Hackers don’t fight fair — and Tidal Cyber wants to turn that reality into an advantage for defenders. The Virginia-based startup just raised $10 million in Series A funding to scale its approach called Threat-Led Defense, a model that puts actual attacker behavior, not checklists, at the core of cybersecurity.
The round was led by Bright Pixel Capital, backed by earlier supporters like USAA, Capital One, and Veteran Ventures.
Why it matters
For years, companies measured security by counting CVEs, passing audits, or following compliance rules. But attackers don’t play by those rules — they use whatever works. Tidal Cyber’s platform flips the script, showing organizations whether their tools can actually stand up against the same techniques used by real-world adversaries.
The brains behind it
Tidal Cyber was co-founded by Rick Gordon, Richard Struse, and Frank Duff — veterans of MITRE, the nonprofit that created the ATT&CK® framework used worldwide to study hacker tactics. Between them, they’ve launched accelerators, built threat-sharing standards like STIX and TAXII, and run evaluation programs used by governments and Fortune 500 firms.
CEO Rick Gordon puts it simply:
“Instead of guessing or checking boxes, we help security teams know if they can stop the attacks that really happen.”
What’s next
With fresh funding, Tidal Cyber plans to:
- Push product innovation to stay ahead of evolving threats
- Expand adoption of Threat-Led Defense across industries
- Build a more complete platform driven by cyber threat intelligence and adversary behavior
Bright Pixel’s Marcos Osório says that clarity is what sets Tidal Cyber apart:
“They show organizations where they’re truly exposed — not just on paper.”
As cybercrime grows more complex, Tidal Cyber is betting that fighting like the enemy is the only way to stay safe.
