What Cofense does

Cofense is a privately-held cybersecurity company exclusively focused on phishing defense, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia (with operations in Ashburn and Leesburg, Virginia) and regional offices in Cork, Ireland (EMEA HQ); London; Dubai; and Taguig, Philippines. Founded in 2015 as PhishMe and rebranded to Cofense in 2016, the company serves 250+ Fortune 1000 enterprises and government agencies, with 70M+ employees protected across the customer base and 35M+ trained users contributing to a human-validated threat intelligence network. The platform is anchored by Cofense Phishing Remediation (PDR), PhishMe Security Awareness Training (SAT), Managed Phishing Defense and Response (MPDR), Vision (with Vision AI), Triage, Intelligence, Reporter, LMS, Validator, and the Phishing Defense Center (PDC).

The technical core combines purpose-built phishing AI with human-validated intelligence. Vision AI uses clustering algorithms to identify coordinated polymorphic campaigns by structural similarity, enabling single-signal cascading quarantine of entire phishing campaigns in under one minute, with operator approval. Cofense claims 70% of attacks are first identified by AI trained on real phish and reports a 26% higher employee resilience rate from real-phish-driven training. The platform integrates with 11 major SIEM/SOAR/SEG systems including Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, Cortex XSOAR, Google SecOps, Palo Alto Networks, and Cisco Umbrella, and holds FedRAMP Moderate authorization plus EU-US Data Privacy Framework certification.

Cofense generates revenue through annual SaaS subscriptions (12-month initial terms with auto-renewal) across platform modules, supplemented by managed services (MPDR) and professional services (consulting, premium support, managed program execution). Go-to-market is a direct enterprise field sales motion targeting Fortune 1000 and government buyers, supported by a technology alliance partner program and channel resellers. The company operates a multi-channel demand generation engine spanning major cybersecurity conferences, an on-demand webinar library, a public phishing threat database, and an ROI calculator. The company is backed by Blue Torch Capital (2021) following prior venture rounds from Bessemer Venture Partners, Paladin Capital Group, Adams Street Partners, Aldrich Capital Partners, and BlackRock Private Equity Partners.

Name

Cofense

Legal name

Cofense Inc.

Website

https://cofense.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Cofense provides AI-powered phishing detection, remediation, and security awareness training exclusively to enterprise security teams. Serving 250+ Fortune 1000 organizations, it combines purpose-built AI with human-validated threat intelligence from 35M+ trained users to stop phishing campaigns that bypass secure email gateways.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Email Security / Phishing Defense Software

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Email & Collaboration Threat Detection/Response (ICR/CTDR) (HDADAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Threat Intelligence, Hunting & Adversary Emulation (BPAKAHAE)

Keywords

• Phishing defense platform
• Email security software
• Security awareness training
• Threat intelligence feeds
• Managed phishing detection

Headquarters

HQ city

Leesburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Phishing Defense Platform Subscriptions: SaaS subscriptions for the Phishing Defense Platform including Vision, Triage, and Intelligence modules. Sold on annual subscription terms (12-month initial terms with automatic renewal).
2. Phishing Training Subscriptions: Subscription-based security awareness training platform (PhishMe SAT) with monthly training programs and realistic phishing simulations. Includes risk validation and compliance reporting capabilities.
3. Managed Phishing Detection and Response (MPDR): Fully managed phishing defense service extending customer security teams. Includes 24/7 coverage options, analyst analysis, threat escalation, and campaign remediation. Generates 5x ROI according to company claims.
4. Professional Services: Onboarding, implementation, and consulting services including PhishMe Professional Services Consulting, Premium, and Managed Services. Includes quarterly program reviews, board reports, and scenario execution (up to 24 scenarios annually for managed services).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cofense provides an enterprise phishing defense platform combining purpose-built AI detection with human-validated threat intelligence from 35M+ trained reporters to detect, triage, and remediate phishing campaigns that bypass secure email gateways. Core offerings include the Phishing Remediation (PDR) platform, PhishMe Security Awareness Training (SAT), Cofense Vision and Triage for post-delivery detection, Cofense Intelligence feeds, and a fully Managed Phishing Detection and Response (MPDR) service with 24/7 analyst coverage.

Product overview

Cofense offers a unified phishing defense platform combining multiple integrated products: the core Phishing Remediation (PDR) platform works with PhishMe Security Awareness Training (SAT) for employee education, while Managed Phishing Detection and Response (MPDR) provides fully managed operations. Key platform modules include Vision (post-delivery email analysis with Vision AI for campaign-level detection), Triage (intelligent email classification), Reporter (employee reporting tool), and Intelligence (threat intelligence feeds). Cofense Phishing Defense Center (PDC) provides managed analysis services, with additional modules including LMS for learning management and Validator for security control testing. The platform is designed for enterprise security teams to detect, remediate, and train employees against phishing threats.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PhishMe: Security awareness training platform for phishing simulation and employee education
• Cofense Vision
• Cofense Triage
• Cofense Intelligence
• Cofense LMS
• Cofense Reporter
• Cofense Phishing Defense Center (PDC)

Products and services

• Cofense Phishing Remediation (PDR) Phishing detection and remediation platform that combines AI-powered campaign-level detection with human-validated intelligence to identify and remove sophisticated phishing threats bypassing secure email gateways; targets enterprise security teams.
• Cofense PhishMe Security Awareness Training (SAT) Security awareness training platform using realistic phishing simulations tested across diverse audiences to engage employees and build cybersecurity culture through monthly training programs and educational content.
• Cofense Managed Phishing Detection and Response (MPDR) Fully managed phishing defense service where Cofense security experts handle threat detection, analysis, and response operations on behalf of customer security teams, including 24/7 coverage options; reported by Cofense to deliver 5x ROI.
• Cofense Intelligence Threat intelligence service providing real-time indicators of compromise (IOCs), phishing campaign intelligence, and expert analysis to help organizations stay ahead of emerging threats; powered by human-validated reports from 35M+ trained users.
• Cofense Triage Intelligent email classification system that automatically categorizes reported suspicious emails, prioritizes threats for analyst review, and enables automated response workflows.
• Cofense Phishing Defense Center (PDC) Managed service in which Cofense analysts analyze reported emails, classify threats (malicious, suspicious, spam, phishing simulation), and coordinate response across the customer's environment with around-the-clock coverage.
• Cofense Vision Post-delivery email analysis and quarantine platform that searches for phishing emails across the organization, with Vision AI providing campaign-level clustering and automated remediation capabilities.
• Cofense Reporter Employee-facing email reporting tool that allows users to easily report suspicious emails with one click, feeding the Cofense Phishing Defense Center for analysis and powering the human-validated intelligence network.
• Cofense LMS Learning Management System that delivers cybersecurity training content, tracks employee progress, and manages compliance training requirements.
• Cofense Validator Validates the effectiveness of email security controls by testing whether phishing simulations and real threats reach end users in the customer's environment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5x ROI with fully managed phishing defense program
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

AI capability3 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AnomalicoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology alliance partnership providing integration between Cofense phishing intelligence and Anomali threat management platform. Enables customers to leverage Cofense threat indicators within their existing security operations workflow.
• Cisco (Umbrella)coreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partnership with Cisco Umbrella providing DNS-layer security integration with Cofense phishing defense capabilities.
• Cortex XSOAR (Palo Alto Networks)coreTechnology or IntegrationSecurity orchestration integration enabling Cofense phishing detection to trigger automated response playbooks in Cortex XSOAR.
• Google Security OperationscoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Google SecOps (formerly Google Chronicle) enabling Cofense phishing intelligence to feed into customer SIEM/SOAR environments.
• Microsoft SentinelcoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration with Microsoft Sentinel SIEM enabling Cofense phishing alerts to flow into Microsoft security ecosystem for enterprise customers.
• Palo Alto NetworkscoreTechnology or IntegrationPlatform integration with Palo Alto Networks security stack through Cortex XSOAR and other product integrations.
• SplunkcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Splunk SIEM platform enabling Cofense phishing detection data to be correlated with customer security monitoring.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Proofpoint: Proofpoint is a leading email security and phishing defense platform serving enterprise customers. It competes directly with Cofense in anti-phishing, threat intelligence, and security awareness training, with comparable Fortune 1000 customer base and similar product architecture combining detection with human-vetted intelligence.
• KnowBe4: KnowBe4 is the market leader in security awareness training and phishing simulation, directly competing with Cofense PhishMe SAT. Both companies serve enterprise customers with phishing simulation platforms and have overlapping buyer personas in security awareness and compliance teams.
• Mimecast: Mimecast provides email security, archiving, and continuity solutions for enterprises. It competes with Cofense in phishing defense and threat detection, though Mimecast's focus extends across broader email security rather than phishing-specific specialization.
• Abnormal Security: Abnormal Security uses AI/ML to detect and prevent email-based attacks including phishing, BEC, and account takeover. It competes directly with Cofense Vision and Triage in the post-delivery email threat detection space, targeting similar enterprise SOC buyers.
• Ironscales: Ironscales provides AI-powered phishing defense, email security, and security awareness training. It competes directly with Cofense across the phishing defense platform, combining automated detection with human-reported threats and serving overlapping enterprise customer segments.
• Area 1 Security (Cloudflare Email Security): Area 1 Security, acquired by Cloudflare, provides anti-phishing and email security services. It competes with Cofense in pre-delivery and post-delivery phishing detection, now leveraging Cloudflare's broader network and security platform for enterprise customers.

Broad incumbents

• Microsoft (Defender for Office 365): Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is the dominant incumbent email security platform bundled with Microsoft 365. It offers phishing detection, safe links, and security awareness training as part of the broader Microsoft security ecosystem, representing both a competitor and integration partner for Cofense.
• Cisco (Secure Email): Cisco Secure Email (formerly IronPort) provides email security and anti-phishing as part of Cisco's broader security portfolio. It competes with Cofense in enterprise phishing defense while also being a technology integration partner through Cisco Umbrella.

Emerging players

• SlashNext: SlashNext specializes in phishing, BEC, and social engineering attack detection across email and collaboration channels. It competes with Cofense in AI-powered phishing detection but extends beyond email to cover messaging apps, positioning as an emerging alternative.
• Tessian: Tessian uses machine learning to detect phishing, data loss prevention, and account takeover in email. It competes with Cofense in enterprise email threat detection with an emerging focus on behavioral analysis and human layer security.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cofense
• Xx.com/cofense
• Facebookfacebook.com/Cofense

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cofense