HEAD-TO-HEAD · FACTS ONLY
CyCognito vs Defender EASM: exposure management facts side by side
SHORT ANSWER
CyCognito describes 5 of the five tool types on the pages we read and Defender EASM describes 2; they differ on exposure validation, exposure management platforms and WAF posture. On proof, CyCognito describes attack-style testing and Defender EASM does not describe exploit testing on the pages we read. We do not score either; the right choice depends on your estate, current platform, WAFs and capacity to fix.
By The Exposure Desk · Exposure Management Finder · Published 2026-10-11
Desk research from public vendor pages read in September 2026, updated 2026-10-11. Profiles follow our published method; we did not run the products.
How do their shapes compare?
- CyCognito
- Microsoft Defender EASM
- Outer point: described on the vendor's pages we read
- Inner point: not in our sources (it may exist; we did not find it)
What are the facts, side by side?
| Fact | CyCognito | Microsoft Defender EASM |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning | An external exposure management platform that starts from your organisation's name, attributes each asset to a subsidiary or brand, and runs more than 100,000 active security tests. | Microsoft's external attack surface management service, run as an Azure resource, with a prebuilt inventory, recursive discovery from seeds and billing on the Azure bill. |
| Deployment | Unauthenticated black-box testing from outside, with no brute force or state changes. Source: CyCognito active security testing · Read 27 Sep 2026 | An Azure resource. Cross-tenant resource access, including Azure Lighthouse, is not supported. Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender EASM overview · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| EASM discovery | Described Starts from the organisation's name with no IP ranges or asset lists, and attributes assets to subsidiary, brand or business unit. Source: CyCognito discovery · Read 27 Sep 2026 | Described A prebuilt inventory for many organisations plus recursive discovery from seeds you supply. Source: Microsoft Learn: what is discovery · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Exposure validationDiffers | Described More than 100,000 tests across 30+ categories, unauthenticated and designed not to change state. Source: CyCognito active security testing · Read 27 Sep 2026 | Not in our sources |
| Exposure management platformsDiffers | Described CyCognito calls its product an exposure management platform; internal assets are not described on the pages we read. Source: CyCognito press release: Continuous AI Pentesting · Read 27 Sep 2026 | Not in our sources |
| CTEM programme support | Described Describes CTEM as "discovery to remediation" and "what ties the platform together": discovery, context, prioritisation, validation and remediation, with a retest after each fix. Source: CyCognito homepage (re-read) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Described Covers discovery and inventory with dashboards for vulnerabilities, compliance and hygiene; remediation happens downstream through Log Analytics and Azure Data Explorer. Source: Microsoft Learn: data connections · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| WAF postureDiffers | Described Its Application Security use case includes ensuring WAF coverage; producing or deploying WAF rules is not described. Source: CyCognito homepage (re-read) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Not in our sources |
| Subsidiary and owner attributionDiffers | Matches Every finding carries a trace of how it was found and why it belongs to the subsidiary, brand or business unit. Source: CyCognito discovery · Read 27 Sep 2026 | Partly Every asset carries a state (Approved Inventory, Dependency, Monitor Only, Candidate, Requires Investigation) based on connection strength and confidence; cross-tenant access is not supported. Source: Microsoft Learn: what is discovery · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Internal as well as external assets | Not in our sources | Not in our sources |
| Cloud connections namedDiffers | Not in our sources | Partly Runs as an Azure resource; connections to other clouds are not described. Source: Microsoft Learn: data connections · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Exploitability checkedDiffers | Matches Active black-box tests with no brute force or state changes. Source: CyCognito active security testing · Read 27 Sep 2026 | Not in our sources |
| Attack-style testingDiffers | Matches More than 100,000 active tests, and Continuous AI Pentesting announced on 16 June 2026. Source: CyCognito press release: Continuous AI Pentesting · Read 27 Sep 2026 | Not in our sources |
| Works through your WAF or edge | Not in our sources | Not in our sources |
| WAF coverage across several vendorsDiffers | Partly Its Application Security use case includes ensuring WAF coverage; producing or deploying WAF rules is not described. Source: CyCognito homepage (re-read) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Not in our sources |
| Retests after a fixDiffers | Matches Retests after each fix. Source: CyCognito remediation acceleration · Read 27 Sep 2026 | Not in our sources |
| Routes findings to owners and ticketsDiffers | Matches Owner-linked workflows with ServiceNow, Jira, Splunk and Zendesk. Source: CyCognito remediation acceleration · Read 27 Sep 2026 | Partly Data connectors to Log Analytics and Azure Data Explorer trigger remediation actions downstream. Source: Microsoft Learn: data connections · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Applies a compensating control | Not in our sources | Not in our sources |
| Price or pricing basis publishedDiffers | Matches AWS Marketplace lists CyCognito ASM 250 (up to 250 assets) at $30,000 for 12 months. Source: AWS Marketplace: CyCognito Attack Surface Management Platform · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Partly Billable assets are defined (approved host:IP combinations, domains and IP addresses) and charged on the Azure bill; Microsoft's pricing page showed no rate when we read it. Source: Microsoft Learn: understanding billable assets · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Trial or self-serve startDiffers | Not in our sources | Matches A 30-day free trial, then Azure billing. Source: Microsoft Learn: understanding billable assets · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Platform it extends | None | Native to Azure, billed on the Azure bill, with a Security Copilot integration in preview. Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender EASM documentation · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Integrations | ServiceNow, Jira, Splunk and Zendesk for remediation workflows. Source: CyCognito remediation acceleration · Read 27 Sep 2026 | Data connections to Log Analytics and Azure Data Explorer, and a Security Copilot integration in preview. Source: Microsoft Learn: data connections · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Price | AWS Marketplace, 12-month contract: CyCognito ASM 250 (up to 250 assets) $30,000; 24- and 36-month contracts save up to 8% and 11%. Direct pricing basis: total asset volume (ASM); active IPs and web applications (exposure validation), by quote. Source: AWS Marketplace: CyCognito Attack Surface Management Platform · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Billed through Azure on billable assets (approved host:IP combinations, domains and IP addresses) after a 30-day free trial. Microsoft's pricing page did not show a rate when we read it; check it for the current figure. Source: Microsoft Learn: understanding billable assets · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
Where do they differ?
- Exposure validation: CyCognito describes it; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
- Exposure management platforms: CyCognito describes it; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
- WAF posture: CyCognito describes it; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
- Subsidiary and owner attribution: CyCognito matches; Defender EASM partly matches.
- Cloud connections named: CyCognito is not in our sources; Defender EASM partly matches.
- Exploitability checked: CyCognito matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
- Attack-style testing: CyCognito matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
- WAF coverage across several vendors: CyCognito partly matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
- Retests after a fix: CyCognito matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
- Routes findings to owners and tickets: CyCognito matches; Defender EASM partly matches.
- Price or pricing basis published: CyCognito matches; Defender EASM partly matches.
- Trial or self-serve start: CyCognito is not in our sources; Defender EASM matches.
Choose CyCognito if
- You want to start from a company name and see the attribution trail for each asset
- You need proof that a fix worked, through a retest
Choose Defender EASM if
- You are on Azure and want to start without a sales call
- You want a discovery baseline before buying validation
Which limits should you check?
CyCognito
- No automated mitigation is described: remediation is guidance, owner-linked tickets and retests.
- WAF coverage is checked, but producing or deploying WAF rules is not described.
Defender EASM
- No exploit validation is described.
- No built-in remediation workflow, and no cross-tenant resource access for groups with several Azure tenants.
Questions readers ask
Is CyCognito or Defender EASM better?
Neither is scored on this site. CyCognito describes 5 of five tool types and Defender EASM 2 on the pages we read, and they differ on 12 recorded facts. Which fits depends on your estate, current platform, need for proof, WAFs and capacity to fix; the finder checks those.
Which of the two proves exploitability?
CyCognito: exploitability checked: Matches; attack-style testing: Matches. Defender EASM: exploitability checked: Not in our sources; attack-style testing: Not in our sources.
Do CyCognito or Defender EASM publish prices?
CyCognito: AWS Marketplace, 12-month contract: CyCognito ASM 250 (up to 250 assets) $30,000; 24- and 36-month contracts save up to 8% and 11%. Direct pricing basis: total asset volume (ASM); active IPs and web applications (exposure validation), by quote. Defender EASM: Billed through Azure on billable assets (approved host:IP combinations, domains and IP addresses) after a 30-day free trial. Microsoft's pricing page did not show a rate when we read it; check it for the current figure.