Modat’s Journey to Empower Security Professionals and Foster Global Cooperation
The cybersecurity landscape is growing every day, and there is increasing demand for the right tools to fit the needs of cyber specialists. One of the main gaps is within collaboration, an often talked about topic lacking impactful solutions. Soufian El Yadmani (Founder and CEO Modat) felt challenged with existing products that he was offered as a security professional and wanted to make a positive change. Soufian, originally from Morocco, first came to the Netherlands to participate in a capture the flag competition called Cyberlympics which just happened to coincide with Cyberweek in The Hague and the Hack The Hague event. After meeting the then CEO of Cybersprint (now part of Darktrace) he began as an intern before joining the team full-time and subsequently grew into more senior roles. This is where he met his co-founders Vincent Thiele (COO) and Maarten Timmerman (CFO) who would eventually all team up to co-found Modat.
Vincent has worked in cybersecurity for more than 25 years with extensive experience in government and finance, as well as key roles in supporting cybersecurity communities (e.g. FS-ISAC, CSIRT.global). Maarten comes from a strong business background and has transitioned from banking to cybersecurity. He has had a critical role in growing cybersecurity startups and helping them reach scale up by handling finance, legal, HR, and business operations. Soufian, in addition to his work as a cybersecurity practitioner, is the Head of Research for CSIRT.global and is a cybersecurity PhD Candidate at Leiden University. Soufian, Vincent, and Maarten came together with their various expertise with a shared mission: building cyber resilience through innovative products and community-driven solutions.
Modat’s premier product Modat Magnify is a European-crafted platform designed by offensive and defensive professionals for them. It provides a fast, smart, and easy way to stop searching and start finding. Their 'Device DNA' catalogues the essential attributes of each internet connected device to create a unique profile to support proactive cybersecurity. Soufian explained that Modat “scans the Internet, the whole internet on a daily basis, and we try to find anything that might be connected to the internet. That could be a server, a camera, an OT system, it could even be your doorbell.” Using a unique approach to fingerprinting of the world’s most commonly used products, they offer the ‘Device DNA’ of each internet connected device from all sectors and also malicious infrastructures. What Modat does differently is going beyond scanning to context on the data. Soufian experienced this gap in other products including identifying the type of the product running, vulnerabilities attached to it, location, when it was created, or even how it has evolved over time.
Modat Magnify is available as a subscription as well as access to the largest Device DNA Data set, tailored scans, and custom datasets that Modat offers to larger organisations and governments. Their focus on community is embedded in their products as Soufian added “we want to give to the community, but we also wanted the community to give back to each other.” This product is a platform that threat researchers and security professionals can securely use in their daily roles and identify security vulnerabilities and potential threat actors.
Everything Modat works on reiterates their focus on the security practitioner community, including a new platform for which they have received a grant from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Dcypher through the Innovation Impact Challenge (SBIR). . The platform they will create will allow security professionals to analyse current threats and incidents collectively. “It’s a real collaboration threat correlation analysis platform where people can work together on one case and actually do analysis together, which makes it unique,” shared Vincent. He added that they “really want to have people do technical analysis together to be able to share information, but also to learn from each other and to create communities.” The vision is clear as the work on products to facilitate collaboration between cybersecurity professionals and work to facilitate that collaboration.
Before founding Modat in May of 2024, Maarten and Soufian had a long standing relationship with HSD Campus thanks to Cybersprint (Darktrace) having their offices there in the past. Vincent was also well aware of the space as many of the companies he worked with while in banking were located at HSD Campus. Their friends, acquaintances, and former colleagues had started companies all at HSD Campus so it was a logical step for Modat to follow suit. Vincent noted how impactful HSD Campus’ efforts are in expanding new company’s networks and connecting them to conferences. Maarten agreed, sharing “it's really added value and a great place to start as a cybersecurity startup.” Soufian expanded by saying “it's just impressive that being in one space like this…and each company is literally doing something totally different, still, all for one reason, cybersecurity.”
Modat has already been engaging with other HSD Campus members as potential customers and partners. As a research-driven company, they are committed to turning cutting-edge insights into practical solutions that strengthen cybersecurity resiliency. Their vision is to grow into a sustainable organization that not only advances cybersecurity but also contributes meaningful support to the global community as a whole.
They welcome anyone within the cybersecurity ecosystem to contact them and become part of their community.
