Risk Based Security
Risk Based Security was a Richmond, Virginia-based vulnerability and data breach intelligence firm offering VulnDB and Cyber Risk Analytics to enterprise security, DevSecOps, and vendor risk teams. Founded in 2011, it was acquired by Flashpoint in January 2022.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersRichmond, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Risk Based Security does
Risk Based Security was a privately-held vulnerability and data breach intelligence company founded in 2011 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. The company built a unified platform combining two core products, VulnDB and Cyber Risk Analytics (CRA), to deliver scanless, real-time vulnerability intelligence with proprietary vendor and product risk ratings. VulnDB housed a corpus of over 90,000 vulnerabilities not assigned CVE identifiers and not present in the U.S. National Vulnerability Database, and the company's collection technology was reported to identify new vulnerabilities on average approximately two weeks before they appeared in NVD. The platform exposed raw data via API, supported advanced search, and offered email alerting, enabling customers to integrate vulnerability and data breach intelligence into security operations, DevSecOps pipelines, and vendor risk workflows.
The company served enterprise customers across technology, financial services, defense, telecommunications, utilities, and transportation, including Microsoft, BlackRock, Northrop Grumman, Swisscom, American Electric Power, and Amtrak. Risk Based Security operated with a small team of 1-10 employees and did not publicly disclose pricing or revenue. The company was led by CEO Jake Kouns and co-founder/CFO Barry Kouns. On January 12, 2022, Risk Based Security was acquired by Flashpoint, after which its vulnerability intelligence, data breach collections, and vendor risk rating technology were integrated into the Flashpoint Ignite platform, and the entity no longer operates as an independent company.
Risk Based Security firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Risk Based Security
- Legal name
- Risk Based Security
- Website
- https://riskbasedsecurity.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Risk Based Security was a Richmond, Virginia-based vulnerability and data breach intelligence firm offering VulnDB and Cyber Risk Analytics to enterprise security, DevSecOps, and vendor risk teams. Founded in 2011, it was acquired by Flashpoint in January 2022.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Risk Based Security industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Vulnerability Intelligence
- akta.pro primary industry
- Vulnerability Intelligence & Exploit Prediction (HDADAHAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Exposure Analytics & Risk-Based Prioritization (RBVM) (HDADAHAF), Vulnerability Management & Penetration Testing Services (BPAEADAD)
Keywords
Where Risk Based Security is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Richmond
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Risk Based Security business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Risk Based Security product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Risk Based Security provides a vulnerability intelligence platform that combines VulnDB (a database of over 90,000 vulnerabilities not assigned CVE IDs and not present in the NVD) with Cyber Risk Analytics (CRA), a proprietary vendor risk-rating engine. The platform delivers scanless, real-time vulnerability intelligence, advanced search, email alerting, and API access, enabling enterprise security teams to detect vulnerabilities earlier than public sources and to assess third-party vendor risk.
Product overview
Risk Based Security offered a single unified platform that combined two core products: VulnDB (a vulnerability intelligence database) and Cyber Risk Analytics (CRA) (proprietary vendor risk ratings). The platform provided scanless, real-time vulnerability intelligence with advanced search capabilities, API access to raw data, and email alerting. In January 2022, RBS was acquired by Flashpoint, integrating its collections and technology into the Flashpoint Ignite platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Risk Based Security Platform A unified vulnerability and risk intelligence platform combining VulnDB and Cyber Risk Analytics to provide organizations with comprehensive security intelligence knowledge bases, advanced search capabilities, raw data access via API, and email alerting for vulnerability and data breach intelligence.
- VulnDB A vulnerability intelligence database containing over 90,000 vulnerabilities not assigned CVE IDs and not present in the National Vulnerability Database (NVD), providing early detection capabilities before vulnerabilities are widely known.
- Cyber Risk Analytics (CRA) Proprietary vendor risk ratings that enable organizations to assess and remediate vulnerabilities based on their unique risk profile, mapping vulnerabilities to enterprise software for supply chain risk assessment.
Quantifiable outcome
- Early detection of critical vulnerabilities before they are widely known
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Risk Based Security
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Risk Based Security technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature4 records
Risk Based Security partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Risk Based Security competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tenable: Tenable operates Nessus and Tenable One for vulnerability management and exposure analytics, directly competing with RBS's vulnerability intelligence and risk prioritization capabilities for enterprise security buyers.
- Qualys: Qualys provides a cloud-based vulnerability management, detection, and response platform. Its VMDR and TruRisk capabilities overlap directly with RBS's vulnerability intelligence and risk-based prioritization offerings.
- Rapid7: Rapid7's InsightVM and InsightConnect deliver vulnerability management and security orchestration. The platform competes with RBS's vulnerability intelligence and prioritization focus among enterprise security teams.
- Recorded Future: Recorded Future provides threat intelligence that includes vulnerability intelligence and risk context, now under Mastercard. Its data-driven intelligence model is conceptually similar to RBS's VulnDB and CRA pairing.
- Kenna Security (now part of Cisco): Kenna Security pioneered risk-based vulnerability management, combining exploit and asset context to prioritize remediation — closely aligned with RBS's CRA-driven risk prioritization approach.
Emerging players
- Vulners: Vulners operates a vulnerability intelligence platform aggregating multiple feeds for security practitioners. Its content aggregation and search capabilities overlap with VulnDB's core intelligence offering.
- Brinqa: Brinqa delivers a risk-based vulnerability management platform that prioritizes remediation using business and threat context, comparable in approach to RBS's CRA-driven prioritization model.
- Sonatype: Sonatype focuses on software supply chain and open-source vulnerability intelligence (Nexus products), overlapping with RBS's supplier/product risk rating use case for software supply-chain security.
- Bitsight: Bitsight is a leading security ratings provider for vendor and supply-chain risk, directly comparable to RBS's Cyber Risk Analytics capabilities for continuous third-party risk assessment.
Broad incumbents
- CrowdStrike: CrowdStrike's Falcon platform bundles endpoint protection with vulnerability and exposure management modules (Falcon Spotlight, Surface). It is a broad-incumbent competitor offering overlapping capabilities within a wider security platform.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Risk Based Security social profiles
Digital presenceRisk Based Security financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Risk Based Security leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Risk Based Security funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Risk Based Security M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Risk Based Security
What does Risk Based Security do?
Risk Based Security provides a vulnerability intelligence platform that combines VulnDB (a database of over 90,000 vulnerabilities not assigned CVE IDs and not present in the NVD) with Cyber Risk Analytics (CRA), a proprietary vendor risk-rating engine. The platform delivers scanless, real-time vulnerability intelligence, advanced search, email alerting, and API access, enabling enterprise security teams to detect vulnerabilities earlier than public sources and to assess third-party vendor risk.
Is Risk Based Security a public or private company?
Risk Based Security is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Risk Based Security founded?
Risk Based Security was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Risk Based Security based?
Risk Based Security is headquartered in Richmond, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Risk Based Security's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tenable, Qualys, Rapid7, Recorded Future and Kenna Security (now part of Cisco). Emerging players are Vulners, Brinqa, Sonatype and Bitsight. CrowdStrike is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Risk Based Security have an API?
Yes. The Risk Based Security Platform provides access to raw data via API, enabling organizations to integrate vulnerability intelligence, vendor risk ratings, and data breach information into their existing workflows. The API supports advanced search capabilities and programmatic data retrieval.
What industry is Risk Based Security in?
Risk Based Security's product category is Vulnerability Intelligence. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDADAHAI, Vulnerability Intelligence & Exploit Prediction, with a secondary code of HDADAHAF, Exposure Analytics & Risk-Based Prioritization (RBVM).