Phobos Group

What Phobos Group does

Phobos Group is a privately held boutique cybersecurity firm founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Marcos, California, with a reported headcount of 11-50. The company delivers attack surface mapping and tailored security consulting, organized around three offerings: Orbital (a SaaS platform for external risk surface enumeration), Consulting Services (penetration testing, threat intelligence, remediation, incident response, and breach analysis), and RTG (Realtime Tailored Guidance, an on-demand expert advisory service sold in hourly blocks). The firm targets enterprise CISOs and senior technical decision-makers while simultaneously operating a product-led growth motion via Orbital's self-serve free trial.

Phobos's core technology is Orbital, an external attack surface detection and enumeration platform. Its central differentiator is the proprietary "Attack Pathways" methodology, which programmatically chains low and medium severity findings into critical and high-severity exposures, surfacing attack chains that compliance-driven scanners miss. The platform enumerates domains, technology stacks, internal and external hosts, open ports, and leaked credentials, and produces plain-English reports intentionally free of CVE/STRIDE/ATT&CK jargon to be shareable with non-technical executives.

Phobos monetizes through three streams: Orbital SaaS subscriptions priced at $100-$2,000 per month based on host count (monthly, quarterly, or annual billing); RTG hourly advisory packages; and quote-based professional consulting engagements. Distribution is dual-track: direct enterprise sales for consulting and RTG, and self-serve trial-to-paid for Orbital. Public customer references include Recurrent Energy, Asphere, and Temporal, and the firm has been quoted in Forbes, CNN, ZDNet, Vice, and Ars Technica. No funding rounds, M&A activity, or management team information are publicly disclosed.

Name

Phobos Group

Legal name

Phobos Group

Website

https://phobos.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Phobos Group is a boutique cybersecurity firm offering external attack surface mapping via its Orbital SaaS platform, alongside tailored penetration testing, incident response, and on-demand expert advisory (RTG) services for enterprise CISOs and security teams.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Attack Surface Management

NAICS

Security Systems Services (except Locksmiths) (561621), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Attack Surface Management (EASM/CAASM) (HDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Attack surface mapping
• Penetration testing services
• Security consulting
• External risk detection
• Incident response services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Marcos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Orbital SaaS Subscriptions: Subscription-based pricing tiers for the Orbital attack surface mapping platform, billed monthly, quarterly, or annually based on host count discovered.
2. Realtime Tailored Guidance (RTG): Hourly or package-based access to seasoned security experts for crisis support, strategic advisory, architecture guidance, and customized consultations. Purchase options for 1, 2, or 4 hours of exclusive expert access.
3. Security Consulting Services: Custom tailored consulting engagements including attack simulation, threat intelligence, remediation services, security posture assessments, data forensics and incident response, and breach analysis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Phobos Group delivers attack surface mapping through its Orbital SaaS platform, which discovers external assets, attack pathways, technology stacks, and leaked credentials for enterprise security teams. Complementing the platform, the firm provides boutique, custom-tailored security consulting (attack simulation, threat intelligence, remediation, security posture assessment, data forensics, incident response, and breach analysis) and on-demand Realtime Tailored Guidance (RTG) advisory engagements with seasoned security experts.

Product overview

Phobos Group offers a portfolio of cybersecurity products and services centered around three main offerings: Orbital (a SaaS attack surface mapping platform for external risk enumeration), Security Consulting (tailored penetration testing and security assessment services), and RTG (Realtime Tailored Guidance for on-demand security advisory). Orbital serves as the company's primary technology product, while consulting and RTG are service-based offerings that complement the platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Orbital: A holistic external risk surface detection and enumeration product that discovers attack pathways, provides plain English reporting, and identifies technology stacks, exposed services, and leaked credentials. Pricing ranges from $100/month for 1-100 hosts to $2,000/month for 1,000+ hosts.

Products and services

• Orbital Holistic external risk surface detection and enumeration SaaS platform that discovers attack pathways to illustrate where real attackers would attack, identifies technology stacks, surfaces exposed assets and leaked credentials, and produces plain-English reports for security teams and executives. Designed for CISOs, enterprise security teams, and organizations requiring continuous external perimeter visibility and compliance evidence (PCI DSS, NYDFS, HIPAA, SOC 2, FedRAMP, ISO 27001, SWIFT CSCF, GLBA, GDPR/DORA, NIS2).
• Consulting Services Boutique security consulting practice offering attack simulation, threat intelligence, remediation services, security posture assessment, data forensics and incident response, and breach analysis for enterprise clients with complex environments. Engagements are tailored to each client and emphasize real-world attack simulation rather than compliance-only testing.
• RTG (Realtime Tailored Guidance) On-demand, real-time security advisory service delivering Crisis Support, Strategic Security Advisory, Architecture Guidance, and Customized Consultations from seasoned security experts. Sold in 1, 2, or 4 hour engagement blocks for CISOs and senior security leaders navigating complex cybersecurity challenges, rip-and-replace decisions, or active security events.

Quantifiable outcome

• 700-page reports with CVE references are replaced with concise, actionable findings
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Censys: Censys is a leading attack surface management platform that continuously discovers, monitors, and analyzes internet-exposed assets. It is the closest direct competitor to Orbital in external attack surface mapping, technology stack fingerprinting, and risk prioritization.
• SecurityScorecard: SecurityScorecard provides attack surface management and cyber risk ratings for organizations and their third parties. It directly competes with Orbital in external asset discovery, continuous monitoring, and executive-level risk reporting.
• Bishop Fox: Bishop Fox is a boutique cybersecurity consulting firm specializing in penetration testing, red teaming, and security assessments of complex systems. It is a direct peer to Phobos Group's consulting services and shares a similar boutique, expert-driven delivery model.
• NetSPI: NetSPI is an enterprise security testing firm offering penetration testing, attack surface management, and vulnerability management services. It overlaps directly with both Phobos' Orbital platform and its bespoke consulting engagements.
• Coalfire: Coalfire is a cybersecurity advisory firm providing penetration testing, compliance assessments, and risk advisory services. It is a direct peer to Phobos' consulting services arm and overlaps in regulated-buyer security engagements.

Broad incumbents

• Tenable: Tenable is a major vulnerability management platform with a broad attack surface management module (Tenable.asm) and the Nessus scanner. It competes with Orbital in external scanning and control mapping across regulated buyers.
• Rapid7: Rapid7 offers a broad security analytics and vulnerability management platform (InsightVM, Metasploit) with attack surface capabilities. It competes with Phobos across both VM technology and adjacent consulting services.
• Qualys: Qualys is a cloud-based security and compliance platform with VM, EASM, and continuous monitoring capabilities. It overlaps with Orbital in external scanning, asset inventory, and regulatory compliance evidence.
• CrowdStrike: CrowdStrike is a leading endpoint and extended detection platform that has expanded into attack surface management via Falcon Surface. Its broad portfolio competes with Orbital in ASM and with Phobos' consulting via Falcon Complete and CrowdStrike Services.
• NCC Group: NCC Group is a global cybersecurity consultancy offering penetration testing, threat intelligence, and incident response. It is comparable to Phobos' consulting practice in scope and in serving complex, regulated enterprise buyers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/phobosgroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/phobosgroup

Compliance11 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Phobos Group