What do global brands Shopify, Verizon and TikTok all have in common?

They all previously had security vulnerabilities that were exposed by Ethiack cofounder André Baptista, at bug bounty live-hacking events. Despite their multimillion dollar security budgets, the Portuguese entrepreneur and professor was able to make it pass their watertight security defenses to become known as the “Cristiano Ronaldo of cybersecurity”.

Alongside his childhood friend and eventual cofounder Jorge Monteiro, Baptista is the brains behind Ethiack, a cybersecurity startup leveraging AI-driven automation to address security vulnerabilities and help businesses stay safe. Working with their network of ethical hackers, Ethiack conducts continuous penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, risk management, and attack surface management to proactively protect systems from cyberattacks.

Proactively keeping on top of the cyberhackers

As AI hacking continues to evolve, ethical hacking remains a critical tool against bad actors, “highlighting that even organizations with millions in security budgets and dedicated red teams are not immune to vulnerabilities,” Baptista said of his success at the bug bounty events. “Ethical hacking puts us in the attackers' shoes, allowing us to be one step ahead of cybercriminals. So, organizations must understand and address their security vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them,” says Monteiro.

By integrating Google AI APIs for modelling, Ethiack addresses the challenge of resource constraints and provides real-time analysis, ensuring that even fast-paced development cycles remain secure and compliant with industry standards.

“For every organization, regardless of its resources, there's a need for ongoing, proactive measures, rather than relying solely on periodic assessments or traditional defenses to stay one step ahead of attackers,” added Monteiro.

So how does an aerospace engineer and hacker turned entrepreneur accelerate growth at Ethiack?

“Our infrastructure is built on multiple components including Google Kubernetes for orchestration of containers," says Monteiro.

The Google Cloud Program has been instrumental in the startup’s growth, providing scalable infrastructure and AI tools that power their automation capabilities. Products like Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) help them manage, deploy and scale their services efficiently, while Google AI APIs accelerate the development of their models, ensuring they stay ahead in an evolving threat landscape.

“Google Colab is also a huge plus for our team as it allows for collaboration, fast prototyping, and the ability to leverage powerful resources for machine learning experiments and research,” added Monteiro.

AI-powered ethical hacking is here to stay

Ethiack is optimistic that AI-driven ethical hacking will become a standard part of security frameworks, evolving beyond simple vulnerability scanning to advanced, context-aware vulnerability detection. The founders believe it will revolutionize cybersecurity by offering predictive capabilities, identifying new CVEs in a matter of seconds.

“We don’t believe AI will replace creative hackers, but our hackbot technology is capable of mimicking the process a security researcher follows when analyzing complex applications, which will make traditional scanning tools obsolete. AI will also enhance remediation efforts by helping on patching and minimizing human error. In the future, AI will enable organizations to maintain a dynamic security posture that adapts in real-time, significantly raising the bar for attackers,” Monteiro predicts.

Ethiack is enjoying a growth phase, expanding their customer base and refining their platform.

“We are focusing on developing AI-driven ethical hacking tools, to make our product an indispensable part of any vulnerability analysis solution. In the future, we plan to scale further by expanding our AI models, covering more attack vectors, and deepening our market reach through strategic partnerships with cloud providers and technology vendors,”Monteiro says.

Ethiack’s mission is to democratize offensive cybersecurity by making autonomous ethical hacking accessible to organizations of all sizes.

“Our vision is to create a safer digital world where businesses can innovate without compromising security and ethical hackers get rewarded for their contribution to society. We use AI not only to automate vulnerability identification but also to provide businesses with actionable insights that improve their overall security posture. By doing so, we help organizations comply with security standards, reducing their risk of breaches and contributing positively to the broader digital ecosystem.”