Top 10 Cybersecurity Companies in Europe

Over the last 10-15 years, the cybersecurity scene has gotten increasingly complex, as organizations adopt new technology and hackers evolve more innovative ways to target them.

At the same time, data protection and compliance have become much more stringent across the world.

Nowhere is this more true than in Europe. Today’s organizations have an ever-increasing raft of complex and often overlapping compliance requirements.

That’s why many are increasingly beginning to prioritize cybersecurity service providers that understand this landscape.

If you’re reading this blog, there is a good chance that includes you.

So where do you start?

Looking Local: Why European Organizations are Prioritizing Regional Cybersecurity Solutions

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“When world events sour, a cybersecurity provider tied too closely to a particular nation could suddenly become a potential conduit for data extraction or disruption.

The bottom line: Trust can no longer be taken for granted simply because a product works technically. Organizations must evaluate not just security features, but also the geopolitical influences behind their providers.”

– Jesper Frederiksen, Chief Executive Officer, Heimdal

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When it comes to cybersecurity, there have always been good reasons to buy local.

But in the last few years, it has become more urgent, since there’s now a raft of new cybersecurity and compliance regulations that didn’t exist a decade ago: GDPR, NIS, DORA, PSD2, CRA, EIDAS, and the EU Cybersecurity Act.

Against this backdrop, buying local is fast turning from a nice-to-have to an absolute must. There are several important reasons for this:

• Data Sovereignty: European compliance regulations like GDPR, NIS2, DORA, and others now increasingly require organizations to store and safeguard sensitive data in-jurisdiction. Foreign authorities (e.g. the US via the 2018 CLOUD Act) may reserve the right to access data stored abroad – so prioritizing local vendors is crucial to guaranteeing compliance.
• Compliance features: On a more practical level, European cybersecurity products are built with the relevant local compliance laws in mind. Organizations from the US or other countries may have similar frameworks (e.g. CCPA in California vs. GDPR in the EU) – but they aren’t identical. Indeed, European laws are generally stricter. Prioritizing software from a local vendor is the best way to ensure compliance by design.
• Foreign influence: Only a local cybersecurity vendor can be completely free from foreign influence. This is particularly important in a world with increasing tensions between nation states. The vast amount of cybercrime associated with Russia, North Korea, and Iran is no secret. But even outside of these rogue states, there are security challenges around data privacy when your vendor is caught between the laws of two different states.
• Trust and transparency: In the EU, legal frameworks prioritize privacy, accountability, and user protection over almost anything. This means the legal and cultural framework in Europe is much more focused on data minimization, user consent, and transparency.

But it’s not just about individual organizations. In fact, nation-state Governments around Europe and the West are increasingly looking to ban cybersecurity products whose vendors fall under the jurisdiction of rogue nation states.

One recent example is Kaspersky, a Russian cybersecurity vendor that is now banned in the US and will likely face similar measures in other countries.

Prioritizing a European cybersecurity vendor is the best way to ensure you are compliant with local laws and can avoid the risk of foreign interference over your data. In 2025, this is more important than ever.

How to Choose the Best Software Vendor for Your Organization

Beyond the location of the vendor, there are a number of important factors that you need to consider when choosing the right cybersecurity product:

• Modularity: As security and compliance requirements evolve, it’s important to keep an eye on the future. Ideally, you want a platform that enables you to buy whatever modules or solutions you need today and easily turn on new features as requirements evolve in future. In contrast, bolting together an increasing number of siloed security products leads to an unwieldy and disjointed security approach.
• Unified Management: An effective cybersecurity product needs to consolidate alerts from a wide range of security tools (i.e. DNS, PAM, EDR, SIEM, and more) into one unified interface. Some organizations (particularly managed security providers) also need this unified dashboard in the context of multiple consoles or tenants – helping to monitor separate clients, locations, or systems. This is very difficult to achieve when you combine multiple tools from different vendors.
• Integration Capabilities: How well does the product work with your existing infrastructure and tools? It’s important to ensure your chosen vendor has support for your operating system (mobile and desktop), endpoints, cloud systems, SaaS products, and any IoT or other devices you may be operating.
• Threat Intelligence: Traditional cybersecurity tools generally rely on reactive approaches like signature-based detection. These are important, but other tools mix that with proactive protections like DNS filtering, anomaly analysis, privileged access management, and more. It’s important to get a mix of both proactive and reactive tools to create an effective, layered defense.

Because of these factors, today’s organizations are increasingly looking to consolidate their cybersecurity posture as much as possible. The best way to do this is to have the widest possible amount of cybersecurity protections under one license.

10 Top Cybersecurity Companies in Europe

While choosing European companies is important – it’s not the only factor you should consider when comparing software vendors.

That’s because the functionality of each product and the needs of the organization buying it are all very unique. At the same time, the constantly evolving cybersecurity landscape and frequent technological advancements mean that vendors have developed particularly unique and distinct approaches to security over time.

To help you make the right decision, here are ten of Europe’s best cybersecurity vendors:

Heimdal: Europe’s Unified Cybersecurity Leader

Unlike other providers on this list, Heimdal doesn’t specialize in threat detection, privileged access management, or vulnerability management. Instead, it offers all this and more.

Heimdal offers a genuinely unique approach to cybersecurity services. Our goal is to include the widest possible range of cybersecurity protections and tools under a single integrated license. Here’s what that enables:

• Why Heimdal?: Heimdal’s complete security platform helps to future-proof your organization. Customers can start with (for example) vulnerability management and add other modules (e.g. PAM, EDR, DNS security) as and when you need to. Heimdal is the only platform that lets you build your security stack incrementally, without vendor lock-in.
• Best for: Medium and large-sized organizations and MSPs looking to consolidate vendors while maintaining budget flexibility.
• European advantage: Heimdal was born in Copenhagen and now has a wide presence across Europe. The security company has a deep understanding of European compliance requirements like GDPR, NIS2, Cyber Essentials, and more.
• Managed support: Customers can also take advantage of our managed security service add-on, MXDR, which comes with 24/7 expert monitoring and incident response. This is an important part of demonstrating compliance.

Heimdal key details:

• Location: Denmark
• Date formed: 2014
• Specialization: Full-suite cybersecurity and managed support

Pros:

• A unified platform: Heimdal offers the widest security functionality of any vendor. This means organizations can combine vulnerability management, DNS security, threat detection, endpoint management, email security, and more into a single unified license.
• Modular approach: Organizations can purchase whatever products they need and expand usage as requirements evolve. This means there is no need to go to tender every time you need a new security tool.
• Straightforward pricing: Heimdal’s pricing is consistent and predictable, based on the number of endpoints and servers being monitored. This reduces complexity and avoids surprise costs.

Cons:

• Initial setup and policy configuration can take some time, particularly with patch management and group policies.
• Some users note that Heimdal’s wide functionality means occasional updates require time to adjust workflows.
• While the modular approach is a strength, teams focused on just one area (e.g. EDR only) may find Heimdal broader than they strictly need.

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“First-time setup can be a little challenging. Patch management group policies took a little bit of getting used to – but once you crack it, it just ticks along.”

– Heimdal user review, via G2

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Review Scores:

• G2: 4.3/5 stars (39 reviews total)
• Gartner: 4.3/5 stars (13 reviews total)

Bitdefender: Best for Integrated Threat Detection

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“I like that Bitdefender GravityZone provides strong protection without noticeably slowing down the system…

The centralised dashboard makes it easy to manage multiple devices, and the real-time threat detection works reliably in the background. Occasionally, the updates require a system restart, which can be inconvenient during working hours.”

– Bitdefender user review, via G2

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Bitdefender is one of Europe’s most well-known cybersecurity companies, with a heritage stretching back to 2001. The vendor offers a range of security solutions tailored to consumers, small businesses, and enterprises – and is particularly well-known for its effective malware defense.

Key details:

• Location: Romania
• Date formed: 2001
• Specialization: Antivirus and endpoint detection

Pros:

• Strong threat detection: Bitdefender is well-regarded for its advanced threat detection functionality, including next-generation anti-malware, IoT security, behavioral analytics, and AI.
• Centralized dashboard: The vendor’s GravityZone product offers a centralized dashboard, making it easy to manage multiple devices, endpoints, and systems.
• Ease of use: Reviewers generally say the product is easy-to-use and manage, with a smooth learning curve.

Cons:

• Reporting issues: Reporting and logging processes in Bitdefender products can be cumbersome and manual.
• Limited Linux support: Reviewers note that older versions of Linux aren’t supported and that the performance and functionality for newer Linux models is noticeably lower than other operating systems.
• Limited functionality: Despite impressive anti-malware and EDR tools, there are plenty of cybersecurity products that Bitdefender doesn’t offer, including vulnerability management, privileged access management, and more.

Review Scores:

• G2: 4.4/5 stars (195 reviews total)
• Gartner: 4.8/5 stars (682 reviews total

Sophos: Best for Complex Systems

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“The product is easy to use. Integrating products like email gateway, firewall, and endpoint protection all into one place makes for a more collaborative, easy to use, and constructive web application.

[However], I have faced issues trying to export data from the web application. The endpoint agent sometimes has difficulty identifying which policy to apply.”

– Sophos user review, via Gartner

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As well as being an effective and respected cybersecurity brand, Sophos also gets the award for being the oldest vendor on this list, having been formed back in 1987. Traditionally, the company has been closely associated with antivirus and encryption technology – but its offering today is much broader. By now, the brand is a stalwart of the cybersecurity industry.

In fact, this is a more comprehensive security platform than most providers on this list. This makes Sophos a good choice for larger organizations with many digital assets across a complex IT network.

Key details:

• Location: United Kingdom
• Date formed: 1987
• Specialization: Antivirus, encryption, XDR, endpoint protection, network security, cloud security

Pros:

• Advanced threat defense: Sophos products offer effective protection against a wide range of known and emerging cyber threats, including malware, ransomware, phishing, and more.
• Effective managed support: The vendor offers managed detection and response (MDR) security services with a SOC team included. Customers report effective and fast response.
• One dashboard: All Sophos products can be managed through Sophos Central, gaining clear visibility over a relatively wide range of cybersecurity features and modules.

Cons:

• Pricing: Sophos is expensive compared to other vendors on this list.
• Performance issues: Reviewers have noted performance issues with Sophos products, including high CPU usage (particularly on Linux), and a limited ability to detect threats at the network level.
• Reporting limitations: Sophos products also have some key reporting gaps, such as not being able to report on policies applied to a specific machine.

Review Scores:

• G2: 4.6/5 stars (1,877 reviews total)
• Gartner: 4.7/5 stars (2,138 reviews total)

ESET: Best for SMB Antivirus

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“The best thing that I like about ESET’s products and services is their reliability and user friendliness. Its simple interface makes it easy to manage and deploy on our network, so we can get the protection without the hassle. 

The initial setup can be a bit time-consuming for larger networks. The software upgrades require a system reboot, which can be inconvenient.”

– ESET user review, via Gartner

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Slovakia-based cybersecurity company ESET was first formed in 1992, but it had its origins in an earlier antivirus product, ‘NOD’, which was released in the late 80s.

Like many vendors on this list, it began as an antivirus and gradually expanded the security protections on offer. Today, its products are used by SMBs and home networks.

Key details:

• Location: Slovakia
• Date formed: 1992
• Specialization: Antivirus, endpoint protection, vulnerability management

Pros:

• Lightweight: ESET products are generally easy to use and deploy, with a simple interface and efficient performance making it a good choice for small teams.
• Reliable protection: The vendor offers a relatively wide range of security protections, all aimed at small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). This enables smaller teams to consolidate security tools and licenses.
• Centralized dashboard: Customers often praise the product’s ease of use, as well as its ability to centralize signals from different products in one place.

Cons:

• Vulnerability management: The patching functionality is frequently reported as an issue. Software upgrades often require a full system reboot, and automated patching is limited.
• Troubleshooting: Some reviewers report issues when trying to solve problems, saying that error messages and customer response aren’t as helpful as they could be.
• SMB-focus: ESET’s focus on smaller organizations means the products aren’t always suitable for those with more complex requirements. This includes managed security providers or advanced cybersecurity teams looking to build custom automations.

Review Scores:

• Gartner: 4.6/5 stars (1,000 reviews total)
• G2: 4.6/5 stars (900 reviews total)

 Acronis: Best for Disaster Recovery

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“Integrated backup, storage, and data protection. Good ransomware protection feature and forensic backup option. [However], cloud storage is charged separately, making the license confusing and adding additional cost.”

– Acronis user review, via G2

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Despite being originally founded in Singapore, Acronis still makes it onto the list – as the company has been based in Switzerland since 2008.

Unlike most vendors we’ve discussed, Acronis’ heritage isn’t in antivirus, it’s in backup and disaster recovery. These products are chiefly aimed at larger SMBs, enterprises, and managed security service providers (MSSPs).

Key details:

• Location: Switzerland
• Date formed: 2003
• Specialization: Endpoint detection, disaster recovery, XDR, data protection, email security, anti-malware

Pros:

• Effective backup and restore: Acronis offers effective backup and disaster recovery features, particularly for Microsoft 365 and Windows. It also works well with virtual servers and other cloud-based systems.
• Intuitive UI: Acronis is generally considered straightforward to use, with a clean and simple user interface.
• Good support: Customers often praise the knowledgeable and friendly account management team.

Cons:

• Licensing: Reviewers report confusion with the pricing and licensing structure, with certain features like cloud storage being charged separately. This creates additional costs and confusion.
• Unwieldy for hybrid organizations: Despite supporting both cloud and on-premises systems, these are generally managed separately within Acronis. This creates a disjointed and confusing experience for organizations with hybrid environments.
• Backup testing: Some reviewers say they can’t validate or test backup processes through the product.

Review Scores:

• G2: 4.5/5 stars (2,007 reviews total)
• Gartner: 4.5/5 stars (344 reviews total)

Stormshield: Best for Basic Firewalls

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“Stormshield offers an improved range of firewalls for perimeter security that can address any type of context. With a management solution, you can have a full solution with high-performance for all your security needs.

[However], Stormshield solutions are not as feature-rich as their competitors. Firewalls may suffice as a first barrier to security, but they are not sufficient in a complex environment.”

– Stormshield user review, via Gartner

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Almost the first thing you’ll notice on Stormshield’s website is the tagline “The European choice for cybersecurity”. If you’ve been paying attention by this point, you’ll know that Stormshield is far from the only European choice available. But the message underpins just how important local vendors are becoming for today’s cybersecurity buyers.

Stormshield is a French-based cybersecurity organization that emerged in 2013 after a merger of Airbus CyberSecurity, Arkoon Network Security, and NetASQ. Its products generally focus on firewalls, network, and endpoint security.

Key details:

• Location: France
• Date formed: 2013
• Specialization: Network security, data protection, endpoint security

Pros:

• Strong threat detection: The product features an effective range of tools to detect threats at the endpoint and network level.
• Price: Stormshield is much more cost-effective when compared to other vendors on this list.
• Ease-of-use: Customers often praise the product for its straightforward UI and configuration.

Cons:

• UI complexity: The interface is not as intuitive as some vendors, making it difficult for non-technical teams to use.
• Firewall limitations: Other reviewers also note that the firewalls are fairly rudimentary in comparison to competitors, and aren’t sophisticated enough for complex environments.
• Feature limitations: As a cheaper product than others, the features here are somewhat more limited. This is particularly clear with firewalls, intruder prevention/detection, and more.

Review Scores:

• G2: 4.8/5 stars (5 reviews total)
• Gartner: 4.1/5 stars (48 reviews total)

 Darktrace: Best for AI-Powered Security

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“What I appreciate most about Darktrace is its self-learning AI technology that continuously adapts to our network environment. The autonomous response capabilities are particularly impressive.

[However], the main challenge I’ve encountered is the initial learning period, where the AI system generates numerous alerts… The pricing structure can also be quite expensive.”

– Darktrace user review, via G2

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Darktrace is an AI-powered cybersecurity firm founded in 2013 by mathematicians and cyber defense experts in Cambridge, UK.

The company is well-known for being a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) cybersecurity, using machine learning and anomaly analysis to autonomously respond to threats. Nonetheless, these features are now increasingly common in competing products, meaning it’s not as much of a USP as the vendor’s branding would suggest.

Key details:

• Location: United Kingdom
• Date formed: 2013
• Specialization: Threat detection, network threat detection, AI cybersecurity

Pros:

• Visibility: Darktrace provides effective visibility over networks, devices, and integrations.
• AI-driven response: The vendor is particularly well-known for its AI-first approach to cybersecurity. This gives it a heightened ability to detect and respond to emerging threats.
• Threat visualizations: Reviewers praise the intuitive Threat Visualizer tool, providing an effective visual representation of networking and threat activity.

Cons:

• Complexity: Users note that the product has a wide range of features that can be difficult to manage, particularly for new users.
• False positives: The product generates a high level of alerts in comparison to other vendors, with many reviewers noting alert fatigue.
• Pricing: The product is among the more expensive tools on the market.

Review Scores:

• G2: 4.3/5 stars (58 reviews total)
• Gartner: 4.8/5 stars (519 reviews total)

Avast Business: Best for Lightweight Threat Detection

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“Avast is a safe tool and provides realtime security against malware. It keeps on scanning our systems and works smoothly in the background. Its strength lies in its interface, which is quite clear. Its installation takes a lot of time, which is annoying. Its subscription rate is beyond our expectations.”

– Avast Business user review, via TrustRadius

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Avast Business is another old-school antivirus vendor that’s continually adapted and innovated over the years. Today, it specializes in antivirus, web threat scanning, threat protection, and more. Its products are generally used by smaller organizations with comparatively simple IT networks.

Key details:

• Location: Czechia
• Date formed: 1988
• Specialization: Small business security, antivirus, data protection

Pros:

• Fast scanning: Once set up, the product is noted for its ability to scan huge amounts of files quickly and with minimal disruption.
• Strong malware defense: The product provides effective defense against malware, viruses, ransomware, and phishing.
• Lightweight: The product is reasonably lightweight and straightforward, meaning it’s particularly well-suited to small teams and home environments.

Cons:

• Difficult installation: The installation process is quite time-consuming and difficult for non-technical teams to use.
• Inflexible prices: Many reviewers note that the subscription charges are particularly high, saying a per-user licensing plan would be simpler.
• No full-platform approach: Avast Business features a small range of cybersecurity protections, predominantly for smaller businesses. This is far from a complete platform and isn’t suited for larger or complex organizations.

Review Scores:

• G2: 4.3/5 stars (114 reviews total)
• TrustRadius: 8/10 stars (73 reviews total)

WithSecure: Best for Small Budgets

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“[WithSecure] helps us to find weak spots on clients and servers in our network at an affordable price. With the ESC backend offering us an overview from many different perspectives, it’s easy for us to check on weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

[However], there are a number of false positives and it would be nice if the system would learn from us more intelligently.”

– WithSecure user review, via G2

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The WithSecure brand is fairly new, having only been formed in 2022. But the organization has a much longer heritage, being founded in Helsinki in 1988. Back then, the company was called ‘Data Fellows’.

In the years since, it has expanded its security products across a range of different modules, including endpoint detection, vulnerability management, and more.

Key details:

• Location: Finland
• Date formed: 1988
• Specialization: XDR, exposure management, cloud security, vulnerability management

Pros:

• Effective protection: WithSecure provides effective protection against a range of issues, including endpoint, ransomware, unpatched vulnerabilities, application control, and more.
• Affordable: As a more SMB-focused product, WithSecure is generally on the lower end of the pricing scale.
• Visibility and insights: WithSecure offers effective insights to help users identify weak spots and vulnerabilities. This proactive approach isn’t available in more traditional security tools.

Cons:

• False positives: Users note a high number of false positives and say the platform isn’t always effective at learning over time.
• Complex dashboard: Many customers note issues with the admin dashboard, saying it’s confusing and difficult to navigate, with limited granular controls.
• Resource-intensive: The product is also somewhat more resource-intensive than other competitors.

Review Scores:

• G2: 4.4/5 stars (133 reviews total)
• Gartner: 4.4/5 stars (73 reviews total)

F-Secure: Best for Home Environments and Microbusinesses

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“An F-Secure Internet Security subscription lets you install security software on just about any device, but it lacks features compared with the best cross-platform competitors.”

– F-Secure review, via PC Mag

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If F-Secure sounds familiar, there’s a good reason: This is essentially a more consumer-facing version of the WithSecure brand from the last section.

It split off from the earlier Data Fellows product in 1999 and has been a well-established fixture in the antivirus scene in the years since. Today, the product is aimed towards consumers and small businesses.

Key details:

• Location: Finland
• Date formed: 1988 (rebranded to F-Secure in 1999)
• Specialization: Antivirus, VPN, password management, internet security

Pros:

• Simplicity: As a consumer and small-business facing product, F-Secure is simple to install and easy to use.
• Pricing: F-Secure is more competitively priced than competitors like Norton, McAfee, and others. Nonetheless, the feature set remains limited compared to these.
• Realtime detection: The product includes several controls to detect realtime threats, such as malware, phishing, ransomware, and more. This includes traditional signature-based detection and proactive behavioral monitoring.

Cons:

• Features: F-Secure is an antivirus product for small businesses and home networks; it’s far from a complete cybersecurity solution. As such, it’s missing many features you’d expect to find as standard in other products on this list.
• Interface: Despite a straightforward layout, the F-Secure interface hasn’t changed significantly in some years, leading to quite a dated aesthetic.
• Firewall: F-Secure doesn’t offer firewall options, reducing the overall protection it can offer.

Review Scores:

• Impulsec: 4.5/5 stars (via online review)

Heimdal: The Integrated Security Solution Made in Europe

If you’ve made it this far, you’ll know that Europe is home to a dynamic and innovative cybersecurity scene. And that’s just the providers on this list. Clearly, an organization looking to prioritize European cybersecurity vendors has plenty of choice.

While all the vendors here are based in Europe, they don’t all take the same approach to cybersecurity.

It’s important, therefore, to assess that any vendor also provides the range of security functionality you need and can scale with your organization. Here’s how Heimdal can help:

• Get the widest range of security tools available under a single license, so you can reduce licenses and future-proof your cybersecurity posture.
• Switch modules on and off as needed. This means you can buy what you need today and expand your usage over time as security requirements and compliance frameworks evolve.
• Ensure compliance with GDPR, NIS2, and others. Heimdal offers local support, full data residency, and local compliance expertise.
• Boost your defense with proactive security. This goes beyond the traditional approach, using behavioral analytics and threat intelligence to identify emerging threats.
• Unify privileged access management, DNS security, threat detection, vulnerability management, email security, and managed support through one unified platform.

Ready to get started? Request your custom pricing quote here.

FAQs

What are the Best Cybersecurity Companies in Europe?

Europe is home to a number of leading cybersecurity vendors, including Heimdal, Sophos, Bitdefender, ESET, Stormshield, and more. With compliance requirements increasing around the world, organizations are increasingly seeking European cybersecurity vendors that understand local compliance laws.

What are the Top 10 Cybersecurity Software Companies?

Ten of the best European cybersecurity software vendors are: Heimdal, Bitdefender, Sophos, ESET, Acronis, Stormshield, Darktrace, Avast Business, WithSecure, and F-Secure. Nonetheless, there is significant variation in the breadth and quality of security practices and functionality offered by these vendors.

Which European Country has the Best Cybersecurity Market?

Several European countries lead the pack in terms of cybersecurity vendors. In particular, tech companies in Scandinavia as well as the Nordic and Baltic countries have strong heritage in this space. Elsewhere, the UK, France, and Switzerland are all home to a number of successful cybersecurity companies.

Danny Mitchell