Is ZeroFOX any good?

ZeroFOX is a cybersecurity company that specializes in combating external digital risks across social media, mobile apps, domains, dark web, and surface web. Their platform uses artificial intelligence, data analysis, and human review to detect threats and prevent attacks. But is ZeroFOX actually effective at protecting organizations from modern cyber threats? Let’s take a deep dive into what ZeroFOX offers and whether it lives up to the hype.

What does ZeroFOX do?

ZeroFOX has two main product offerings:

• ZeroFOX Platform – Their flagship product that provides digital risk protection across social media, mobile, domains, dark web, and surface web. It uses AI and automation to detect external threats and vulnerabilities.
• ZeroFOX Alpha Team – A team of cybersecurity experts thatprovides professional services on top of the platform, including threat hunting, incident response, and training.

The ZeroFOX Platform specifically helps protect organizations against these key threats:

• Social media risks – Phishing, fraud, account takeover, etc.
• Mobile risks – Malicious or vulnerable apps, app account takeover, etc.
• Domain risks – Domain spoofing, brand infringement, data exposure, etc.
• Dark web risks – Leaked credentials, intellectual property theft, harassment, etc.
• Surface web risks – Fake news, review manipulation, doxing, etc.

It does this by continuously scanning for threats across social media, app stores, domain registrars, dark web sites, forums, code repositories, and more. The platform uses a combination of artificial intelligence, threat intelligence feeds, and human analysts to detect external risks.

When a threat is identified, ZeroFOX generates an alert and notifies the appropriate team members. It also provides data and context to help them investigate and respond to the incident quickly. The platform can also automatically enforce protections, like removing fake social media accounts or blocking domain access.

Unique capabilities of ZeroFOX

There are a few key capabilities that set ZeroFOX apart from other cybersecurity solutions:

• Broad external attack surface monitoring – Most solutions focus just on one channel like social media. ZeroFOX monitors across social, mobile, domains, dark web, and surface web.
• AI detection – The platform uses AI algorithms to detect anomalies and emerging threats across the massive digital attack surface.
• Automated response – In addition to alerting, ZeroFOX can also trigger automated actions like account suspensions, content take-downs, and domain blacklisting.
• Third-party integrations – ZeroFOX integrates with other security stacks like SIEMs, SOARs, and TIPs for coordinated response.
• Brand impersonation monitoring – ZeroFOX has specialized abilities to detect brand impersonation accounts, domains, and content that infringe trademarks.

This combination of breadth, automation, and brand protection capabilities makes ZeroFOX stand out as a unique offering in the crowded cybersecurity market.

ZeroFOX use cases

ZeroFOX is intended to serve organizations across multiple industries and attack scenarios. Here are some of the main use cases:

External threat detection

ZeroFOX acts as an early warning system by monitoring for threats originating on public social media, web sites, forums, code repositories, and other external channels. This allows organizations to get ahead of emerging attacks before they impact business operations.

Incident response

When a cyber incident does occur, ZeroFOX provides threat intelligence and context to accelerate investigation and remediation. Its data aids in tracing attacks back to initial infection points and compromised assets.

Insider threat monitoring

Malicious insiders often coordinate attacks or leak data using external digital channels. ZeroFOX monitors for signs of insider threat activity across social media, web forums, code repos, and dark web sites.

Executive protection

Executives and public figures face unique digital risks like doxing, fake news, review manipulation, and reputation attacks. ZeroFOX provides personalized protection against these external threats.

Anti-piracy enforcement

ZeroFOX identifies pirated content, counterfeit goods, and other IP theft on the social web, surface web, ecommerce platforms, and dark web. It helps enforce take-downs and prosecutions.

Brand protection

The platform monitors social media, domains, apps, marketplaces, and websites for brand spoofing, trademark infringement, impersonation accounts, and other brand integrity issues.

ZeroFOX strengths and benefits

Let’s examine some of the key benefits and strengths of ZeroFOX as a cybersecurity solution:

Broad external attack surface coverage

ZeroFOX scans and secures social media, mobile, domains, code repositories, dark web, surface web, and other public attack vectors. This “outside-in” view is critical for stopping modern external threats.

AI and automation

The platform processes over 1.5 billion events per day across the digital risk surface. Powerful AI and automation allows ZeroFOX to scale threat detection and response at this massive volume.

Speed and proactive protection

Many vendors wait until threats materialize before acting. ZeroFOX aims to detect emerging risks proactively before they turn into attacks. This shrinks response time from months to minutes.

Simplified workflow

ZeroFOX integrates and correlates findings across its entire digital risk surface. This provides a unified workflow for monitors, investigations, and response actions.

Reduced costs

By stopping threats sooner and minimizing business disruption, ZeroFOX helps reduce overall security costs related to data breaches, IP loss, and fraudulent activity.

Flexible deployment options

Clients can deploy ZeroFOX on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid model to meet their infrastructure needs. The company also offers managed services.

Strong customer support

In addition to self-service options, customers get access to ZeroFOX’s security specialists for technical support, threat hunting, and incident response.

Limitations of ZeroFOX

Although ZeroFOX has significant strengths, there are some limitations to consider as well:

• No endpoint or internal network monitoring – Focuses strictly on public external attack surface.
• Limited native threat intelligence – Relies mainly on 3rd party commercial feeds.
• Can generate false positives – Excess noise possible given breadth of monitoring.
• Not a full security stack – Just one piece of a complete cyber program.
• Beefy pricing – Enterprise-level pricing model is expensive for smaller companies.

While ZeroFOX excels at covering the external threat landscape, organizations still need internal network monitoring, endpoint security, access controls, and other pieces for full protection. It’s not a complete end-to-end security solution.

ZeroFOX pricing

ZeroFOX uses an enterprise SaaS subscription pricing model based on number of digital assets. Available enterprise packages include:

This covers their platform capabilities and support services for the designated number of digital assets. Additional costs apply for add-ons like threat intelligence feeds, managed services, and user training.

For most mid-size and large companies, expect minimum 5-figure annual investments. Enterprise packages with more assets and capabilities can quickly jump into 6-figures.

While ZeroFOX offers strong capabilities, the premium pricing may be prohibitive for smaller businesses. They’ll need to evaluate if advanced external threat protection is worth the significant investment cost.

What customers are saying about ZeroFOX

ZeroFOX currently has over 600 enterprise customers across multiple industries like technology, healthcare, finance, energy, and government. The company has strong customer satisfaction based on online reviews. Here are some examples of what current clients are saying:

Positive feedback

• “ZeroFOX prevented a major account compromise campaign on our social channels.”
• “Their PhishHunt offering uncovered credential leaks we didn’t even know we had.”
• “AI-driven platform stays steps ahead of constantly evolving social media threats.”
• “ZeroFOX helps us proactively manage risks rather than merely reacting to incidents.”
• “We’ve seen a 12x ROI from reducing losses due to fraud and IP theft.”

Potential concerns

• “Platform generates false positives regularly, which creates alert fatigue.”
• “Lack of native intel feeds forces reliance on 3rd party commercial sources.”
• “Flexible deployment options are good but introduce complexity.”
• “While valuable, the solution is focused solely on external threats.”
• “It’s a highly robust platform but requires heavy training to master.”

Overall most customers seem very satisfied with ZeroFOX’s capabilities, but some cite opportunities for improvement around false positives, training, and integrations.

Top ZeroFOX alternatives

ZeroFOX is one of the most comprehensive solutions focused explicitly on external digital threat protection. However, there are alternative vendors that offer similar capabilities:

While each vendor has a unique approach, ZeroFOX stands apart with its unified coverage of the entire external attack surface coupled with extensive automation and brand protection capabilities.

Is ZeroFOX a good choice?

ZeroFOX is a strong solution for organizations prioritizing digital risk management and external threat protection. Key factors to consider include:

• It excels at monitoring threats across social media, mobile, web, dark web, code repositories, and other public sources.
• AI detection and automation allow the platform to scale across billions of daily events.
• Customers report significantly reducing losses from fraud, account takeovers, IP theft, and related digital risks.
• ZeroFOX focuses specifically on public external threats vs internal corporate environment.
• While robust, it requires substantial configuration and training to master.
• With minimum 5-figure annual costs, pricing may be prohibitive for smaller businesses.

For companies with valuable online assets at risk of digital compromise or brand abuse, ZeroFOX merits strong consideration. It works best as part of a holistic security strategy also involving internal controls and endpoint protection.

Conclusion

ZeroFOX offers AI-powered capabilities tailored specifically for combating external threats across social media, mobile, web, dark web, and other digital channels. For organizations struggling to gain visibility and control over their vast external attack surface, ZeroFOX provides an advanced solution. While pricing is premium and the platform requires customization, customers consistently report high satisfaction and strong ROI.

As digital risks expand exponentially, ZeroFOX’s specialty in third-party digital threat detection and response will only grow in strategic value. With capabilities spanning far beyond most security tools, ZeroFOX is worthy of evaluation for companies seeking to lock down their online assets and brand presence. When paired with internal network and endpoint controls, it offers comprehensive protection both outside and inside the organizational perimeter.