Akamai Prolexic
Akamai Prolexic is a cloud-based DDoS protection service that shields your entire network infrastructure and data centers from high-volume cyber attacks to ensure your digital business remains always available.
Cobalt
Cobalt is a Pentest as a Service platform that combines SaaS efficiency with a global community of security experts to identify and remediate vulnerabilities in your applications.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Akamai Prolexic | Cobalt |
|---|---|---|
| Website | akamai.com | cobalt.io |
| Pricing Model | Custom | Custom |
| Starting Price | Custom Pricing | Custom Pricing |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✘ No free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✘ No free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 1998 | 2013 |
| Headquarters | Cambridge, USA | San Francisco, USA |
Overview
Akamai Prolexic
Akamai Prolexic provides you with a dedicated defense shield against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. It works by rerouting your network traffic through Akamai’s global scrubbing centers, where malicious traffic is filtered out before it ever reaches your data center. This ensures your applications and infrastructure stay online even during massive, multi-terabit attacks that would otherwise crash your systems.
You can protect all your IP-based applications, whether they live in the cloud, on-premise, or in a hybrid environment. The platform gives you a zero-second mitigation SLA for many attack vectors, meaning threats are stopped instantly. It is designed for medium to large enterprises that cannot afford even a minute of downtime, such as financial institutions, e-commerce giants, and government agencies.
Cobalt
Cobalt transforms traditional penetration testing into a dynamic, tech-enabled experience through its Pentest as a Service (PtaaS) platform. You can move away from slow, static PDF reports and instead launch comprehensive security assessments in days rather than weeks. The platform connects you directly with a vetted community of on-demand security researchers who test your web applications, APIs, and cloud infrastructure in real-time.
You can manage the entire testing lifecycle from a single dashboard, allowing your developers to communicate directly with testers for faster vulnerability remediation. It integrates with your existing development workflows to ensure security keeps pace with your release cycles. Whether you need to meet compliance requirements like SOC2 or harden your external attack surface, you get actionable data and on-demand retesting to stay secure.
Overview
Akamai Prolexic Features
- Global Traffic Scrubbing Reroute your traffic through 20+ global scrubbing centers to filter out malicious data and keep your backend clean.
- Zero-Second Mitigation SLA Stop known attack vectors instantly with proactive defensive controls that neutralize threats the moment they are detected.
- Network Flow Monitoring Gain deep visibility into your network traffic patterns to identify and respond to anomalies before they become critical.
- Hybrid Protection Secure your assets across any environment, including private data centers, public clouds, and complex hybrid setups.
- SOCC Expert Support Access 24/7 support from specialized security operations centers to help you manage complex attacks and fine-tune your defenses.
- BGP Route Injection Control how your traffic is routed during an attack using standard BGP protocols for a fast and reliable failover.
Cobalt Features
- On-Demand Pentesting. Launch a manual pentest in as little as 24 hours to meet tight production deadlines or compliance windows.
- Real-Time Reporting. View vulnerabilities as testers find them so your team can start fixing critical bugs before the test even finishes.
- Direct Researcher Access. Chat directly with your assigned security experts to clarify findings and get specific guidance on complex remediation steps.
- SDLC Integrations. Push findings automatically to Jira, GitHub, or Slack so your developers can manage security fixes in their existing tools.
- Complimentary Retesting. Request a free retest once you've applied a fix to ensure the vulnerability is fully resolved and verified.
- Compliance Reporting. Generate audit-ready reports for SOC2, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS with a single click to satisfy your stakeholders and auditors.
Pricing Comparison
Akamai Prolexic Pricing
Cobalt Pricing
Pros & Cons
Akamai Prolexic
Pros
- Unmatched capacity to handle massive multi-terabit DDoS attacks
- Excellent 24/7 support from highly skilled security experts
- Very low latency impact during active traffic scrubbing
- Comprehensive visibility into attack traffic and mitigation patterns
Cons
- Premium pricing makes it expensive for smaller organizations
- Complex initial configuration requires significant networking expertise
- Dashboard interface can feel overwhelming for novice users
Cobalt
Pros
- Significantly faster setup time than traditional consulting firms
- Direct communication with testers speeds up remediation
- Clean dashboard replaces messy PDF report management
- High-quality, vetted researchers provide deep manual insights
Cons
- Credit-based pricing can be complex to forecast
- Platform focus is primarily on manual testing over automation
- Premium pricing reflects the high-touch expert service