Skyhawk Security is proud to be named a Sample Vendor for Intelligent Simulation in Gartner Emerging Tech Impact Radar: CSP Infrastructure and Operations, published September 22, 2026. In our opinion it is the only security-focused company on that vendor list, and we believe that says something important about where cloud defense is heading.

In the report’s Priority Matrix, Intelligent Simulation sits in the Very High mass tier with a three-to-six-year range. Only one other technology on the entire radar carries a Very High mass rating. According to Skyhawk, for a security team, that combination signals a shift worth preparing for now, not later.

Why Intelligent Simulation Matters for Security

Most cloud security tools still work after the fact. They collect alerts, correlate logs and ask analysts to sort signal from noise once something has already happened. Attackers, meanwhile, move faster than any rulebook can be rewritten, especially as we see the rise of AI-enabled attackers.

Skyhawk is built on the principle that continuous ingestion and curation of data, intelligent simulation optimizes and automates scenarios and decisions for cloud security. Rather than waiting for an incident to reveal a weakness, we model how an AI-enabled adversary would move through a customer’s actual cloud environment, then use those results to strengthen detection before a real attack arrives.

Where Simulation Meets Cloud Security and the AI Red Team.

Generative AI has raised the stakes on both sides. Attackers use it to probe environments at machine speed, and defenders need a way to test their controls just as quickly. Skyhawk leverages Generative AI, specifically for intelligent simulation is being utilized to orchestrate, automate, and validate outputs.

Skyhawk’s AI Red Team puts that idea to work for cloud defenders:

  • Continuous attack simulation. AI-driven red team activity runs against a digital twin of the customer’s own cloud configuration, not a generic test lab. This is done within our cloud infrastructure so there is no impact to the customer’s production environment.
  • Validated detections. Each simulated attack path is checked against existing controls, so gaps surface before an adversary finds them.
  • Prioritized response. Exposures are prioritized based on the business value of the at-risk asset/ Security teams then see which exposures have the greatest business impact and fix those first, instead of chasing every alert.
  • Pre-labeled attacks. There are some instances where exposures cannot be remediated. However, as Skyhawk’s AI Red Team has simulated the attack, the platform has already “seen” what happens if the attack progresses and can detect the threat faster and stop the cloud breach.

 

The result is a security posture that is tested multiple times a day rather than audited once a year.

Looking Ahead.

The reach of this category extends well beyond any single industry.

The report states “By eliminating model drift, it will replace traditional analytics software, becoming a $1.2 trillion market by 2035 and rendering stand-alone digital twins obsolete.” At Skyhawk, we agree, which is why we continue to use digital twins with intelligent simulation.

For security leaders, the takeaway is clear. The teams that simulate the attack first will be the ones best prepared to stop it. Skyhawk is committed to helping organizations get there, bringing proactive, AI-driven simulation to the heart of cloud defense.

To see how the Skyhawk AI Red Team can test and strengthen your cloud environment, contact our team for a demo.

Gartner subscribers can read the full report at https://www.gartner.com

Gartner, Emerging Tech Impact Radar: CSP Infrastructure and Operations, by Sylvain Fabre published on September 22, 2026.

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