Cognisys Reviews & Provider Details

Name: Cognisys
Rating: 4.7 (69 reviews)

Cognisys is a global cybersecurity services, consulting partner and CREST-accredited penetration testing provider. We turn security from a business blocker into a business enabler, working with fast-growing companies and established enterprises to reduce risk, unlock revenue, and build customer confidence with security programmes that are practical, measurable, and built to scale. As Vanta’s #1 Global Service Partner, we combine GRC platform automation with hands-on expertise so teams prove trust faster and stay continuously audit-ready. Our consultants support security and privacy compliance across leading frameworks, including SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, ISO 42001 and the EU AI Act. Our CREST-accredited penetration testing simulates real-world attack paths across web applications, APIs, cloud environments, and infrastructure. We help you validate controls, uncover exploitable weaknesses, and prioritise remediation based on true risk. We align our testing to recognised best practices, including OWASP, MITRE, and NCSC guidance, and we deliver clear, business-focused findings that engineering teams can act on immediately.

Seller

Cognisys

Discussions

Cognisys Community

Languages Supported

English, French, Spanish

Services Offered

Cybersecurity consulting, Penetration testing, Security compliance, Vulnerability management, GRC consulting

Locations Serviced

Belgium, France, Germany, United Kingdom, + 36 more

Overview by

Aston Smith

Used by Beehome and 2 others

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Ante P.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

11/3/2026

"Great auditor, practical ISO 27001 internal audit"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Cognisys?

Mostly Heinrich. He came to every session prepared and kept us on schedule. When we got to a control, he asked to see the actual records, for example our onboarding and offboarding evidence and the last tabletop exercise. He also went through our systems and engineering setup to see how things work in practice. At the close-out he walked us through his findings, so the written report held no surprises. It arrived the next working day. Every finding names the clause or control and comes with a concrete recommendation, and many of them point back to our own ISMS plan, so we could turn them into corrective actions right away. Working directly in our compliance platform saved us a lot of back and forth too. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Cognisys?

Not much. The audit plan had a bit of template text left over from another standard, and we had to sort out which time zone the session times were in. Both were minor and didn't affect the audit itself. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Cognisys:

I'd recommend Cognisys, and I'd happily work with Heinrich again. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Cognisys solving and how is that benefiting you?

We wanted someone outside the team to do an independent internal audit of our ISMS against ISO 27001:2022. It ran remotely over two days at a fixed price, and we came out with a clear list of what to fix next. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Sari I.

Information Security Officer

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

10/28/2026

"Strong, Responsive Team That Manages Controls and Risk Seamlessly"

5/5

What do you like best about Cognisys?

Strong team overall. They set up controls, manage risks, run tests, and keep policies updated, and they’re very responsive whenever we need support. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Cognisys?

Nothing at all—they were really great to work with. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Cognisys:

Engage! I really can’t praise them enough. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Cognisys solving and how is that benefiting you?

Cognisys were our partners from the moment we decided to pursue ISO27001 right through to the final stretch. The team was wonderful, from the readiness phase to the internal audit. Working with Seugne during readiness was a great experience; she helped set us up incredibly well for the internal audit. For the internal audit, we worked with Abigial. She was extremely well prepared, very professional, and responsive, and everything was delivered on time. Since this was our first ISO audit, we were initially nervous about the process, but Abigial made it feel very smooth. Highly recommend! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Kushan K.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

10/7/2026

"Exceptional Audit Support and Guidance"

5/5

What do you like best about Cognisys?

I like Cognisys because the account manager was very personable and accommodating, really listening to our requirements. They offered better pricing compared to others. The internal auditor Ankita was fantastic, guiding us through the process well and keeping us consistently informed. The project manager also helped in putting the program together, scheduling everything, and keeping the momentum going. I also appreciate the helpful insights provided by Cognisys during the ISO 27001 certification process. The internal audit services provided by Cognisys are something we will need going forward, and I look forward to engaging with them again for our requirements. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Cognisys?

N/A Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Steven C.

Vice President, Product Engineering

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

8/14/2026

"Zero to Compliant for a startup with one-man ISMS - Cognisys was key to success"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Cognisys?

They give you a structure to follow. The work is split into modules, and after each workshop you get a written list of actions with names against them, so I always knew what the next thing was.

They are sensible about scope and know their stuff. We are fully remote, BYOD, no office, and everything runs on managed PaaS. Rather than asking us to produce evidence for controls we don't have, they helped us take things out of scope with a written reason we can confidently show an auditor.

They manage progress, advise on drafting documents and entering them into Vanta correctly. Risk register, tabletop exercise report, management review pack, non-conformity register with root cause analysis. That is a lot of work we got right the first time, saving untold hours of effort.

The internal audit was a real audit. It picked up things Vanta's automated tests hadn't, and we came out of it with findings and actions, including some non-conformities.

Day to day the engagement runs in a shared Slack channel with a named consultant and a project coordinator. Replies are quick, and when our consultant was on leave they put someone else on it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Cognisys?

Nothing to put a finger on. It is a lot to take on for a small team on both sides of the engagement - even so there were weeks I think we could have moved faster. After openly communicating this, the team stepped up the pace respectively. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Cognisys:

Give one or more people clear accountability on your side and carve out the time for them to deliver. It moves at the speed of whoever owns it internally, not at the speed of the consultancy. Use a shared Slack channel rather than email to keep momentum.

Do the recommended preparation before the workshops. That is where you get the value, because the changes you make in the session are what turn a template into something audit-ready.

Be upfront about the things you don't do. They will help you take them out of scope with a written reason instead of expecting you to pretend you run controls you don't. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Cognisys solving and how is that benefiting you?

Cognisys is consulting for us (Squad AI) on getting compliant with ISO 27001 and SOC 2. There are seven of us, nobody here does compliance for a living, and we had never run an ISMS before. We need both to get through procurement with the customers we are selling to now. They run the readiness programme on top of Vanta: scoping, drafting the policies and the risk register, the workshops, the tabletop exercise, the trust centre, the pen test and our internal audit. It means one of us can own compliance alongside an engineering job instead of us hiring someone for it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Aston Smith of Cognisys

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Thank you so much for this thoughtful review!

We're delighted to hear about Squad AI's path through ISO 27001 and SOC 2 as a small team.

Your feedback on pace is well taken, engagements like this really do move at the speed of whoever owns it internally, and we're glad that openly flagging this led to us stepping up the pace together.

Thank you for trusting us to help Squad AI get audit-ready while staying focused on your product.

Severino M.

Gerente de Operaciones

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

7/29/2026

"Effective guidance and high team availability for SOC 2"

5/5

What do you like best about Cognisys?

What we value most is the team’s availability and their consistent follow-up, which ensures quick responses to our questions. We also appreciate their technical judgment when reviewing our documentation, as well as how clear and actionable their feedback is. The templates they provide give us a solid baseline for drafting policies, and their follow-up review makes it very clear what we need to adjust in order to meet audit requirements. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Cognisys?

So far, we haven’t received any significant negative feedback. The workflow built around templates, document reviews, and follow ups has been working as expected and fits our needs. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Cognisys:

It’s a great fit for teams that prioritize consistent availability and fast response times from their consultant. To get the most value from it, I’d recommend assigning an internal point of contact to upload documentation, stay on top of communication, and regularly follow up on their recommendations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Cognisys solving and how is that benefiting you?

Cognisys helps us manage the documentation requirements for the SOC 2 certification process. Their support centers on providing reference templates, reviewing the documentation we upload, and offering specific recommendations so we can better align our files with the requirements. This has been valuable because it lets us identify and close compliance gaps in our documents before the official audit, helping ensure our documentation meets the standard without unnecessarily consuming internal resources. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Aston Smith of Cognisys

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Thank you so much for this thoughtful review.

We're glad to hear that our team's availability and consistent follow-up have translated into quick, responsive support for your SOC 2 documentation needs. Providing clear, actionable feedback and reliable templates as a baseline for policy drafting is central to how we work, so it's great to know that workflow of templates, reviews, and follow-ups is fitting your needs well.

Thank you again for trusting us with your SOC 2 certification journey.

Verified User in Computer Software

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

10/6/2026

"Thorough internal ISO 27001 audit that genuinely helped us improve"

5/5

What do you like best about Cognisys?

The auditor was very thorough. The interviews with our team went deep into how our controls actually work day to day, not just whether a policy document exists. The feedback was practical and specific, and it genuinely helped us improve rather than just tick boxes. The whole engagement was professional and well organised. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Cognisys?

Nothing significant. Our experience has been positive overall and we have no real complaints about the engagement. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Cognisys:

Come prepared: have your ISMS documents and evidence organised (we manage ours in Vanta) and make the right people available for the interviews. The audit is thorough, and the more open you are with the auditor, the more useful the findings will be. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Cognisys solving and how is that benefiting you?

Cognisys conducted our internal ISO 27001:2022 audit. As a growing SaaS company running an employee wellbeing platform, we needed an independent and experienced internal auditor to review our ISMS ahead of our certification body's surveillance audit. Their review gave us a clear picture of where our controls, processes and documentation stood, and the findings helped us strengthen our security practices and go into the external audit with more confidence. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

9/9/2026

"Tailored Consulting with Excellent Support"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Cognisys?

I love how Cognisys was really responsive and aware that we're not your typical SaaS or non-tech company, which made their approach feel genuinely customized and not just a standard solution that didn't fit us. They took time to talk through the process and tailored everything specifically to our use case. It was really valuable to have the ability to chat on Slack, making communication easy and having workshops that were very useful while keeping our time commitment minimal. Having nice people to work with who are understanding and friendly is awesome too. Overall, their ability to provide support on demand through Slack, help us understand specifics about what tests apply, and resolve our questions were highlights for me. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Cognisys?

N/A Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Aston Smith of Cognisys

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Thank you so much for your review! We're glad you felt supported throughout your certification journey with regular comms and workshops. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.

Verified User in Computer Software

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

8/12/2026

"Collaborative, Well-Organised Audit with Clear Communication"

5/5

What do you like best about Cognisys?

The team is genuinely a pleasure to work with. They're highly knowledgeable, well-prepared, and approach the audit as a collaborative exercise rather than a checklist. Communication throughout was consistent and clear, timelines were respected, and the deliverables (interview scheduling, evidence tracking, final report) were all well organised. Special mention to the lead auditor and QA reviewer who were responsive, patient with our clarification questions and always constructive in their feedback. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Cognisys?

Honestly, nothing to flag here. Overall, a great experience Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Cognisys:

If you're looking for an audit partner who is thorough, responsive, and treats the process as a genuine value-add rather than a formality, Cognisys is a great choice. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Cognisys solving and how is that benefiting you?

Cognisys supported us through our ISO 27001:2022 and ISO 27017:2015 internal audit process. As a fast-growing SaaS company working with large enterprise customers, having a well-structured, thorough audit was critical for us both from a compliance standpoint and for the confidence it gives our customers. Cognisys helped us identify areas for improvement in a constructive, actionable way, and the process gave us a much clearer view of where we stand and where to focus next. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Aston Smith of Cognisys

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Thank you so much for this excellent review, we really appreciate you sharing such detailed feedback.

Thank you again for trusting us with such an important part of your business.

Verified User in Medical Devices

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

8/10/2026

"Hands-on, knowledgeable partner for our SOC 2 Type II readiness"

5/5

What do you like best about Cognisys?

Their responsiveness and practical know-how. They don't just point at a checklist, they help us understand why a control matters and how to implement it in a way that fits our size and stage as a company. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Cognisys?

Nothing significant so far, our main friction points have been internal (getting the right people and controls in place ahead of our observation period), not anything on Cognisys's side. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Cognisys:

If you're a smaller company without a dedicated compliance team, having an implementation partner who knows Vanta well makes the SOC 2 process far less daunting. Get them involved early, before your observation period starts, so controls are actually in place rather than retrofitted. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Cognisys solving and how is that benefiting you?

We're preparing for our SOC 2 Type II audit and needed a partner who understood both the Vanta platform and the practical realities of implementing controls at a small, fast-moving medical device software company. Cognisys has helped us translate audit requirements into concrete, achievable steps, from rolling out Policies as a required control to getting our observation period scoped and timed correctly. This has saved us significant time we'd otherwise have spent figuring out compliance mechanics on our own. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Aston Smith of Cognisys

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Thank you so much for this review!

We're particularly pleased that our approach of explaining the "why" behind each control, rather than just working through a checklist, has helped you implement things in a way that genuinely fits your size and stage as a company.

Thank you again for trusting us with your SOC 2 journey.

John O.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

Originally submitted 8/14/2026

"Adaptable and Efficient Compliance Support"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Cognisys?

The previous review inaccurately gave my summary as an eight where I intended it to be a nine Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Cognisys?

Overall I find them great. The one area where they could improve is to be a little clearer on exactly who does which job at the start. As being new to audit, that was a bit hard to get my head around Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Cognisys solving and how is that benefiting you?

I use Cognisys to help with our compliance around ISO 27001, completing an information security management system. They adapt well to our size and requirements, ensuring fast completion in under four weeks. Their cybersecurity expertise and team specializations like audit and account management are valuable. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Aston Smith of Cognisys

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Thank you so much for this great review, we're really pleased to hear how smoothly the process went.

We're delighted that our adaptability to your organisation's size and requirements helped you move from start to finish in under four weeks, and that Ethan's support stood out along the way.

We'd love to know what we could have done even better to make this a full five-star experience, so if anything comes to mind, however small, please do let us know, Feedback like that genuinely helps us improve.