Meet the elite squad that’s hunting the next major cyberattack. With more than 150 years of combined research experience and expert analysis, the Tenable Research Special Operations team arms organizations with the critical and actionable intelligence necessary to proactively defend the modern attack surface.
The digital battlefield is constantly shifting. It’s no longer enough to just react. We need to anticipate. Massive data breaches leave consumers exposed to identity thieves, ransomware attacks cripple hospitals, and Nation State actors disrupt critical infrastructure. It’s not just about vulnerable software anymore. In our hyper-connected world, from the smart devices in your home to the complex systems running our cities, everything is a potential target.
The explosion of cloud services and AI is accelerating this risk, creating countless new windows for cybercriminals and hostile nations to exploit. From software and hardware vulnerabilities, to misconfigurations, compromised identities, overexposed and highly privileged environments, and publicly accessible databases, the threat landscape is everywhere, all at once. As of October 2024, over 240,000 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) have been tracked through the MITRE CVE program, including many that have significantly impacted consumers, businesses and governments. The volume has historically been too much for security teams to keep up with.
Beyond the sheer increase in the volume of traditional vulnerabilities, defenders are faced with an ever-expanding attack surface as enterprises have adopted remote work and new technologies like Generative AI that all contribute to increases in both the number and complexity of exposures that elevate the likelihood of business impacts.
But what if there was a team dedicated to seeing these threats coming, understanding the tactics being used by adversaries, and sending early warning signals for what might come next?
Introducing the Tenable Research Special Operations (RSO) Team – the next milestone in the evolution of the Research teams and capabilities that Tenable brings to bear, and designed to operate at the forefront of the fight.
The “special ops” of cybersecurity: What you need to know
Since 2018, Tenable’s Security Response Team (SRT) has monitored the cybersecurity landscape, aggregating and assessing insights from hundreds of sources daily to provide unique insights via Cyber Exposure Alerts and related advisory content. In that same year, we formalized our reverse engineering efforts, founding the Zero-Day Research team; that team’s research efforts have resulted in the discovery and disclosure of more than 500 zero-day vulnerabilities since its formation. In 2023, we launched the Decision Science Operations team to provide improved support for decision making through quantitative analysis techniques and the application of appropriate technologies augmenting human intelligence and analysis.
Today, the RSO team serves as Tenable’s Forward Logistics Element in the threat landscape, providing customers with the analyses and contextualized exposure intelligence required to manage risks to critical business assets. With over 150 years of collective expertise, this hand-picked group of world-class security researchers is united with one mission: to cut through the noise and deliver critical intelligence about the most dangerous cyber threats emerging right now. Uniting the missions of the Tenable Security Response, Zero-Day Research, and Decision Science Operations teams, RSO disseminates timely, accurate, and actionable information about the latest threats and exposures.
How? RSO is laser-focused on the “capability meets opportunity” equation
- Capability: What are the attackers able to do? What tools, resources, and strategies do they have?
- Opportunity: What weaknesses exist in our systems that attackers can exploit?
By analyzing both sides of this equation, the RSO team can predict potential attacks and pinpoint exactly where the biggest points of exposure reside. This isn’t just theoretical; it’s about providing real-time, actionable insights that can literally save businesses – and potentially, lives – from devastating cyberattacks.
The RSO team’s research goes beyond generic warnings. Not every risk is created equal. We understand that what’s critical for a power grid isn’t the same as what’s critical for a retail chain. Threat context is key to determining risk levels. Our insights are tailored, helping organizations across different industries and regions prioritize the threats that matter most to their specific operations.
Here’s what this elite team is digging into – and why you should pay attention
- Known and emergent exploits: Covering the vulnerabilities we already track and finding brand new ones before criminals can weaponize them.
- Nation-state and cybercriminal tactics: Uncovering the latest moves from sophisticated hacking groups and foreign governments.
- AI and emerging tech risks: Assessing the hidden dangers in the newest technologies, like advanced AI models (DeepSeek) and cutting-edge coding protocols (Model Context Protocol, Vibe Coding).
- “Old dog, new tricks” exploits: Discovering how hackers are re-purposing old vulnerabilities for devastating new attacks.
- The science of decision-making: Providing data-driven insights to help organizations make smarter security choices.
New and existing analysis and insights from Tenable RSO can be found on the Tenable Blog, the Tenable Research page and the Tenable Connect Community.