A proven company with thin original coverage
Invicti has two decades in application security, enterprise customers and technical evidence that reporters rarely see.
01 Our read
Invicti has more to say than the market can see.
The market still knows the DAST version
Acunetix, Netsparker and DAST carry recognition. Broader AppSec and agentic pentesting do not yet carry the same weight.
The current program distributed releases
Wire posts created a public record. They did not create steady reporting, durable reporter relationships or attention between announcements.
02 Competitor coverage · March–August 2026
Aikido and XBOW created 15 of the 18 original stories we found.
Most of the field—including Invicti—did not break through.
Aikido
10
XBOW
5
PortSwigger/Burp
2
Snyk
1
What counted: an independently reported story or dedicated interview centered on the company, its research or an expert. We excluded wires, owned and sponsored posts, release rewrites, comparisons and roundups. Search can miss stories, so these are verified minimums—not a complete count of every story.
03 What worked
The winners gave reporters something to report.
New findings, a named expert or access to an important company story—not another category claim.
Aikido10
Original research, then an expert reporters could call.
- FortuneNamed expert on AI-driven security risk
- CSO OnlineResearch into stolen OpenAI Codex credentials
- Krebs on SecurityResearcher explaining the TeamPCP attack
Why it ran: Research + expert access
XBOW5
Vulnerabilities, financing and access to the people behind the company.
- The Hacker NewsBing Images and Gitea vulnerability discoveries
- TechCrunchExpert analysis of the Hugging Face breach
- SecurityWeekProfile of its offensive-security leader
Why it ran: Discoveries + executive access
PortSwigger + Snyk3
Deep technical work put researchers—not products—at the center.
- SC MediaInterview on the year's top web-hacking research
- Dark ReadingInterview on HTTP Terminator and desync attacks
- The RegisterSnyk research used in a GitHub attack story
Why it ran: Research + technical experts
For Invicti: evidence and people earned attention. Product positioning did not.
04 The recommendation
Make verified risk the public story.
Invicti's advantage is not finding more problems. It is helping teams confirm which problems are real and what to do next.
Carry DAST trust into broader AppSec
Show how verified findings help teams choose what to fix next.
Give agentic pentesting a real scorecard
Help buyers judge results, safety, repeatability, cost and human review.
Turn product data into reporting
Show which flaws are exploitable, which fixes lag and where new risk appears.
Make Invicti's experts easy to call
Give reporters fast access to people with specific, useful answers—not generic executive commentary.
05 What Salient will do
One senior team. Five parts of one program.
Priorities will change. Media relations stays active.
Earned media
Monitor news, develop timely angles, pitch reporters, prepare sources and follow through.
Announcements
Judge the news value early, plan briefings or embargoes, write materials and run targeted outreach.
Expert content
Interview leaders, develop clear points of view and place articles, interviews and podcasts.
Research and customers
Find useful data, shape credible research and involve customers or partners when possible.
Speaking and awards
Find the right opportunities, check eligibility and prepare approved applications.
Senior-led throughout. Justin remains involved day to day. Specialists join when the work requires them; there is no junior handoff.
06 Six-month success
Six months should leave Invicti visibly better off.
Original reporting replaces wire-only results
Earned stories, mentions, roundups and wire pickup are counted separately.
The broader Invicti story appears
At least one story explains AppSec or agentic work—not only legacy DAST.
More than one expert earns attention
Several people earn interviews, quotes, articles, podcasts or accepted speaking roles.
07 Beyond earned coverage
Give people reasons to hear from Invicti between launches.
These are six-month planning ranges from current Salient programs.
Expert articlesSix months
3–6 published articles
Useful ideas in external publications, building searchable expertise between announcements.
PodcastsSix months
1–3 completed appearances
Interviews that introduce executives and researchers to the right audiences.
AwardsSix months
4–8 selected applications
Reasonable planning result: 1–3 wins, finalist placements or list recognitions.
SpeakingSix months
2–5 applications or invitation pursuits
Reasonable six-month result: 0–2 confirmed appearances.
08 Stronger coverage opportunities
Three opportunities worth building around.
These can earn original coverage if the evidence and timing hold.
Novel vulnerability
A qualifying disclosure can travel when affected users, technical detail and responsible coordination are clear. Without that, expect zero.
Comparable outlets: SecurityWeek, Help Net Security, CSO and Infosecurity.Software supply chain
A defined use case, named customer or measurable result can create a story. A broad platform claim will not.
Comparable outlets: SiliconANGLE, The New Stack, DeveloperTech and InfoWorld.Product data or survey
A surprising, defensible finding may earn one launch story and then support months of commentary and follow-up pitching.
The long-term value is the repeatable research program.Ranges count original earned stories, not wire pickup, and do not add together. One story may cover several announcements. Timing and disclosure dates remain unconfirmed for all three opportunities.
09 Supporting announcements
Three announcements that need more proof.
Useful company news. Weak media stories on their own.
AppSec Flex
The name is already public. A formal launch needs a named customer, adoption data or a sharp difference to become a new story.
Otherwise, use it for briefings and sales support.IDC and Gartner recognition
Comparable Leader announcements mostly stayed in owned, wire, channel or partner coverage.
Use the result as buyer proof; confirm publication and usage rights first.Continuous offensive security
A distinct method, result or named customer is needed to stand apart.
Without one, expect briefs and roundups rather than a dedicated story.10 Spokespeople
Four people reporters could call for different reasons.
Starting points only. Interviews will confirm each person's best topics.
Neil Roseman
CEOCompany direction, the move to broader AppSec and the business case for better security decisions.
Matthew Sciberras
CISOSecurity risk, buyer priorities and what teams should require before trusting automated findings.
Dan Murphy
Chief ArchitectOffensive security, architecture and how to evaluate agentic testing in practice.
Cenk Kalpakoglu
Security SMEApplication-security practice, technical analysis and connecting findings to action.
Existing material
Invicti's technical content and AppSec Serialized provide ideas and transcripts, not earned coverage.
11 Measurement and reporting
The report answers the questions leadership will ask.
Earned stories and distribution are always counted separately.
Original earned storiesHow many independent stories or dedicated interviews put Invicti, its evidence or its experts at the center?
Other useful coverageWhich mentions, roundups and contributed articles ran? These stay separate from original stories.
Competitive positionIs Invicti gaining ground against the agreed companies and outlet list?
The story reporters tellAre reporters describing broader AppSec and agentic work—not only DAST?
Who reporters callWhich people earned quotes, interviews, articles, podcasts or accepted speaking roles?
BaselineTargetActualGapTrend
Pitches, journalist responses, work in progress, changes and next actions.
Results, competitor movement, lessons and recommendations in a concise shareable view.
The source record for original stories, other coverage and distribution.
12 Why Salient
Why Salient is a credible fit.
We have built recognition in adjacent developer and security markets—and we show how results are counted.
From last to first.
Salient moved Sauce Labs from last to first in competitive coverage over 12 months through research, launches, expert content and fast-response media.
Relevant here: renewing an established developer brand.Six high-quality stories.
A concentrated security campaign turned credible evidence and expert access into six selected stories, including Forbes.
Relevant here: turning security proof into reporting.An 11× increase.
CircleCI's coverage grew 11× over four years, including VentureBeat, Forbes, Business Insider, DZone and InfoQ.
Relevant here: sustaining attention from developer media.Historical examples, not an Invicti forecast. Results depend on evidence, access, timing and editors.
13 Investment
Start at the level the program can actually use.
Core is the sensible recommendation. Full is for several priorities moving at once.
Focused PR
One priority$10,000 per month
Six-month engagement · PR only · U.S. focus
- Ongoing media relations
- One campaign at a time
- Other work queued by priority
Core PR
Recommended$15,000 per month
Six-month engagement · PR only · U.S. focus
- Media relations stays active
- Priority U.S. launches supported
- One additional priority across articles, podcasts, awards or speaking
Full PR
Most capacity$20,000 per month
Six-month engagement · PR only · U.S. focus
- Overlapping launches supported
- Research, customer proof and expert content advance together
- Selective European outreach when warranted
Scope and costs: Analyst relations is excluded. Wire distribution, surveys, award fees, sponsorship and travel are separate and require approval.