The Hidden Side of Healthcare: Why We're Acquiring Cynerio

Every security failure begins with the same root cause: not knowing what you have. We built Axonius on this fundamental truth, creating visibility across IT, cloud, and SaaS environments. But the modern attack surface extends far beyond traditional IT.

And nowhere is this more dangerous than in healthcare.

Today, I’m incredibly excited to announce that Axonius is acquiring Cynerio, the leader in healthcare cybersecurity. This is our first acquisition, and it represents a critical expansion of our mission.

Two Worlds, One Network

Healthcare organizations operate in two distinct technology worlds. There’s the visible IT infrastructure—servers, endpoints, applications—that traditional security tools can discover and protect. Then there’s the clinical infrastructure. Ventilators, infusion pumps, imaging systems, patient monitors. These operate largely in darkness.

These medical devices aren’t just “different” IT assets. They’re fundamentally alien to traditional security approaches, yet are often connected on the same network. They communicate using over 400 proprietary protocols. Can’t have agents installed. They’re designed to run for 20 years without updates. And you can’t scan them aggressively—it could literally disrupt patient care.

This invisibility creates massive risk. Bad actors specifically target healthcare because they know these blind spots exist. When attackers move through a hospital network, they don’t differentiate between billing systems and blood gas analyzers. But defenders? They often can’t even see half their attack surface.

Why Traditional Approaches Fail

The challenge goes beyond technology. It’s like a puzzle. Medical devices exist at the intersection of multiple hard constraints: You can’t reboot an MRI machine during a trauma case. Period. Any change, you want or even could make, requires months of certification processes. Many devices run old firmware that predates modern security concepts entirely. Not to mention, each manufacturer speaks its own proprietary language.

Traditional IT security tools fail these environments because they were never designed for this reality. You need purpose-built technology that can passively observe clinical networks—understanding everything without ever disrupting the devices keeping patients alive.

Why Cynerio

Cynerio understood something crucial: securing medical devices required a fundamentally different approach. They developed passive discovery techniques that could map entire clinical networks by listening to device communications. No interference. No risk.

Their platform identifies device types, vulnerabilities, behaviors, and risks, all without sending packets that could impact patient care. They’ve built technology purpose-designed for the unique constraints of clinical environments—not adapted IT tools, but solutions built from the ground up for healthcare. But it’s more than just technology. They’ve built deep domain expertise in healthcare. They understand which devices are mission-critical, how clinical workflows actually operate, and what security measures can be implemented without disrupting care. Healthcare providers have recognized their expertise—Cynerio has consistently earned top marks in KLAS for Healthcare IoT Security. This combination of technical innovation and healthcare expertise has made them a trusted choice for protecting connected medical devices. 

They share our fundamental belief: you can’t protect what you can’t see. And they’ve dedicated themselves to making healthcare's invisible infrastructure visible.

Extending Our Foundation

This acquisition allows us to extend our core principle into healthcare’s most critical environments. By integrating Cynerio’s capabilities into Axonius, we’ll create the industry’s first unified view across all connected assets—from cloud workloads to cardiac monitors. 

Today we are talking about healthcare, but this deal represents something bigger: the evolution of asset intelligence to cover the entire connected world, regardless of device type or protocol.

The Imperative for Change

The urgency is undeniable. Healthcare breaches now average over $10 million. Ransomware attacks force emergency rooms to divert patients. Surgeries get postponed. And medical devices with known vulnerabilities remain unpatched for years because organizations lack both visibility and safe remediation paths.

As medical devices become more connected and attacks grow more sophisticated, the gap between what we can see and what we need to protect continues to widen. 

We can’t wait any longer.

Moving Forward Together

To the Cynerio team joining Axonius: You’ve built something remarkable. Your dedication to protecting healthcare environments and the expertise you’ve developed are exactly what we need to solve this challenge at scale. Together, we’ll ensure that no critical device remains invisible or unprotected.

To our customers and partners: This acquisition signals our commitment to solving the complete visibility and actionability challenge. We’re fundamentally expanding what asset intelligence means.

To healthcare organizations: We understand the unique challenges you face. We’re building technology that respects your operational constraints while giving you the visibility and control you need.

The Complete Map

Our vision remains unchanged: complete visibility into every connected asset, with the context and confidence to act, or as we like to say to bring truth to action in cybersecurity. Today, we’re extending that vision to include the devices that matter most—the ones keeping people alive.

Let's get to work.