MAD Security vs Northwave
MAD Security and Northwave are both Services firms that work with your existing tools. MAD Security targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations, while Northwave serves Mid-market and Enterprise. MAD Security includes 1 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint), compared to 2 for Northwave (Endpoint, Network).
Buyer brief
MAD Security and Northwave are both Services firms that work with your existing tools. MAD Security targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations, while Northwave serves Mid-market and Enterprise. MAD Security includes 1 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint), compared to 2 for Northwave (Endpoint, Network).
Northwave offers broader coverage (2 surfaces vs. 1). MAD Security may suit teams that need depth over breadth.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Defense contractors and government contractors that need MDR evidence aligned to DFARS, CMMC and NIST requirements | Benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC |
| Price | MSS example: $24K-$90K/yr; not MDR-only | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 1/6 actions · Configurable | 1/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Reports only | Dashboards |
| Warranty | None listed | None listed |
- Best fit
- Defense contractors and government contractors that need MDR evidence aligned to DFARS, CMMC and NIST requirements
- Price
- MSS example: $24K-$90K/yr; not MDR-only
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Reports only
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- Benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
›› Detailed comparison
| FIELD | MAD SecurityTECH-AGNOSTIC | NorthwaveTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| ›› Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Mixed |
| ›› Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | None listed | Customer endpoint telemetry |
| SIEM integrations | None listed | Customer log sources |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: Optional add-onOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: Not coveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on |
| ›› Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | Custom playbooks | Custom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | Separate |
| ›› Cost | ||
| Price range | Custom pricing. A vendor-published MAD Security cost-comparison PDF gives $24,000-$90,000 per year as an example average for SMB managed security services, but it is not an MDR-specific quote and says pricing varies. | Not published |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| ›› More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ~ Limited | ~ Limited |
| Identity | ~ Limited | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | ~ Limited | Not offered |
| Network | + Optional | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | + Optional |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom pricing. MAD Security publishes a broad managed security services cost comparison, but does not publish MDR-specific price bands, minimums, per-endpoint pricing or log-volume pricing. | Custom quote. Northwave does not publish MDR package pricing. |
| Hidden cost warnings | Confirm whether MDR is quoted as a standalone endpoint service or bundled into SOC-as-a-Service.. Confirm whether NDR, cloud telemetry, identity correlation and OT/IT monitoring are included or separate services.. Ask which tools are included in the MDR fee, since public pages do not name a standard EDR or SIEM platform.. The public $24,000-$90,000 annual example is for managed security services broadly, not a scoped MDR quote.. No public MDR SLA table, service-credit terms or breach warranty were found. | Public pages do not publish response SLAs or named default response actions.. Rapid Response is a separate related service, so buyers should confirm what incident-response support is included in base MDR.. Cloud, SaaS and identity coverage are not named as clearly as endpoint, log and network telemetry.. Detection tuning depends on onboarding log sources and threat-based use cases, which may affect deployment effort. |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Custom | Custom |
| Channels | EmailPortalPhone | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Reports only | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | – | – |
| SOC regions | North America | Europe |
| Onboarding | Not published as a standard MDR onboarding timeline. | Northwave says implementation starts with a plan covering service elements, phases, planning and threat-based use cases, then onboarding log sources and processes. No standard public onboarding duration was found. |
| Industry focus | Defense Industrial BaseGovernmentMaritimeState and Local GovernmentFinancial ServicesTechnologyHigher EducationManufacturing | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingLogisticsTechnologyPublic SectorCritical Infrastructure |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | Not published | Not published |
| Community view | MAD Security has clear regulated-sector positioning and public MSSP Alert recognition, but independent MDR buyer-review signal is thin. No meaningful G2, Gartner Peer Insights or PeerSpot MDR review profile was found in this pass. | Northwave has limited MDR-specific public review volume. The public buyer case rests on European delivery, Utrecht SOC operations and the connection between MDR, CERT, red team and threat research. Buyers should validate response authority, cloud and identity coverage, pricing and escalation rules before signing. |
| Compliance | CMMCDFARSNIST SP 800-171NIST 800-53FISMAFedRAMPMTSACJISHIPAA | NIS2ISO 27001GDPRTISAX |
| Certifications | CMMC Level 2 CertifiedCMMC Registered Provider OrganizationService-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business | – |
| Founded | 2010 | 2006 |
| Data retention | Not published | Not published as a standard MDR retention period. |
| API available | – | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
›› FAQ
What is the main difference between MAD Security and Northwave?
MAD Security is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Northwave is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). MAD Security covers 1 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 2 for Northwave.
How do MAD Security and Northwave differ in response capabilities?
MAD Security supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Northwave supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable.
How does MAD Security pricing compare to Northwave?
MAD Security pricing: Custom pricing. A vendor-published MAD Security cost-comparison PDF gives $24,000-$90,000 per year as an example average for SMB managed security services, but it is not an MDR-specific quote and says pricing varies.. Northwave pricing: Not published. Watch for with MAD Security: Confirm whether MDR is quoted as a standalone endpoint service or bundled into SOC-as-a-Service.; Confirm whether NDR, cloud telemetry, identity correlation and OT/IT monitoring are included or separate services.. Watch for with Northwave: Public pages do not publish response SLAs or named default response actions.; Rapid Response is a separate related service, so buyers should confirm what incident-response support is included in base MDR..
Should I choose MAD Security or Northwave?
Choose MAD Security if: defense contractors and government contractors that need MDR evidence aligned to DFARS, CMMC and NIST requirements. Choose Northwave if: benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC. MAD Security is not ideal for buyers that need MDR-specific pricing, minimums and packaged tiers before talking to sales. Northwave is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing or response SLAs before engaging sales.
Daylight Security
AI-native MDR for buyers comparing active remediation across endpoint, cloud, identity, and SaaS. Daylight works with existing EDR/SIEM stacks and uses ChatOps-native collaboration, so it can be a useful third reference point in this comparison.