As we prepare for the SaaS CTO Conference later this year, we’re delighted to welcome on board our first sponsors who are part of making it all possible. We’ve asked CovertSwarm to tell us a little about what they do and why they love working with CTOs:

Tell us about the problem you solve at CovertSwarm.

Defensive security is an almost impossible challenge, and monitoring and protecting everything against every conceivable attack is not a winning formula. Our approach is to take an outside-in look at your business, attacking you and finding your vulnerabilities before the real bad guys do. Most companies’ view of offensive security is to get an annual penetration test, with its aim to find as little as possible, to confirm to insurers and customers that your platform and business is ‘safe’ from cyber-attack, without ever actually trying the avenues that a criminal will do.

Our founders worked in multiple global enterprises and MSSP that serviced hundreds of SMEs. During those days, they recognised that all those businesses were deploying the same tactics against cyber-attacks. It was clear the approaches being used were no longer fit for purpose. As a result, CovertSwarm was built to provide a service that would redefine how enterprise security risks are discovered, with the business continually outpacing the cyber threats organisations face in the modern world via a monthly subscription.

What are you most looking forward to sharing with the SaaS CTO Conference attendees?

CTOs have an amazing role that helps define and shape a company like no other. They have the goal of being the torch carrier for the direction of the company and how it will set itself apart from the rest of the market. However, along with the fun and challenges that this brings, they also have the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads when, or if, things go wrong.

We love working with CTOs as we are uniquely positioned to help them find gaps before their real adversaries do. Trying to defend everything is an almost impossible task, so our mission is to constantly compromise businesses and highlight weaknesses well before the ‘bad actors’ do by using every possible weapon in a hacker’s arsenal and taking penetration testing right to the edge of simulating real-world threats. One of the most innovative ways we do so is through the global rollout of the CovertSwarm Portal - for free.

CovertSwarm’s attack map strategy comprises 62 different attack vectors across physical, digital, and social methods that identify, track and test the potential ways a hacker may breach a client’s perimeter. These attack vectors are constantly evolving and adapting as the industry demands it to. Our latest data shows that more than a quarter of the attack vectors we deploy lead to vulnerability identification and solutions to be more resilient in the future.

What do you think is the most interesting change in the SaaS landscape in 2024?

I hate to say it, but the easy and likely correct answer is AI and ML. This is due to two compelling drives in the market. The first is the new capabilities that these technologies bring, but the latter, and probably the largest influencer, is company value based on perceived differentiation through the PE/VC market. If you don’t have an AI story, your competitor will.

Integration is another key driver we’ll continue to see through 2024; whatever service you’re building will need to be connected to other sources, either to feed it or get your information out to drive other platforms. So, APIs and out-of-the-box integrations are key.

Both AI and Integration create interesting new risk vectors for businesses; being insular and non-connected is the best way to be secure, but doing so will prevent you from the benefits of AI and being interconnected, so adopting both approaches in a secure way requires careful consideration and testing.

What’s been CovertSwarm’s proudest achievement in 2024 so far?

We’ve doubled in size for the fourth year in a row—it’s been amazing for a business that started in the pandemic with a handful of people. Now, we span nine time zones and have customers around the world.

Our largest client has 300,000+ employees, while our smallest has seven. It’s great to see that we’re growing across all company sizes and verticals, which shows that our approach is unique and is helping keep their assets safer than previous methods.