Lead Analyst & Chief Technology Officer

Alexei Balaganski

Alexei is an analyst with specific focus on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. At KuppingerCole, he covers a broad range of security-related topics: from database, application and API security to security analytics, information protection, and AI-based security automation. Alexei has joined KuppingerCole at 2007 and he also serves as the company's Chief Technology Officer.

His deep technical understanding of modern technologies and solutions allows him to support customers even with the most complex architectural challenges. His experience includes application development, network administration, and information security, which helps him in conducting research of the cybersecurity markets.

Roles & Responsibilities at KuppingerCole

As the KuppingerCole's CTO, Alexei is in charge for the company's IT needs and operations, as well as of R&D and strategic planning in the evolving technology space. He oversees the development and operations of KuppingerCole's internal IT projects that support all areas of the company's business.

As Lead Analyst, Alexei covers a broad range of cybersecurity topics, focusing on such areas as data protection, application security, and security automation among others, publishing research papers, hosting webinars, and appearing at KuppingerCole's conferences. He also provides technical expertise for the company's advisory projects and occasionally supports cybersecurity vendors with their product and market strategies.

Background & Education

Alexei holds a Master's degree in applied mathematics and computer science, majoring in statistics and computational methods. He has worked in IT for over 25 years, in roles ranging from writing code himself to managing software development projects to designing security architectures. He's been covering cybersecurity market trends and technologies as an analyst since 2012.

Areas of coverage

Latest publications

Webinar Recording
Cloud Alphabet Soup - CNAPP
March 01, 2024
Join cloud security experts from KuppingerCole Analysts as they discuss the challenges of the shared responsibility model for cloud security and compliance, examine how a cloud-native application protection platform can help. Join this webinar to: Understand the security risks…
Analyst Chat
Analyst Chat #203: ChatGPT for Cybersecurity - How Much Can We Trust Generative AI?
February 26, 2024
Alexei and Matthias discuss the impact of generative AI on cybersecurity. They explore the shift in public perception towards generative AI and the practical implications for businesses. They highlight the challenges of integrating generative AI into cybersecurity strategies, including…
Blog
Generative AI in Cybersecurity – It's a Matter of Trust
February 20, 2024
The Era of Generative AI is upon us – there is no doubt about that. After over 50 years of academic research in artificial intelligence culminating in the development of neural networks and machine learning algorithms, and then another decade of building cybersecurity products based…
Leadership Compass
Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP)
January 31, 2024
This report provides an overview of the Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) market and a compass to help you find a solution that best meets your needs. It examines solutions that provide an integrated set of security and compliance capabilities designed to protect…
Executive View
Cequence Security Unified API Protection
December 29, 2023
Cequence Security’s Unified API Protection (UAP) brings together discovery, compliance, and protection across all internal and external APIs to defend against fraud, business logic attacks, exploits and unintended data leakage in a tightly unified yet flexible API security platform fit for a…
Executive View
IBM Security and Compliance Center
December 19, 2023
IBM Security and Compliance Center represents a fresh approach toward the very notion of security and compliance in multi-cloud environments. With this product that unifies a full-featured CNAPP platform and a declarative compliance framework developed together with financial industry…
Webinar Recording
Navigating the Future of API Security: Trends, Challenges, and Innovations
December 07, 2023
Join KuppingerCole’s Lead Analyst Alexei Balaganski talking about the need for robust security strategies, the increasing complexity of API ecosystems, and the importance of holistic protection throughout an API's lifecycle. He will present the results of his recently published…
Event Recording
Panel | AI Unleashed: The Battle of Wits in Cybersecurity - Attackers vs. Defenders
November 15, 2023
Event Recording
Implementing Zero Trust Principles: Crafting Your Cybersecurity Fabric
November 14, 2023
This interactive workshop will provide a practical approach to understanding and applying Zero Trust principles in creating your cybersecurity architecture. We will focus on transitioning from traditional security perimeters to an identity-driven Cybersecurity Mesh, acting as the…
Blog
The Bletchley Declaration: The Imitation Game of a Different Kind
November 08, 2023
The result of this meeting was “ The Bletchley Declaration ”, an international agreement signed by 29 countries, including the US, EU, and China, to confirm their shared commitment for future AI developments that “should be designed, developed, deployed, and used, in a…
Webinar Recording
Achieving Security and Compliance Across Hybrid Multi-Cloud Environments
November 01, 2023
Join security experts from KuppingerCole Analysts and IBM as they discuss the challenges of achieving security and compliance across hybrid multi-cloud environments, and potential solutions, that need to be comprehensive and flexible enough to continuously manage security & compliance…
Video
How Useful is Cybersecurity Awareness Training Really? - Cybersecurity Fact or Fiction Part 2
October 31, 2023
In part two of "Cybersecurity Fact or Fiction," our esteemed analysts, Matthias Reinwarth, Alexei Balaganski, Marina Iantorno, and Paul Fisher, continue their thrilling quest to distinguish between cybersecurity myths and realities. As they delve into more questions and statements, the…
Video
Are Boomers Most Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks? - Cybersecurity Fact or Fiction Part 1
October 25, 2023
To commemorate Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2023, Matthias Reinwarth, Alexei Balaganski, Marina Iantorno, and Paul Fisher came together to play "Cybersecurity Fact or Fiction". This captivating two-part endeavor serves as a valuable opportunity for individuals to refresh their…
Leadership Compass
API Security & Management
October 23, 2023
This Leadership Compass provides an overview of the market for API security and management solutions, along with recommendations and guidance for finding the products which address your requirements most efficiently. We examine the complexity and breadth of the challenges to discover,…
Blog
GPTs, Databases, and AI Agility
October 17, 2023
I can imagine that some of the readers might look at the title and wonder: what do these three terms even have in common? Well, I must confess that the last one I’ve made up (or should I say “invented”?) recently – and I will explain it later. But the former two are,…
Executive View
Invisily Zero Trust Network Access
October 16, 2023
Invisily is a Zero Trust Network Access platform that supports a broad range of deployment scenarios without the technical debt of existing competing solutions. It offers several unique capabilities such as sophisticated device inventory and posture checks, agentless and embeddable…
Analyst Chat
Analyst Chat #189: Decrypting the Future - How Quantum Computing Will Reshape Cybersecurity
September 11, 2023
In this episode, host Matthias Reinwarth is joined by guest Alexei Balaganski to discuss the implications of quantum computing for cybersecurity. The conversation covers the fundamentals of quantum computing and its distinction from classical computing. They also address the immediate and…
Blog
Securing Tomorrow: Quantum Computing Horizons in Cybersecurity
August 24, 2023
Arthur C. Clarke, the famous English science fiction writer, had once noted that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Back in the 1960s, he was probably thinking about space exploration, which was the hottest and most impressive topic of that decade. Since…
Webinar Recording
Using Data Security Platforms in a Modern, Hybrid World
August 18, 2023
Join security experts from KuppingerCole Analysts and Imperva as they discuss the challenges of protecting data distributed across hybrid IT environments, and look at what technologies and services can be combined to meet those challenges effectively and efficiently as a growing number of…
Analyst Chat
Analyst Chat #185: A New Hope for Cyber Defenders
August 14, 2023
Alexei Balaganski and Matthias discuss the current state and future of AI in cybersecurity. The conversation explores the role of AI, machine learning, and deep learning in bolstering cybersecurity defenses against evolving threats like malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks. Discover…
Blog
AI and Cybersecurity: A New Hope for Cyber Defenders?
July 04, 2023
Benjamin Franklin, the famous American statesman (happy 4th of July, by the way!), once claimed: “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”. Well, nowadays, there is another certainty for every organization in the world – eventually it will…
Analyst Chat
Analyst Chat #177: OWASP 2023 - Web Security Today is API Security
June 19, 2023
Join host Matthias and expert guest Alexei Balaganski in this episode of the KuppingerCole Analyst Chat. They discuss the recently updated Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) API Security Top 10  guidelines and the shifting landscape of web security, highlighting the…
Analyst Chat
Analyst Chat #169: The Future of Data Security
April 17, 2023
In a world where data breaches are becoming more and more frequent, keeping data secure has become an increasingly challenging task. Join Matthias and Alexei Balaganski in this episode as they delve into the current market trends and existing vendors in the data security industry. The…
Leadership Compass
Data Security Platforms
April 11, 2023
This report provides an overview of the Data Security Platforms market, along with guidance and recommendations for finding the sensitive data protection and governance products that meet your specific requirements. We examine the broad range of technologies involved, vendor product and…