Suzu Labs Buys Firm to Forge an AI-Human Cyber Defense Model

LAS VEGAS – April 27, 2026 – In a strategic move that underscores a significant shift in cybersecurity philosophy, AI and security firm Suzu Labs has announced its acquisition of Emulated Criminals, a boutique company renowned for its human-led adversary emulation and continuous red teaming services. The deal, with undisclosed terms, creates a new paradigm in enterprise defense by explicitly combining advanced artificial intelligence with elite human offensive operators.

This fusion gives rise to Suzu Labs' new Continuous Adversarial Operations (CAO) practice, which will be led by the former leadership of Emulated Criminals. The acquisition moves beyond traditional, point-in-time security audits, aiming to provide organizations with what the company describes as an "unrelenting sparring partner" for their defenses, designed to continuously test and validate security posture against evolving threats.

Beyond Automation: The 'Hacker in the Loop' Philosophy

At the heart of the acquisition is Suzu Labs’ “Hacker in the Loop™” operating model, a framework that challenges the industry's rush toward full automation. Instead of seeking to replace human experts, the model leverages AI to augment their capabilities. This hybrid approach is gaining traction as organizations recognize that while automation can scale security testing, it often lacks the creativity, context, and adaptability of a human adversary.

"AI is cheapening the discovery side of offensive security, and that is fine with us," said Mike Bell, Founder and CEO of Suzu Labs. "Discovery was never where the real work was. The real work is judgment, campaign design, and detection validation. That is what Adversarial Exposure Validation is actually about, and none of it scales through automation alone. It requires Hacker in the Loop™, the human-led layer of AEV that automation cannot replicate."

Bell’s statement highlights a critical limitation of many automated security tools. While AI can efficiently scan for known vulnerabilities and execute predefined attack scripts, it struggles to replicate the nuanced, multi-stage campaigns of sophisticated threat actors. Human operators can improvise, chain together seemingly unrelated low-level vulnerabilities, and pivot based on the unique characteristics of a target environment—actions that remain beyond the scope of most automated platforms.

By handling the high-volume, low-complexity task of initial discovery, AI frees up the human operators in the new CAO practice to focus on these higher-value activities. This allows them to design and execute complex attack simulations that more accurately mirror the tactics of real-world attackers, providing a truer test of an organization's resilience.

From Point-in-Time to Perpetual Combat

The acquisition reflects a broader industry trend away from periodic, compliance-driven security assessments toward a model of continuous, proactive defense. Frameworks like Gartner’s Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) advocate for an ongoing cycle of identifying, prioritizing, and validating security exposures. Suzu Labs’ enhanced offering directly addresses this need for perpetual validation.

The new CAO practice, built upon Emulated Criminals’ flagship “Emulated Crime as a Service” model, will execute ongoing, multi-vector attack simulations. These operations are designed to test not just technology but also the people and processes that defend an enterprise, encompassing everything from phishing and ransomware scenarios to insider threats and even physical intrusion attempts.

“Before, our focus was strictly high-end bespoke offensive security services,” stated Dahvid Schloss, former CEO of Emulated Criminals who now serves as COO at Suzu Labs. “But now, by combining our flagship continuous adversarial emulation service... with Suzu's deep defensive and advisory expertise, we can offer even more to our clients with a truly 360-degree approach to security.”

This 360-degree view is crucial for modern enterprises. Static, annual penetration tests can provide a snapshot of security, but they quickly become outdated. A continuous model, however, ensures that as an organization’s attack surface changes—through new cloud deployments, software updates, or employee turnover—its defenses are constantly being tested and refined against realistic threats.

'Train How You Fight': Special Ops DNA Enters Corporate Security

What makes the new CAO practice particularly unique is the background of its leadership. Dahvid Schloss and his co-leader Ann Rinaldi hail from the world of U.S. Special Operations and offensive cyber operations. This experience instills a “train how you fight” methodology into the core of their approach, bringing a level of realism and strategic discipline rarely seen in corporate cybersecurity.

Schloss, a DEFCON Black Badge holder with over 15 years of experience in both military and private-sector offensive security, built Emulated Criminals on the principle that effective defense requires understanding the adversary’s mindset. This involves more than just technical skill; it demands a deep knowledge of campaign planning, target reconnaissance, and psychological manipulation used in social engineering.

This real-world, adversarial mindset is now being applied at enterprise scale. The CAO team will execute named adversary operations, simulating the specific tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of known threat groups. This allows clients to measure their defenses not against a generic checklist of vulnerabilities, but against the actual methods being used by attackers in the wild.

“I will always live by the ‘Train how you fight’ motto, and I know Suzu Labs has the same mentality,” Schloss added. This shared philosophy ensures that the integration of the two companies is not just a business transaction, but a fusion of cultures dedicated to bringing a higher standard of operational readiness to the private sector.

As attackers themselves increasingly leverage AI to automate their campaigns, the need for a defense that is equally dynamic has never been greater. The acquisition positions Suzu Labs to meet this challenge head-on, offering a service that combines the scale and speed of AI with the irreplaceable judgment and creativity of seasoned human operators. By creating a perpetual sparring partner for its clients, the company is betting that the best way to prepare for a real fight is to train for one every single day.