Southeast Europe (SEE) has faced significant challenges in the realm of cybersecurity in recent years, with a growing number of cyberattacks targeting businesses, governments, and individuals across the region.
As digital threats become more sophisticated, the need for robust cybersecurity solutions has never been more urgent. In response, a wave of innovative startups has emerged, driving advancements in areas such as network security, AI-driven protection, and data privacy.
These companies are not only addressing the region’s pressing cybersecurity needs but are also positioning themselves as key players in the global security landscape. Here’s a look at some of the top cybersecurity companies and startups making waves in the SEE region.
#1 Hack The Box
Hack The Box, an online cybersecurity training platform founded in 2017, has quickly become a key resource for IT professionals looking to advance their ethical hacking skills. With a community of over 1.3 million members and having trained more than 1,400 corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and organizations, Hack The Box is redefining cybersecurity education on a global scale.
Its founder and CEO, Haris Pylarinos, has extensive experience in IT and cybersecurity, with over 15 years of hands-on expertise as a systems engineer and security expert. Pylarinos built Hack The Box to empower professionals with practical, real-world hacking scenarios to stay ahead of emerging cyber threats.
Headquartered in the UK, with its main R&D center in Athens, the company raised $55M in 2023 and is focused on expanding into the US market. Pylarinos envisions continued growth while addressing the evolving challenges of cybersecurity in the face of rapid technological change.
#2 ReversingLabs
ReversingLabs, a Croatian startup founded in 2009 by engineers Mario Vuksan and Tomislav Peričin in a rented Zagreb apartment, has grown into a global leader in cybersecurity solutions. Operating on every continent, its clients span industries such as healthcare, banking, public institutions, and major tech companies. With its groundbreaking technology, ReversingLabs is on the path to becoming a unicorn.
At the heart of ReversingLabs is the Titanium platform, designed to analyze malware and other malicious software. The company’s headquarters are located in Cambridge, near Boston, while its development office remains in Zagreb. Vuksan leads operations in the U.S., and Peričin manages the Zagreb office.
In 2021, ReversingLabs was named a winner of the Black Unicorn Awards, placing it among the top ten cybersecurity companies with a potential market valuation of $1 billion. CEO Mario Vuksan was also recognized as one of the top ten cybersecurity experts of the year.
According to Vuksan, from the beginning, ReversingLabs has focused on collaborating with top cybersecurity knowledge centers and regularly participates in the prestigious Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, the world’s leading hacking event.
Trusted by Fortune 500 companies and top cybersecurity vendors, the ReversingLabs Spectra Core platform secures software supply chains and provides unparalleled file security insights. It tracks over 40 billion files daily and can deconstruct full software binaries in seconds. ReversingLabs uniquely offers the ultimate examination of whether a single file or an entire binary poses a threat to your organization or customers.
#3 Claroty
Claroty is a US cybersecurity company co-founded by Bulgarian entrepreneur Galina Antova, specializing in the protection of major technology firms, hospitals, and data centers from cyber threats. Since its inception, Claroty has secured $735 million in funding and is preparing for an initial public offering.
In the summer of 2024, after 24 years abroad, Antova returned to Sofia as a leading figure in cybersecurity, having transformed from a teenager into a prominent industry leader. Under her guidance, Claroty has grown to a team of over 600 worldwide, with 20% of its clients being Fortune 100 companies.
The company focuses on cyber-physical systems (CPS) protection, providing comprehensive solutions for asset visibility, exposure management, network protection, secure access, and threat detection. Claroty’s offerings, available both in the cloud and on-premise, are backed by award-winning threat research and extensive technology partnerships. With offices in New York City, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, Claroty continues to advance CPS security across various industries.
#4 BitDefender
BitDefender is a Romanian cybersecurity company founded in 2001, provides top-tier threat prevention, detection, and response solutions globally.
As a guardian of millions of consumers, business, and government environments, Bitdefender is renowned for its expertise in eliminating threats, protecting privacy and data, and ensuring cyber resilience. With substantial investments in research and development, Bitdefender Labs identifies 400 new threats every minute and processes 30 billion threat queries each day.
With a total funding of more than $160 million, the company has pioneered innovations in anti-malware, IoT security, behavioral analytics, and artificial intelligence, and its technology is licensed by over 150 prominent technology brands and operates in 170 countries.
#5 Trickest
Serbian startup Trickest offers a workflow automation and orchestration platform designed for bug bounty hunters, penetration testers, and enterprise security teams.
Founded in 2020, Trickest aims to democratize access to advanced cybersecurity tools, targeting a wider audience that includes academia, security researchers, educators, and bug bounty hunters.
In 2021, the company secured a €1.4M seed round from investors such as Credo Ventures and Earlybird Digital East fund, along with angel investors Daniel Dines and Marius Tirca from UiPath. Earlier this year, Trickest raised an additional round, with Credo and Earlybird reinvesting, and new support from Underline Ventures and angel investor Vlad Ionescu, bringing their total funding to $3M.
Founders Nenad Zaric and Mihailo Tomic bring extensive experience to the table. Zaric, a seasoned hacker and security professional, previously held top rankings for companies like Uber, PayPal, and Snapchat on the bug bounty platform HackerOne. Trickest’s headquarters and main team are based in Belgrade, where they continue to develop the platform.
