Cysiv

Based in Irving, Texas, Cysiv provides a subscription-based Security Operations Center as a Service platform that delivers continuous threat hunting, detection, and incident response for hybrid cloud, network, and endpoint environments. The organization operates with a workforce of 68 employees and generates approximately $11.5 million in annual revenue by delivering managed cybersecurity services to enterprise clients and managed security service providers. Before its eventual exit, Cysiv secured $26 million in Series A funding during a round led by Forgepoint Capital, alongside strategic investments from Trend Micro and Trend Forward Capital. Initially developed to improve compliance frameworks through a strategic partnership between Trend Micro and HITRUST, the business was acquired by cybersecurity firm Forescout in 2022 to integrate its cloud-native SIEM technology. Cysiv was officially launched in 2018 and later spun out by co-founders Partha Panda and Justin Foster.

High-Level Overview

Cysiv is a cybersecurity company that builds a cloud-native Security Operations Center (SOC)-as-a-Service platform, combining proactive threat hunting with managed security for hybrid cloud, network, and endpoint environments.[1][2] It serves enterprises, mid-sized organizations across banking, finance, automotive, manufacturing, fintech, insurance, healthtech, consumer, and B2B services, as well as managed security service providers (MSSPs) and managed service providers (MSPs), solving the challenges of building and managing complex SOCs through automated detection, prioritization, investigation, and remediation of threats while reducing reliance on patchwork tools and manual processes.[1][2][4] Cysiv raised $26M in Series A funding in 2020, achieved rapid customer traction with partnerships like Google Cloud and Forescout, and was acquired by Forescout in 2022 to enhance data-powered threat detection across IT, IoT, OT, and IoMT devices.[3][4][5]

Origin Story

Cysiv was founded in 2018 in Irving, Texas, as an incubation project within Trend Micro—a global cybersecurity leader with over $1.5B in sales—through a partnership with HITRUST, a data protection standards organization based in Frisco, Texas.[1][2][3][6] Key founders Partha Panda and Justin Fier recognized the inefficiencies of traditional SOCs, which were manual, slow, and plagued by false positives due to disparate technologies, and developed a data science-driven platform to address these gaps after over two years of incubation.[4] In 2020, Forgepoint Capital led a $26M Series A to spin Cysiv out as an independent company, with managing director Alberto Yépez joining the board; this fueled scaling and early wins like partnerships with Google Cloud and Forescout, culminating in Forescout's acquisition in 2022.[2][4][5]

Core Differentiators

• Integrated SOC-as-a-Service Platform: Combines 24/7 threat hunting experts, global intelligence, playbooks, and a vendor-agnostic managed security stack—including SIEM, security analytics, user/entity behavior analysis, and threat intelligence—into a single, cloud-native solution with consumption-based billing.[1][2][7]
• Data-Driven Automation: Proprietary analytics engine prioritizes true threats, handles diverse security logs at scale, and enables co-managed operations for enterprises and MSSPs, reducing complexity and talent dependency compared to legacy SOCs.[2][4]
• Multi-Tenant Flexibility: Supports MSSPs/MSPs in delivering SOCaaS, managed SIEM, or MDR services, with proven integrations like Forescout for broader asset visibility post-acquisition.[4][5]
• Proven Traction and Backing: Quick adoption across industries, early partnerships (e.g., Google Cloud, Forescout), and Trend Micro heritage provide robust threat intel and scalability.[1][4]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Cysiv rides the surging demand for outsourced, scalable SOC capabilities amid escalating cyber threats, skills shortages, and hybrid cloud complexity, where enterprises struggle with in-house SOC builds.[2][4] Its 2018-2020 timing capitalized on post-incubation momentum from Trend Micro and HITRUST, aligning with rising MSSP adoption and investments in automated detection amid ransomware and supply chain attacks.[1][5] Market forces like regulatory pressures (e.g., HITRUST frameworks) and the shift to consumption-based security services favor Cysiv, influencing the ecosystem by enabling MSSPs to offer advanced MDR and accelerating consolidations, as seen in its Forescout acquisition that expands threat response to unmanaged devices.[3][4][5]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Post-2022 Forescout acquisition (backed by Advent International), Cysiv's platform will integrate deeper into automated cybersecurity for IT/OT/IoT, powering AI-enhanced threat detection at massive scale.[4][5] Trends like zero-trust expansion, AI-driven analytics, and MSSP growth will shape its path, potentially evolving into a cornerstone for holistic exposure management. As cyber risks intensify, Cysiv's blend of heritage innovation and acquisition synergies positions it to redefine enterprise defense, building on its spin-out success to deliver outsized impact in a $100B+ security operations market.