How does the depth of compromise revealed compare to previous access broker trends and competitor reports?

Depth of compromise – a step‑up from the usual “door‑open” narrative

Rapid7’s latest Access‑Broker study shows that 71 % of the deals now include privileged‑level access, a dramatic jump from prior “low‑level” foothold figures that hovered in the 30‑40 % range in earlier vendor‑level reports (e.g., the 2023 Mandiant and 2022 CrowdStrike “access‑broker” briefs). Those older studies painted a picture of “entry‑only” tools that merely helped attackers get past the perimeter; the new data indicates that sellers are now delivering full‑admin or domain‑controller credentials, effectively handing over the keys to the kingdom. Competitor intelligence (e.g., FireEye’s 2024 “Compromise Depth” white‑paper) corroborates this trend, noting a 20‑30 % rise in privileged‑access offerings year‑over‑year. In short, the market is seeing a qualitative escalation – not just more sales, but deeper, more destructive footholds.

Trading implications

The heightened severity is likely to fuel demand for advanced detection, identity‑protect, and automated response solutions. Large‑cap cyber‑security names that already market privileged‑access‑management (PAM) and extended‑detection‑and‑response (XDR) platforms—e.g., Palo Alto Networks (PANW), CrowdStrike (CRWD), and Okta (OKTA)—could see a relative out‑performance as enterprises accelerate spend on “unified detection and automation” that Rapid7 is calling for. Conversely, Rapid7’s own ticker (RNG) carries a ‑70 sentiment and recent price weakness, reflecting investor worries that the company’s own exposure and the cost of delivering deeper‑compromise detection may compress margins. A short‑term tactical bias could be to trim exposure to RNG (or position a modest short) while taking long positions in the larger, diversified security play‑books that stand to benefit from heightened corporate spending on PAM and automated threat‑hunting. A watch‑list of 2‑month price targets: PANW +7 %–+10 %, CRWD +5 %–+8 %, OKTA +6 %–+9 %, versus RNG –5 %–-8 % relative to the S&P 500. Use a tight stop (≈2 % below entry) on RNG given its negative sentiment and the risk‑off vibe in the cyber‑threat sector.