New Titans of Cybersecurity: CyberArk, Okta, Qualys Lead the Charge

By Frank Jones, CISSP   Published: 06/10/25   Updated: 11/02/26   3 min read
Cyber News

New Titans of Cybersecurity: CyberArk, Okta, Qualys Lead the Charge

Summary

Introduction

Attacks keep growing as companies move more of their work online. Three firms stand out in how the industry is responding. Two of them focus on identity. The third focuses on vulnerability management and cloud security.

Identity Is the New Perimeter

Security used to mean guarding the network edge. Now users and apps live everywhere, so identities matter more than firewalls. CyberArk is a leader in privileged access management. It protects the admin accounts and credentials attackers most want to steal. (Palo Alto Networks agreed to buy CyberArk in July 2025, after this article was first published.) Okta covers the broader identity side. Its tools handle sign-in and access across cloud and on-premises apps. That role grew as hybrid work spread. Okta itself has faced breaches, including a 2023 support system compromise, which shows that identity vendors are targets too.

Zero Trust

Zero trust means no user or device is trusted by default. CyberArk and Okta both build products around that idea. Users get verified continuously. They get only the access they need. Remote work and cloud services have widened the attack surface for most organizations. Zero trust helps limit the damage when one account is compromised.

Qualys and the Cloud

Qualys built its business on cloud-based vulnerability scanning. It gives companies a view of their assets and weaknesses across on-premises and cloud systems. Security teams use it to find and prioritize what to patch.

Financial Performance

All three companies have grown alongside demand for security tools, and investors have mostly rewarded that. Results vary by quarter, and the stocks can swing. Their core markets in identity and vulnerability management are still expanding.

Where This Leaves Buyers

Each of the three covers a key part of modern defense. Identity and vulnerability management are now basics. No vendor guarantees security. These firms show where the market is heading. Identity-first security keeps gaining ground.

Practical next step: Shopping for identity tools? Start here. Our list of the best IAM tools in 2026 compares sign-in, access and lifecycle features across the major platforms, including Okta.

Also worth reading: Worried about admin accounts? See the best PAM tools in 2026. CyberArk is there.

One more: Stolen logins often go unnoticed for weeks, sometimes months, because the attacker looks like a normal user to most security tools. Our best ITDR tools in 2026 guide covers products built to catch them. Worth a look.

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Frank Jones, CISSP

Frank Jones has loved computers from the age of 13. Frank got his hacking career started when he downloaded a war dialing program that he used to detect dial up modems in his hometown of Chicago. Frank Jones now works as a JAVA coder and cyber security researcher.