What's up

Cyberattacks are becoming more and more sophisticated. So how do you know if your defenses actually hold up?

For many organizations, the answer only comes once a breach has already happened.

That is the problem Persistent Security Industries set out to address with Nemesis, an AI-driven platform that turns live threat intelligence into safe, controlled attacks against a company's own systems, then shows which defenses held and which did not.

Founded in 2022 by Babette De Decker, Nikos Laleas, Michele Orrù and Markus Vervier, the company is taking a proactive approach to cybersecurity by putting organizations' defenses to the test.

Testing security through simulated attacks

Rather than adding to a list of vulnerabilities, Nemesis tests whether the security tools a company already pays for actually stop an attack, and shows precisely where they do not.

The platform also includes attack surface management, scanning internet-facing systems and shadow IT to identify assets that may otherwise go unnoticed.

When a new attack technique appears in the wild, Nemesis can build a test for it and run it against a company's own environment the same day, rather than waiting for the next annual audit.

When an attack does get through, Nemesis writes the detection rule the security team was missing, so the gap gets closed rather than just recorded.

By combining these capabilities, the platform gives companies a clearer view of their security posture and helps them prioritize where action is needed.

Nemesis connects technical findings to business impact, so a security team can tell its board which gaps genuinely threaten the business, instead of handing over a list of technical issues.

The platform can also support organizations working toward compliance with frameworks such as DORA, NIS2 and ISO 27001.

Automating security diagnostics

Automation is another key part of the solution.

Work that previously took a team of experts several days now runs automatically, in hours, and repeats continuously, instead of once a year.

As Markus Vervier explains, Nemesis makes it possible to visualize an organization's security posture and access precise data, helping companies better understand where action is needed.

Rooted in Wallonia, growing beyond its borders

Based in Belgium, Persistent Security Industries is gaining traction across the Benelux, France and Germany.

Supported through A6K's acceleration program, the company is also expanding its support for SMEs in Wallonia.

Hear the story directly from the people building it

On September 25, Babette De Decker, co-founder of Persistent Security Industries, will join us at A6K for our next Brown paperbag session.

Hear firsthand what it takes to turn cybersecurity expertise into a product, bring it to market and grow beyond Belgium, and how Nemesis fits into that journey.