What Telspace Systems does

Telspace Systems, operating as Telspace Africa (Pty) Ltd, is a vendor-independent cybersecurity services firm founded in 2002 and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. The firm delivers a portfolio of offensive security services organized into four pillars: advisory services (delivered via Service Level Agreements or embedded in Continuous Red Team engagements), security assessments (attack and penetration testing in white-, black-, and grey-box modes; web and mobile application assessments; traditional and continuous red team assessments; social engineering), a Managed Vulnerability Service (MVS) for ongoing automated scanning, and a training catalog of four courses (Ethical Hacking 101, Web App Hacking 101, Wireless Hacking 101, Social Engineering 101). Its methodology emphasizes manual, hands-on assessment by dedicated analysts rather than tool-driven output, supported by a published Co-ordinated Vulnerability Disclosure (CVD) process with defined vendor timelines and a research practice that has produced zero-day discoveries credited via CVEs.

The business model is professional services-led, with revenue generated through project-based engagements, multi-year subscription-style contracts (SLAs and CRT), usage-based managed vulnerability scanning, and pay-as-you-go training. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Distribution is direct enterprise sales through a single Johannesburg office, with services delivered to clients across South Africa, Botswana, Israel, China, Brazil, and the United States. Customer segments are primarily enterprise organizations in the financial sector, software development organizations needing pre-production security testing, corporate staff requiring social engineering training, and government entities. The firm holds Level 2 BBBEE certification and aligns with South Africa's POPI Act, both of which are procurement-relevant in its home market. Marketing is driven by thought leadership: analyst presentations at DEF CON, BSides, Hack in the Box, and H2HC, security advisories published via the company blog, and earned media coverage.

Name

Telspace Systems

Legal name

Telspace Africa (Pty) Ltd

Website

https://telspacesystems.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Telspace Africa is a Johannesburg-based cybersecurity services firm founded in 2002 that provides vendor-independent penetration testing, red teaming, vulnerability management, advisory, and training to enterprise clients across financial, government, and software development sectors in South Africa and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cybersecurity Services

NAICS

Investigation and Security Services (5616)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Managed Services (BPAEADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Advisory & Assessments (BPAKAHAH), Policy Management, Training & Ethics/Whistleblowing (BPAEAPAI)

Keywords

• Penetration testing services
• Vulnerability assessment
• Red team assessments
• Application security testing
• Cybersecurity training

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advisory Services: Expert advisory services provided through SLA agreements or integrated with Continuous Red Team assessments. Includes remediation assistance, skills transfer to client teams, on-demand assessments, and ongoing security consultation. Service-Level Agreement option allows consulting hours or days as required on a month-to-month basis.
2. Security Assessments: Comprehensive security testing services including Attack & Penetration Testing (White Box, Black Box, Grey Box), Application Assessments (Web and Mobile), Red Team Assessments, and Social Engineering. Revenue generated through project-based professional services engagements.
3. Vulnerability Assessments: Managed Vulnerability Service providing automated daily, weekly, or monthly vulnerability scanning. Cost-effective proactive identification of security issues across network perimeter and internal systems using well-known and proprietary tools.
4. Training Courses: Practical, hands-on cybersecurity training courses including Ethical Hacking 101, Web App Hacking 101, Wireless Hacking 101, and Social Engineering 101. Courses conducted locally and internationally at prestigious security events. Duration ranges from 2 days to 4-8 hours depending on course type.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Telspace Africa provides information security services including advisory (delivered through SLAs and Continuous Red Team engagements), security assessments (penetration testing, web and mobile application assessments, red teaming, social engineering), a Managed Vulnerability Service (MVS) for automated periodic scanning, and hands-on training courses. All reporting is delivered on a vendor-independent basis to ensure unbiased findings for enterprise, financial, government, and software development clients.

Product overview

Telspace Systems (Telspace Africa) is an information security company established in 2002 offering a portfolio of cybersecurity services. The core offering consists of advisory services (including Continuous Red Team and SLA-based consulting), security assessments (penetration testing, web/mobile application assessments, red teaming, social engineering), and the Managed Vulnerability Service (MVS) for ongoing vulnerability scanning. Additionally, the company provides a suite of four training courses: Ethical Hacking 101, Web App Hacking 101, Wireless Hacking 101, and Social Engineering 101, which are conducted locally and internationally. The company focuses on vendor-independent, unbiased reporting across all services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advisory Services Expert advisory delivered through SLAs or bundled with Continuous Red Team assessments, providing remediation assistance, skills transfer to internal security and IT audit teams, on-demand assessments, and ongoing security consultation. Available on a month-to-month basis using consulting hours or days as required.
• Attack and Penetration Testing Security vulnerability identification and reporting service covering networks and systems using White Box (full disclosure), Black Box (blind test), and Grey Box (partial disclosure) testing methodologies. Targets enterprise organizations requiring broad-scope vulnerability discovery.
• Web Application Assessments Manual hands-on security assessment for online web applications using White Box (code review) and Black Box testing methods to identify security issues prior to or post production. Targets software development organizations seeking OWASP-compliant validation.
• Mobile Application Assessments Manual security assessment for mobile applications across iOS, Android, Blackberry OS, and Windows Mobile, identifying vulnerabilities through penetration testing, business logic attacks, and pre-production security reviews.
• Red Team Assessments Real-world adversary simulation assessment testing defenses against unannounced attacks. Traditional Red Team engagements run 6-12 months and end once objectives are achieved, while Continuous Red Team (CRT) provides ongoing monthly reporting using techniques such as social engineering, web app attacks, access control card cloning, and WiFi attacks.
• Social Engineering Services Assessment and testing services using phishing, spear phishing, vishing, whaling, baiting/bad USB, tailgating, shoulder surfing, and dumpster diving techniques to evaluate organizational susceptibility to human-targeted attacks.
• Managed Vulnerability Service (MVS) Cost-effective automated daily, weekly, or monthly vulnerability assessment across network perimeter or internal systems using well-known and proprietary tools. Identifies common vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, default passwords, and software issues, with differential reporting to track changes over time.
• Ethical Hacking 101 Training Two-day introductory hands-on course covering penetration testing methodology (White Box, Black Box, Grey Box), target identification and information gathering, vulnerability mapping, social engineering, exploitation, privilege escalation, and maintaining access and pivoting. Designed for general IT security specialists, security officers, network administrators, and aspiring security professionals.
• Web App Hacking 101 Training Hands-on training covering web application attack vectors including those identified by OWASP, profiling, authentication bypassing, attacking web platforms, client-side attacks, and securing web applications. Targeted at IT security specialists, security officers, and network administrators.
• Wireless Hacking 101 Training Hands-on training covering wireless technology threats, protocols, architecture, network mapping, hacking tools and attacks, and defending against wireless hacking. Targeted at IT security specialists, security officers, and network administrators.
• Social Engineering 101 Training Tailor-made corporate staff training typically 4-8 working hours covering social engineering attacks, human weaknesses, attack types including phishing and related manipulation techniques, and defense strategies. Customizable to attendee stakeholder profile.

Quantifiable outcome

• Monthly vulnerability reporting through CRT allows organizations to show continuous security improvement and ensure attackers cannot exploit the same vulnerabilities
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• NCC Group: UK-listed cybersecurity and resilience firm offering penetration testing, red teaming, managed security services, and software escrow. Comparable to Telspace across its core testing and advisory services, with much broader portfolio and scale.
• SecureWorks: Global MSSP and managed detection & response provider owned by Dell Technologies. Overlaps with Telspace's managed vulnerability scanning and red team services, but at vastly larger enterprise scale.
• Orange Cyberdefense: Global cybersecurity services division of Orange Group, offering managed detection, penetration testing, threat intelligence, and consulting. Comparable as a major incumbent in the same MSSP/cybersecurity services space, with far greater scale and geographic reach.
• Trustwave: Global cybersecurity services firm offering managed security, penetration testing, and database security. Comparable to Telspace's advisory and testing services, with broader MSSP portfolio.
• BSI Cybersecurity: Global standards and cybersecurity services firm offering penetration testing, compliance assessments, and training. Comparable to Telspace across its advisory, testing, and training portfolio, with broader standards-body jurisdiction.

Direct peers

• Bishop Fox: US-based boutique offensive security firm specializing in penetration testing, red teaming, and security research with a strong conference research reputation. Highly comparable to Telspace in business model, talent-driven brand, and service mix.
• SensePost: South African-origin boutique cybersecurity services firm specializing in penetration testing, red teaming, and security research. Acquired by Orange Cyberdefense in 2015, but historically the closest direct peer to Telspace in the Southern African offensive security niche.
• NetSPI: US-based penetration testing and attack surface management firm offering continuous security testing, vulnerability management, and red team services. Directly comparable to Telspace's CRT and Managed Vulnerability Service offerings.
• SECFORCE: UK-based boutique offensive security firm offering penetration testing, red team, and security training. Comparable to Telspace as a similarly-sized boutique with comparable service mix and training-led GTM.

Emerging players

• HackerOne: Bug bounty and vulnerability disclosure platform that increasingly competes with traditional pen testing firms. Comparable to Telspace in the vulnerability research and CVD process space, but operating as a platform rather than services firm.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/telspacesystems
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/telspace-systems

Compliance2 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 Telspace Systems