Skip to content

FireCompass Research

Offensive Security Guide: BAS, CTEM, CART, Pen Test, & COST Explained

BAS, CTEM, CART, Pen Test, VA, AEV, COST: What Each Actually Does, and When to Use What

Every quarter a new three-letter acronym shows up in a vendor deck. Last year it was AEV. This year Gartner introduced COST. CTEM is everywhere. BAS has been around forever and still gets confused with red teaming. Pen test means six different things depending on who you ask. If you run a security program, the… Read More »BAS, CTEM, CART, Pen Test, VA, AEV, COST: What Each Actually Does, and When to Use What

Demystifying Claude Mythos Preview: The Model That Changed Cybersecurity Forever

For most of the past decade, the trajectory of large language model research followed a familiar arc: scale up the compute, widen the data, tune the alignment, ship the product. Each new generation of models arrived with modestly improved benchmark scores, better instruction-following, and marginally reduced hallucination rates. Opus replaced Sonnet. Sonnet replaced Haiku. The… Read More »Demystifying Claude Mythos Preview: The Model That Changed Cybersecurity Forever

Diagram depicting why large language models fail at real system planning due to implicit averaging.

Why LLMs Are Not Planning Machines (And What It Means)

In the course of my work with LLMs, I’ve been examining a recurring pattern in how large language models are being used inside real systems. In many settings, I observed that LLMs are treated as planners where they are used to generate multi-step workflows, remediation strategies, operational playbooks, and even “autonomous” action sequences. These plans… Read More »Why LLMs Are Not Planning Machines (And What It Means)

Web Application Penetration Testing in 2026: A Practical Guide for CISOs

Web Application Penetration Testing in 2026: A Practical Guide for CISOs

A CISO’s reference for evaluating modern web app pentesting programs, what AI actually changes, and how to tell platforms apart from LLM wrappers. Quick Answer Web application penetration testing in 2026 looks structurally different from the annual consulting model most enterprises still run. The shift is driven by three mismatches: applications change daily but get… Read More »Web Application Penetration Testing in 2026: A Practical Guide for CISOs