Gartner names Tenable leader in AI exposure assessment

Gartner named Tenable the company to beat in AI-powered exposure assessment in a report on the AI vendor race in the sector.

The report cited Tenable's position in vulnerability assessment, asset and attack surface discovery, and execution of its AI strategy. Gartner said those factors made Tenable the front-runner in AI-powered exposure assessment.

Gartner also said Tenable's attack surface coverage sets it apart from rivals. According to the report, Tenable One spans traditional IT, identity, cloud, CPS and container environments in a single integrated platform.

The report also highlighted coverage of newer AI-related risks. Gartner said Tenable can identify shadow AI usage and prioritise AI exposures, including sensitive data leakage, misconfigurations, novel AI attacks, risky agent behaviour and unsafe integrations with external tools.

The recognition comes as cybersecurity suppliers seek to show their products can address both conventional vulnerabilities and risks created by the adoption of AI tools inside organisations. Exposure assessment has become a more crowded part of the security market as vendors expand from infrastructure scanning into cloud, identity, operational technology and application environments.

Tenable has expanded its AI-related products in recent months. It said it had made Tenable Hexa AI generally available as the agentic AI engine inside the Tenable One Exposure Management Platform, while also broadening Tenable One AI Exposure to help customers secure their AI attack surface.

It has also joined initiatives run by Anthropic and OpenAI involving cybersecurity companies. Those moves suggest it is trying to deepen ties with major AI model developers as security vendors adapt tools and data sources for new forms of enterprise risk.

Mark Thurmond, Co-CEO, Tenable, commented on the wider shift in the market.

"Cybersecurity is entering a new era where AI is changing both how organisations operate and how attackers exploit them," said Mark Thurmond, Co-CEO, Tenable.

He added: "Organisations need a modern approach that not only gives them complete visibility across their expanding attack surface, but helps them act on risk faster. We believe Gartner's recognition reflects our continued commitment to enabling customers to keep pace with that change."

AI focus

Tenable's comments reflect a broader industry argument that AI will not only introduce new vulnerabilities but also change how security teams triage and respond to them. Vendors are increasingly presenting AI as a tool for prioritisation and remediation, rather than simply for detection.

Steve Vintz, Co-CEO, Tenable, echoed that view, saying the industry remains at an early stage in the use of AI in cybersecurity.

"We're still in the early innings of AI in cybersecurity," said Steve Vintz, Co-CEO, Tenable.

He continued: "The next phase isn't just identifying exposures - it's enabling security teams to continuously understand, prioritise and remediate them with AI working alongside people. That's where we're investing, and where we believe the market is headed."

Tenable serves more than 40,000 customers worldwide, according to the company. Its business centres on exposure management, a category focused on identifying and reducing security gaps across a broad set of digital and operational assets.

The Gartner assessment gives Tenable external endorsement at a time when security buyers are weighing a growing number of AI-related claims from software providers. In that environment, analyst evaluations can carry weight with customers looking for tools that address risks across cloud systems, identities, containers, cyber-physical systems and emerging AI deployments.

Gartner wrote that Tenable's visibility extends to emerging attack surfaces such as AI and that it can prioritise exposures including sensitive data leakage, misconfigurations, novel AI attacks, risky agent behaviour and unsafe integrations with external tools.