How did Cymulate help a large retail organization improve its security control assessments?

Cymulate enabled a retail organization with over 10,000 employees and operations in 34 countries to assess security controls 12 times faster. By automating validation and reporting, the team reduced assessment time from up to a year to about a month, increased visibility, and made data-driven decisions. Read the case study .

What measurable results did the retail organization achieve with Cymulate?

The organization achieved a 12x increase in assessment speed, a 97% reduction in web application firewall (WAF) risk, and a 75% reduction in reporting time after implementing Cymulate. Source .

What challenges did the retail organization face before using Cymulate?

The organization struggled with fragmented security controls across regions, manual and unscalable pen testing, lack of visibility, and difficulty ensuring consistent configuration and protection across a large infrastructure.

How did Cymulate impact the organization's vulnerability management process?

Cymulate enabled the team to quickly identify and prioritize vulnerabilities, reducing the time and effort required for patching and mitigation. The platform provided clear visibility into which vulnerabilities would have the greatest impact, streamlining remediation efforts.

How did Cymulate improve reporting for the retail organization's security team?

Cymulate automated data collection and reporting, reducing reporting time by 75%. The dashboard provided real-time, actionable insights, making it easier to communicate security posture and trends to leadership.

What feedback did the CISO provide about Cymulate?

The CISO described Cymulate as a 'game changer' that uncovered gaps in top-tier solutions, improved processes, and delivered immediate ROI. The CISO also praised the platform's breadth and depth of assessments and its ability to provide actionable, data-driven insights.

How did Cymulate help with continuous security validation?

Cymulate provided continuous visibility into the organization's defenses, allowing the team to assess controls more frequently and proactively identify gaps, rather than relying on annual assessments.

How did Cymulate simplify testing and reduce manual work?

The platform automated security validation across regions, reducing the need for manual pen testing and streamlining the process for the global security team.

What Cymulate module was used in this case study?

The retail organization used Cymulate's Exposure Validation module to automate and optimize security control assessments across its global infrastructure.

How did Cymulate help with leadership reporting and strategic planning?

Cymulate's dashboard enabled the CISO to easily show leadership the status and trends of security tools, supporting more confident and strategic planning for future security initiatives.

How quickly can organizations see value from Cymulate?

Organizations can see immediate value, as demonstrated by the retail organization's rapid improvement in WAF risk score and overall security posture after initial assessments with Cymulate.

What is the primary purpose of Cymulate's platform?

The primary purpose of Cymulate's platform is to proactively validate cybersecurity defenses, identify vulnerabilities, and optimize security posture through continuous, automated testing and actionable insights. Learn more .

How does Cymulate help organizations make data-driven security decisions?

Cymulate provides real-time dashboards and automated reporting, giving security teams full visibility into control performance and enabling informed, strategic decision-making based on current risk and trends.

How does Cymulate automate security validation?

Cymulate automates the validation of security controls by running continuous, real-world attack simulations and aggregating results in a centralized dashboard, reducing manual effort and increasing assessment frequency.

How does Cymulate help prioritize vulnerabilities?

Cymulate enables security teams to quickly identify which vulnerabilities are most likely to impact the organization, allowing for efficient prioritization of patching and mitigation efforts.

How does Cymulate provide visibility across different regions and entities?

The platform allows users to view security posture by country, region, and solution, making it easy to identify underperforming controls and focus remediation efforts where needed.

How does Cymulate support continuous improvement of security posture?

By providing ongoing, automated assessments and actionable insights, Cymulate helps organizations continuously identify and address gaps, ensuring defenses remain effective as threats evolve.

What are the key capabilities of Cymulate's platform?

Cymulate offers continuous threat validation, unified breach and attack simulation (BAS), continuous automated red teaming (CART), exposure analytics, attack path discovery, automated mitigation, AI-powered optimization, and an extensive threat library with over 100,000 attack actions updated daily. Learn more .

Does Cymulate integrate with other security technologies?

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. For a full list, visit the Partnerships and Integrations page .

What technical documentation is available for Cymulate?

Cymulate provides guides, whitepapers, solution briefs, and data sheets covering topics like vulnerability management, detection engineering, exposure validation, attack path discovery, and automated mitigation. Access these resources in the Resource Hub .

What security and compliance certifications does Cymulate hold?

Cymulate holds SOC2 Type II, ISO 27001:2013, ISO 27701, ISO 27017, and CSA STAR Level 1 certifications, demonstrating compliance with industry-leading security and privacy standards. Learn more .

How does Cymulate ensure data security and privacy?

Cymulate uses encryption for data in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256), secure AWS-hosted data centers, a tested disaster recovery plan, and a secure development lifecycle. The platform is GDPR-compliant and includes mandatory 2FA, RBAC, and IP restrictions. Details here .

How often is Cymulate updated with new features or threat intelligence?

Cymulate updates its SaaS platform every two weeks with new features, including AI-powered SIEM rule mapping and advanced exposure prioritization. The threat library is updated daily with the latest attack techniques. Learn more .

How easy is Cymulate to use and implement?

Cymulate is designed for ease of use, with agentless deployment, minimal setup, and an intuitive dashboard. Customers report being able to start simulations quickly, with support available via email, chat, and a knowledge base. Book a demo .

What feedback have customers given about Cymulate's ease of use?

Customers consistently praise Cymulate for its intuitive interface, user-friendly dashboard, and actionable insights. Testimonials highlight the platform's simplicity, quick implementation, and effective support. See reviews .

Who can benefit from using Cymulate?

Cymulate is designed for CISOs, security leaders, SecOps teams, red teams, and vulnerability management teams in organizations of all sizes and industries, including retail, finance, healthcare, and more. Learn more .

What business impact can customers expect from Cymulate?

Customers report up to a 52% reduction in critical exposures, a 60% increase in team efficiency, 81% reduction in cyber risk within four months, and 40x faster threat validation compared to manual methods. See details .

What pain points does Cymulate address for security teams?

Cymulate addresses fragmented tools, resource constraints, unclear risk prioritization, cloud complexity, communication barriers, inadequate threat simulation, operational inefficiencies, and post-breach recovery challenges. See case studies .

Are there case studies showing Cymulate's impact on different industries?

Yes, Cymulate has published case studies across retail, finance, energy, healthcare, and more. Examples include Hertz Israel reducing cyber risk by 81% and Nemours Children's Health improving detection in hybrid environments. Browse case studies .

How does Cymulate tailor solutions for different security roles?

Cymulate provides quantifiable metrics for CISOs, automates processes for SecOps, offers advanced offensive testing for red teams, and streamlines vulnerability management for dedicated teams. Learn more .

What is Cymulate's pricing model?

Cymulate uses a subscription-based pricing model tailored to each organization's needs, based on the chosen package, number of assets, and scenarios. For a custom quote, schedule a demo .

How does Cymulate compare to AttackIQ?

Cymulate offers broader innovation, a larger threat scenario library, and AI-powered capabilities for streamlined workflows compared to AttackIQ. Read more .

How does Cymulate differ from Mandiant Security Validation?

Mandiant Security Validation is an original BAS platform but has seen less innovation in recent years. Cymulate continually innovates with AI and automation, expanding into exposure management. Read more .

How does Cymulate compare to Pentera?

Pentera focuses on attack path validation, while Cymulate provides deeper defense optimization, scalable offensive testing, and increased exposure awareness. Read more .

How does Cymulate compare to Picus Security?

Picus Security offers on-premise BAS but lacks Cymulate's comprehensive exposure validation, full kill-chain coverage, and cloud control validation. Read more .

How does Cymulate compare to SafeBreach?

Cymulate provides unmatched innovation, the largest attack library, a full CTEM solution, and comprehensive exposure validation, while SafeBreach focuses on BAS. Read more .

How does Cymulate compare to Scythe?

Scythe is suitable for advanced red teams building custom attack campaigns, while Cymulate offers a more comprehensive exposure validation platform with actionable remediation and automated mitigation. Read more .

How long does it take to implement Cymulate?

Cymulate is agentless and requires minimal setup. Organizations can start running simulations almost immediately after deployment, with support available to assist with onboarding. Book a demo .

What support resources are available for Cymulate customers?

Cymulate offers email and chat support, a knowledge base with technical articles and videos, webinars, e-books, and an AI chatbot for quick answers and best practices. Explore resources .

CUSTOMERS

How a Retail Organization Became 12x Faster at Assessing Security Controls with Cymulate

Overview

industry

Retail

Switzerland

Company Size

10,001+ employees

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Challenge The Cymulate Solution Benefits Solution

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Results

12 times faster at assessing security controls
97% reduction in WAF risk
75% reduction in reporting time

Bringing in Cymulate was a game changer. It helped us uncover gaps in top-tier solutions and showed real ROI by improving processes, configurations and overall security posture.

- CISO

Challenge

This retail organization has a presence in 34 countries and over 5,800 stores. Its security team uses various controls to protect customer and employee data because it's a large retail organization with many devices and an extensive infrastructure. However, each entity uses different control vendors, making it difficult for the small security team to ensure all its controls are configured correctly. Initially, the team conducted manual pen tests to validate its controls, which were time-consuming and unscalable.

The team wanted more visibility into how all its controls were performing globally and whether they would protect the company in case of an attack. The team began to explore breach and attack simulation (BAS) tools that would automatically validate its controls’ efficacy.

The Cymulate Solution

After researching BAS platforms and consulting with its partners, the organization decided that Cymulate was a perfect fit for its validation needs. The company’s CISO reflected, "When I was first introduced to Cymulate, I was blown away by the breadth and depth of its assessments. It far exceeded my expectations.” He added, “One of the first assessments we ran with Cymulate was on our web application firewall. We started with a score around 30, and after identifying and fixing a key misconfiguration, it dropped to 1. That quick win showed me just how immediate and impactful Cymulate’s value could be.”

The CISO explained that Cymulate empowers the organization to strengthen its security posture by continuously testing defenses, enhancing visibility and enabling smarter decision-making.

Validate and optimize controls across the organization

“Before Cymulate, assessing and hardening just one security control across all our regions could take up to a year. Now, with Cymulate, it takes about a month. The platform lets me drill down into specific countries, identify underperforming controls, and focus our efforts on strengthening and optimizing them.”

Make data-driven decisions

“Before Cymulate, gathering all our security data took months. Now, it's all at my fingertips with minimal effort. I love how the Cymulate dashboard gives me a clear view of our security posture by country, region and solution. I have full visibility into which controls are performing well and which need attention, enabling me to confidently plan our security strategy for the coming months and even years.”

Prioritize vulnerabilities

“Dealing with vulnerabilities used to be a lot more time-consuming. With Cymulate, I can quickly see which vulnerabilities will impact the organization and prioritize patching and mitigation.”

Increase security visibility

“Instead of assessing my security controls once a year, Cymulate provides me with continuous visibility of my defenses. It’s a game changer.”

Report to leadership

“With Cymulate reporting, I can easily show leadership the status of our security tools and their trends.”

Benefits

Increased efficiency in reporting
Cymulate automates data collection and reporting processes, dramatically reducing the time and effort required from the organization’s security team.

Enhanced visibility and assurance
Cymulate provides the team with continuous security control validation, offering real-time insight into whether defenses perform as expected. This constant validation ensures that gaps are identified proactively, giving the team confidence in the effectiveness of its security posture across all regions.

Improved security decision-making
Cymulate empowers the team with actionable insights from real-time data, enabling more informed and strategic security decisions. This ensures that security initiatives are aligned with actual risk, making the organization’s overall strategy more effective and targeted.

Simplified testing and reduced manual work
Instead of relying on manual pen testing across different countries, Cymulate’s automated platform significantly reduces the need for manual intervention, streamlining the entire security validation process globally.

Solution

Exposure Validation

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