing organizations to configure and run assessments regularly across different environments. This ensures that security solutions are tuned correctly and remain effective against evolving threats. Nedbank, for example, uses Cymulate to validate controls organization-wide and detect drift in security configurations.

What types of assessments can be run with Cymulate?

Cymulate supports a wide range of assessments, including breach and attack simulation (BAS), advanced scenarios for cloud security validation, threat intelligence assessments, drift monitoring, and vulnerability prioritization. Nedbank ran over 130 assessments in less than two months using these capabilities.

How does Cymulate help with cloud security validation?

Cymulate offers BAS Advanced Scenarios specifically designed to validate cloud security controls. Organizations like Nedbank use these scenarios to ensure that their cloud environments are protected and that all controls are functioning as expected.

What is drift monitoring and why is it important?

Drift monitoring refers to tracking changes in security configurations across different teams and environments. Cymulate helps detect when security controls deviate from organizational standards, allowing teams to address misalignments before they become vulnerabilities. Nedbank used Cymulate to discover and correct drift in their subsidiaries’ security stacks.

How does Cymulate help prioritize vulnerabilities?

Cymulate integrates with vulnerability management products to validate which vulnerabilities are actually exploitable in your environment. This helps organizations like Nedbank focus remediation efforts on the most critical risks, improving overall security posture.

What is automated IOC mitigation in Cymulate?

Automated IOC (Indicators of Compromise) mitigation in Cymulate allows the platform to upload critical IOC data directly to your security controls. This ensures that potential threats are identified and addressed quickly, enhancing the speed and accuracy of threat detection and response. Nedbank uses this feature to streamline their threat mitigation process.

How does Cymulate help track and detect configuration drift?

Cymulate provides centralized drift monitoring, alerting teams when security controls deviate from established standards. This helps organizations like Nedbank maintain consistent security policies across all subsidiaries and environments.

How does Cymulate support threat intelligence assessments?

Cymulate’s research team provides up-to-date threat intelligence assessments, allowing organizations to evaluate their defenses against emerging threats. Nedbank runs these assessments daily to ensure they are protected against the latest attack techniques.

What are the main benefits Nedbank experienced with Cymulate?

Nedbank saw increased productivity (130+ assessments in two months), better resource allocation, more comprehensive testing, automated IOC mitigation, and excellent customer service. These benefits enabled Nedbank to enhance both the breadth and depth of their cybersecurity assessments. Read the full case study: https://cymulate.com/customers/nedbank-increases-the-breadth-depth-of-its-cybersecurity-assessments-with-cymulate/.

How does Cymulate ensure assessments are safe to run in production?

Cymulate’s assessments are designed to be production-safe. The tools and scenarios used are vetted and trusted, allowing organizations to run them in live environments without risk of disruption. Nedbank relies on this safety to validate controls across all environments.

How does Cymulate help with resource allocation in security teams?

By automating assessments and providing clear insights into which controls need improvement, Cymulate enables security teams to focus their time and resources on the most impactful areas. Nedbank uses these insights to optimize their security operations.

What kind of customer support does Cymulate provide?

Cymulate is known for its excellent customer service, offering personalized support throughout onboarding and ongoing use. Nedbank highlighted the value of Cymulate’s support team in helping them optimize the platform since their proof of concept in 2022.

How quickly can organizations start running assessments with Cymulate?

Organizations can start running assessments almost immediately after deployment. Cymulate operates in agentless mode, requiring no additional hardware or complex setup, which accelerates onboarding and time to value. Schedule a demo to learn more: https://cymulate.com/schedule-a-demo/.

What is the onboarding process like with Cymulate?

Cymulate offers a seamless onboarding process. For example, Nedbank’s evaluation instance was converted directly into a production instance, allowing the team to continue without interruption. Personalized support is provided throughout the process.

How does Cymulate help organizations keep up with emerging threats?

Cymulate’s threat intelligence assessments are updated daily by the research team, ensuring organizations can evaluate their defenses against the latest threats. This proactive approach helps teams like Nedbank stay ahead of attackers.

How does Cymulate integrate with existing security tools?

Cymulate integrates with a wide range of security technologies, including vulnerability management, endpoint security, cloud security, and network security tools. This allows organizations to automate validation and remediation across their entire security stack. See all integrations: https://cymulate.com/cymulate-technology-alliances-partners/.

What is the Cymulate platform’s approach to production safety?

Cymulate’s platform is designed to ensure that all assessments are safe to run in production environments. The tools and scenarios are vetted, and organizations like Nedbank trust Cymulate to run assessments without risk to their operations.

How does Cymulate help organizations in the financial sector?

Cymulate addresses the unique challenges of the financial sector by automating security testing, validating controls across subsidiaries, and providing up-to-date threat intelligence. Nedbank, one of South Africa’s largest banks, uses Cymulate to protect itself and its subsidiaries from industry-specific threats. Read the case study: https://cymulate.com/customers/nedbank-increases-the-breadth-depth-of-its-cybersecurity-assessments-with-cymulate/.

What are the key features of Cymulate’s platform?

Cymulate’s platform offers continuous threat validation, breach and attack simulation (BAS), advanced cloud security scenarios, drift monitoring, vulnerability prioritization, automated IOC mitigation, and an extensive library of threat intelligence-led assessments. Learn more: https://cymulate.com/platform/.

Does Cymulate support integration with other security tools?

Yes, Cymulate integrates with a wide range of security technologies, including Akamai Guardicore, AWS GuardDuty, BlackBerry Cylance OPTICS, Carbon Black EDR, Check Point CloudGuard, Cisco Secure Endpoint, CrowdStrike Falcon, Wiz, SentinelOne, and more. See the full list: https://cymulate.com/cymulate-technology-alliances-partners/.

What technical documentation is available for Cymulate?

Cymulate provides guides, whitepapers, solution briefs, and data sheets covering topics like CTEM, detection engineering, exposure validation, automated mitigation, and attack path discovery. Access these resources at the Cymulate Resource Hub: https://cymulate.com/resources/.

How does Cymulate automate threat validation?

Cymulate runs 24/7 automated attack simulations to validate security defenses in real-time, ensuring organizations stay ahead of emerging threats and can quickly identify and remediate vulnerabilities. Learn more: https://cymulate.com/solutions/optimize-threat-resilience/.

What is the Cymulate threat library?

The Cymulate threat library contains over 100,000 attack actions aligned to MITRE ATT&CK, updated daily with the latest threat intelligence. This enables organizations to test their defenses against a wide variety of real-world attack techniques. Learn more: https://cymulate.com/platform/.

How does Cymulate help with exposure prioritization and remediation?

Cymulate validates the exploitability of exposures and ranks them based on prevention and detection capabilities, business context, and threat intelligence. This helps organizations focus remediation efforts on the most critical vulnerabilities. Learn more: https://cymulate.com/solutions/exposure-prioritization/.

What is attack path discovery in Cymulate?

Attack path discovery identifies potential attack paths, privilege escalation, and lateral movement risks within your environment. This helps organizations proactively address vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. Learn more: https://cymulate.com/attack-path-discovery/.

Does Cymulate support automated mitigation?

Yes, Cymulate integrates with security controls to push updates for immediate prevention of threats, automating the mitigation process and reducing response times. Learn more: https://cymulate.com/automated-mitigation/.

What are the main benefits of using Cymulate?

Key benefits include improved security posture (up to 52% reduction in critical exposures), operational efficiency (60% increase in team efficiency), faster threat validation (40X faster than manual methods), cost savings, enhanced threat resilience (81% reduction in cyber risk within four months), and better decision-making with actionable insights. Learn more: https://cymulate.com/solutions/optimize-threat-resilience/.

How easy is Cymulate to use?

Cymulate is designed for ease of use, with an intuitive interface, agentless deployment, and minimal setup required. Customers consistently praise its user-friendly dashboard and actionable insights. See customer reviews: https://cymulate.com/schedule-a-demo/.

What security and compliance certifications does Cymulate have?

Cymulate holds SOC2 Type II, ISO 27001:2013, ISO 27701, ISO 27017, and CSA STAR Level 1 certifications, demonstrating adherence to industry-leading security and privacy standards. Learn more: https://cymulate.com/security-at-cymulate/.

How does Cymulate ensure data security?

Cymulate ensures data security through encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256), secure AWS-hosted data centers, and a tested disaster recovery plan. The platform also includes 2FA, RBAC, and IP address restrictions. Learn more: https://cymulate.com/security-at-cymulate/.

Is Cymulate GDPR compliant?

Yes, Cymulate incorporates data protection by design and has a dedicated privacy and security team, including a Data Protection Officer (DPO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), to ensure GDPR compliance. Learn more: https://cymulate.com/security-at-cymulate/.

What application security measures does Cymulate use?

Cymulate follows a strict Secure Development Lifecycle (SDLC), including secure code training, continuous vulnerability scanning, and annual third-party penetration tests to ensure application security. Learn more: https://cymulate.com/security-at-cymulate/.

How does Cymulate train its employees on security?

All Cymulate employees undergo ongoing security awareness training, phishing tests, and adhere to comprehensive security policies to maintain a strong security culture. Learn more: https://cymulate.com/security-at-cymulate/.

What is Cymulate’s pricing model?

Cymulate uses a subscription-based pricing model tailored to each organization’s requirements. Pricing depends on the chosen package, number of assets, and scenarios selected. For a detailed quote, schedule a demo: https://cymulate.com/schedule-a-demo/.

How does Cymulate compare to AttackIQ?

Cymulate surpasses AttackIQ in innovation, threat coverage, and ease of use, offering an industry-leading threat scenario library and AI-powered capabilities. Read more: https://cymulate.com/cymulate-vs-competitors/attackiq/.

How does Cymulate compare to Mandiant Security Validation?

Mandiant Security Validation is an original BAS platform but has seen little innovation in recent years. Cymulate continually innovates with AI and automation, expanding into exposure management as a grid leader. Read more: https://cymulate.com/cymulate-vs-competitors/mandiant-security-validation.

How does Cymulate compare to Pentera?

Pentera focuses on attack path validation but lacks the depth Cymulate provides for full defense assessment. Cymulate optimizes defense, scales offensive testing, and increases exposure awareness. Read more: https://cymulate.com/cymulate-vs-competitors/pentera/.

How does Cymulate compare to Picus Security?

Picus Security offers an on-premise BAS option but lacks the comprehensive exposure validation platform Cymulate provides, which covers the full kill-chain and includes cloud control validation. Read more: https://cymulate.com/cymulate-vs-competitors/picus-security/.

How does Cymulate compare to SafeBreach?

Cymulate outpaces SafeBreach with unmatched innovation, precision, and automation, offering the industry’s largest attack library and a full CTEM solution. Read more: https://cymulate.com/cymulate-vs-competitors/safebreach/.

How does Cymulate compare to Scythe?

Scythe is suitable for advanced red teams building custom attack campaigns, but Cymulate provides a more comprehensive exposure validation platform with actionable remediation and automated mitigation. Read more: https://cymulate.com/cymulate-vs-competitors/scythe/.

What do customers say about Cymulate’s ease of use?

Customers consistently praise Cymulate for its intuitive interface and actionable insights. For example, Nedbank’s security team found the platform easy to implement and use, with personalized support from Cymulate’s team. Read the case study: https://cymulate.com/customers/nedbank-increases-the-breadth-depth-of-its-cybersecurity-assessments-with-cymulate/.

Are there other case studies showing Cymulate’s impact?

Yes, Cymulate has numerous case studies across industries. For example, Hertz Israel reduced cyber risk by 81% in four months, and Nemours Children’s Health improved detection and response in hybrid and cloud environments. See all case studies: https://cymulate.com/customers/.

CUSTOMERS

Nedbank Increases the Breadth & Depth of its Cybersecurity Assessments

Overview

industry

Finance

Gauteng, South Africa

Company Size

30K+ employees

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Challenge The Cymulate Solution Benefits Solution

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Results

Ran over 130 assessments in less than 2 months
Security validation on-prem and in the cloud
Baseline and detect drift

Cymulate highlights your organization’s security gaps so your team can work together to close them before an attack occurs.

- Kevin Roberts, Information Security Analyst

Challenge

Nedbank, one of the four biggest banks in South Africa, needs to protect itself and its subsidiaries from cyber threats and vulnerabilities that target the financial services industry. The Nedbank cybersecurity team wanted to replace its manual, resource-heavy cybersecurity processes to improve its protection from the latest active threats.

The team wanted a tool that could help them:

Automate security testing 
The team was using up a lot of time and resources to develop assessments and manually run each one in its different environments and subsidiaries. Additionally, the team needed to ensure that the assessments were safe to run and would not harm the organization.

Track and detect drift 
With different teams adjusting the security settings, the cybersecurity team did not have a centralized platform that could track those changes and ensure that none of them put the organization at risk.

The Cymulate Solution

Nedbank evaluated different security validation platforms based on technical, design, and user management requirements, and it also compared reporting, alerts, and vendor support. When the security team first witnessed Cymulate in action, Kevin Roberts, Information Security Analyst, recalled, “From the moment we saw the Cymulate demo, we knew that if the product could do what the sales rep said it could, then it would be a perfect fit.”

During the onboarding process, Cymulate seamlessly converted Nedbank’s evaluation instance into a production instance so the team could carry on from where they left off in the evaluation.

Kevin explained that the security team uses Cymulate for:

Continuous control validation across the organization

“You can configure your security solutions to the best of your ability, but you can’t just trust that they will protect you from all the threats out there. Cymulate allows us to validate that our solutions are tuned correctly and that we can do this continuously in different environments.”

Production-safe assessments

“With Cymulate, all you need to do is configure an assessment and run it on the platform. You can trust the source of the tools used in the assessment and know that it’s safe to run in your production environment.”

Cloud security validation

“With our recent increased adoption of cloud environments, we use Cymulate BAS Advanced Scenarios to ensure all our cloud controls are working as expected.”

Threat intelligence assessments

“Instead of chasing after the latest threat, the Cymulate research team keeps us up to date with emerging threat assessments so we can immediately evaluate our security and know if we are protected. We automatically run the immediate threats assessments daily.”

Drift monitoring and detection

“Just last week, we discovered that a specific control in our subsidiaries’ security stack was not aligned with our security control standards. Without Cymulate, we would have never been able to detect this kind of drift.”

Vulnerability prioritization

“Cymulate helps us prioritize exploitable vulnerabilities in our environment. By integrating with our vulnerability management products and running Cymulate assessments, we can easily discover which vulnerabilities are an actual threat to our organization.”

Benefits

Increased productivity
The Nedbank team can run more assessments than ever before. In a two-month period, they were able to run 130 assessments.

Better allocation of resources
With Cymulate, the Nedbank team knows which controls are working and which ones need to be improved so it can focus its time and resources on improving its security.

More comprehensive testing
Cymulate provides the Nedbank security team with an extensive library of threat intelligence-led risk assessments that are simple to deploy and regularly updated, enabling the team to test its security more extensively than it was able to manually do before.

Automated IOC mitigation
Cymulate seamlessly integrates with Nedbank’s security controls to enhance the speed and accuracy of threat detection and response. The Cymulate IOC (indicators of compromise) mitigation capability automatically uploads critical IOC data directly to Nedbank’s relevant security controls to ensure that potential threats are identified and addressed quickly.

Excellent customer service
Since the start of its POC in 2022 until today, Nedbank appreciates the personalized support it receives from the Cymulate team to help optimize its use of the platform.

Solution

Breach and attack simulation (BAS)
BAS advanced scenarios

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