The Rise of Identity-Based Attacks with Olivier Eyries, Co-Founder and CEO Saporo

What if you could see your entire attack surface the way a hacker does and fix it before they strike? In this episode, hosts Laurens Jagt sit down with Olivier Eyries, co-founder and CEO of Saporo, one of Switzerland's fastest-growing cybersecurity startups. Saporo helps organisations stop hackers by identifying and eliminating identity risks before attackers can exploit them. Olivier is a serial entrepreneur with two previous ventures under his belt, including one sold to Proofpoint in 2021. He and his co-founders built what he calls a "Google Maps for cybersecurity": a graph-based platform that maps every attack path, every permission, and every identity risk across an organisation's environment. In this conversation, he breaks down why identity-based attacks have exploded, what AI agents mean for the attack surface, and why fixing one permission can block millions of potential attack paths. In this episode: Olivier's journey: from dropping out at 21 to two exits and founding Saporo Why identity-based attacks have exploded and AI is accelerating the trend The graph-based approach: visualising attack paths the way hackers do Non-human identities: why AI agents are the next major attack surface How cutting one permission can block millions of attack paths Saporo's 98% renewal rate and €7M funding round The European funding gap and why Olivier is expanding into the US Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:03 Olivier's entrepreneurial journey: from dropout to two exits 04:12 The founding of Saporo: right tech, right team, right time 05:33 The Google Maps for cybersecurity concept 09:09 €7M raised and building through three stages of startup growth 11:02 Graph-based approach to identity risk and attack paths 16:14 How Saporo prioritises which attack paths to cut first 22:32 AI's impact on cybersecurity and Saporo's product roadmap 23:43 Non-human identities: the next major attack surface 29:19 What CISOs need to do right now about AI agents 34:17 Saporo's next milestones: US expansion and customer success 37:26 The European funding gap and why it matters for founders 43:49 Signal message to CISOs: give European founders a shot 44:42 Final thoughts: stay humble, ask the question, build now Connect with the guests: Olivier Eyries:   / olivier-eyries   Website: https://www.saporo.io/ Follow Cyber Security District: Laurens Jagt on LinkedIn:   / laurensjagt   Jeroen Prinse on LinkedIn:   / jprinse   Website: https://www.cybersecuritydistrict.com/ All channels & newsletter: https://beacons.ai/cybersecuritydistrict