Picus Autonomous Exposure Validation PlatformPicus — The Problem

What is Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)?

Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) is an automated adversarial exposure validation tool that simulates real-world cyberattacks against an organization's security controls. Unlike vulnerability scanners that identify potential weaknesses, BAS validates whether firewalls, EDRs, SIEMs, and other defenses can actually detect and block malicious techniques used by real threat actors.

What is Adversarial Exposure Validation (AEV)?

Adversarial Exposure Validation (AEV) is the evolution of BAS, as defined by Gartner. AEV combines Breach and Attack Simulation with Automated Pentesting to validate what is truly exploitable in an environment. It goes beyond control testing to reveal real attack paths, confirm whether defenses hold up, and prioritize what to fix based on actual evidence rather than theoretical risk scores.

What is the Picus Platform?

Picus Platform converges Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS), Automated Pentesting, and Exposure Validation into a single platform. It delivers autonomous, context-rich validation in your actual environment, responding in real time to changes in the threat landscape and your own infrastructure. Picus shows what's exploitable, whether your controls detect and prevent what matters, and exactly what to fix first with vendor-specific guidance.

How does Picus validate security controls?

Picus safely simulates thousands of real-world attack techniques across network, endpoint, email, and cloud layers within production environments. The platform validates whether each security control, including firewalls, EDR, SIEM, and email gateways, effectively detects, prevents, or logs simulated attacks. It also delivers vendor-specific mitigation guidance, and after remediation, teams can re-validate to ensure gaps are actually closed.

What is CTEM and how does Picus support it?

Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) is a five-step strategic framework for proactively managing security posture. Picus Platform provides the validation engine for CTEM programs: enabling the Validate step through continuous adversarial testing and the Mobilize step through automated, vendor-specific remediation guidance. Signal-driven validation means Picus responds to real-time changes in threats and infrastructure, keeping the CTEM cycle current rather than periodic.

How is Picus different from vulnerability scanners?

Vulnerability scanners identify potential weaknesses but cannot confirm exploitability or determine whether security controls would stop a real attack. Picus goes further by simulating real-world attack techniques to validate which exposures are truly exploitable and whether existing defenses can prevent them. The platform provides vendor-specific remediation guidance, and teams can re-validate after applying fixes to confirm gaps are actually closed, replacing theoretical risk scores with evidence.

How does Picus stay current with emerging threats?

Picus Platform uses signal-driven validation that responds in real time to changes in the external threat landscape, such as newly disclosed vulnerabilities or emerging attack techniques, as well as internal changes like new assets, configuration updates, or security control drift. This ensures validation reflects your environment as it exists now, not as it did during the last scheduled test.

What integrations does the Picus Platform support?

Picus Platform integrates with security technologies across firewall, EDR and XDR, SIEM, email security, WAF, and cloud security categories. Integrations span leading vendors such as CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, and AWS Security Hub. For each integrated technology, Picus provides vendor-specific prevention signatures and detection rules, enabling teams to act on findings immediately.