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Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Vulcan Cyber (discontinued)

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

    Score9.7 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is a service available on Microsoft's Azure, that provides insights into vulnerabilities, risks, and exposures for web-based resources. It defines an organization’s unique internet-exposed attack surface and discovers unknown resources to help users proactively manage security posture.

    $0.01

    per day per asset

    Vulcan Cyber (discontinued)

    Score7.4 out of 10
    Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
    Vulcan Cyber was an exposure and vulnerability risk mitigation platform, acquired by Tenable in early 2025. The product is no longer available for sale, and functionality has been integrated into the Tenable One Exposure Management platform's vulnerability solution.N/A
    Pricing
    Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementVulcan Cyber (discontinued)
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementVulcan Cyber (discontinued)
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementVulcan Cyber (discontinued)
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Discontinued Products
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Would buy again
    12 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    9 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    12 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    83%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    83%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementVulcan Cyber (discontinued)
    Threat Intelligence
    Comparison of Threat Intelligence features of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management and Vulcan Cyber (discontinued)
    Feature
    Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
    9.7
    1 Ratings
    18% above category average
    Vulcan Cyber (discontinued)
    7.9
    11 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Network Analytics9.01 Ratings7.77 Ratings
    Threat Recognition10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Vulnerability Classification10.01 Ratings8.310 Ratings
    Automated Alerts and Reporting10.01 Ratings7.411 Ratings
    Threat Analysis10.01 Ratings8.05 Ratings
    Threat Intelligence Reporting9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Automated Threat Identification10.01 Ratings8.011 Ratings
    Vulnerability Management Tools
    Comparison of Vulnerability Management Tools features of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management and Vulcan Cyber (discontinued)
    Feature
    Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
    9.4
    1 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Vulcan Cyber (discontinued)
    7.4
    11 Ratings
    12% below category average
    IT Asset Realization8.01 Ratings8.28 Ratings
    Authentication9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Configuration Monitoring10.01 Ratings6.43 Ratings
    Web Scanning10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Vulnerability Intelligence10.01 Ratings7.411 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementVulcan Cyber (discontinued)
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Tenable Nessus
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Tenable Nessus
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Tenable Vulnerability Management
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Tenable Vulnerability Management
    Score8.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementVulcan Cyber (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.1
    (12 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (10 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementVulcan Cyber (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is particularly well-suited for discovering, inventorying, and continuously monitoring the external attack surface, especially in environments with heavy Microsoft adoption. It is less suitable as a standalone solution for internal scanning, real-time attack detection, automated remediation, or advanced application testing. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management es especialmente adecuado para descubrir, inventariar y monitorear continuamente la superficie de ataque externa, sobre todo en entornos con fuerte adopción de Microsoft. Es menos adecuado como solución única para escaneo interno, detección de ataques en tiempo real, remediación automática o pruebas avanzadas de aplicaciones. Parts of this review were originally written in Spanish and have been translated into English using a third-party translation tool. While we strive for accuracy, some nuances or meanings may not be perfectly captured.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    It's really challenging at times to contend with multiple vulnerabilities on a daily basis, and having a way to make sense of what actually needs to be prioritized and what can be shifted further down the task list is extremely helpful. Because the solution suggests what your next step should be in mitigating a specific vulnerability, it helps us save time and research by enabling us to immediately take action after being informed about an issue.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Microsoft
    • Lack of visibility of external assets
    • Reduction of the risk of external attacks
    • Falta de visibilidad de activos externos
    • Reducción del riesgo de ataques externos
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Identifies vulnerabilities and they are easily understood.
    • Easy to identify remedies in an instant.
    • Campaign feature is a true time saver
    • Our CSM, Nino, is the best I have ever worked with!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Microsoft
    • Asset Attribution and Ownership Clarity
    • Risk Prioritization and Business Context
    • Noise and False Positives
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Deduping of assets could be better.
    • The weighting of vulnerabilities is hard to describe to non technical executives.
    • The Business Groups and Tagging needs improvement. Or at least allow tags to be removed if not needed. Now they are static from the API feed.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Microsoft
    We rate Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management’s overall usability as 10 out of 10 because it delivers a strong balance between depth of capability and ease of use, particularly within organizations already operating in the Microsoft security ecosystem.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    Because Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is part of the broader Microsoft Defender family (including Defender XDR, Entra ID, Azure Security, Sentinel, etc.), it:
    Shares identity, endpoint, and threat context across tools
    Reduces the need for custom integrations or connectors
    Works in a “single pane of glass” experience for SOC analysts
    Why it matters:
    Organizations already invested in Microsoft security tools gain greater contextual insight and lower operational overhead.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    I wasn't here at the time when the company compared different vulnerability management platforms so I'm not sure on the reasoning and difference between the 2. It could be that the team went through different choices and found Vulcan to be the best fit. It's hard for me to say why Vulcan was specifically chosen
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • Reduced Business Risk from Unknown External Assets
    • Operational Efficiency and Cost Avoidance
    • Faster Risk Identification During Change Events
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Allows much better prioritizing of which assets are most vulnerable
    • Allow a better understanding of what assets are actually under real threat vs. what is assumed to be vulnerable, but the real world fact is the system would be hard to reach internally, so it's not as vulnerable.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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