Adaptive Shield no longer exists as an independent product — CrowdStrike acquired it (announced 2024-11-06, reported ~$300M) and now sells it as CrowdStrike Falcon Shield inside the Falcon platform, with a quote-only, enterprise sales motion. Black Cat SSPM is an independent alternative: 1814 documented OPA/Rego policies, NIS2 and DORA compliance built in, and published pricing from €79/month with a self-serve free posture scan.
If you want a bundled platform play with identity threat detection and don't mind an enterprise sales process, Falcon Shield is a real option. If you want to stay independent of platform lock-in, see pricing up front, and get deep EU-regulatory coverage, Black Cat is built for that.
Black Cat SSPM vs CrowdStrike Falcon Shield at a glance
| Feature | Black Cat SSPM | CrowdStrike Falcon Shield (formerly Adaptive Shield) |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Independent, EU (French) company | Adaptive Shield was acquired by CrowdStrike (announced 2024-11-06, reported ~$300M) and is now sold as CrowdStrike Falcon Shield within the Falcon platform |
| Native connectors | 62 — policy-backed, deep | 200+ SaaS apps out-of-the-box |
| Security checks | 1814 OPA/Rego policies, transparent and fully documented (severity, remediation, framework mapping where a control applies) | 3,500+ built-in security checks (vendor-published) |
| Compliance frameworks | 8 curated for SaaS + EU regulation (incl. NIS2, DORA, GDPR, HIPAA) + tenant-defined custom frameworks | 23 built-in frameworks (vendor-published); which named frameworks are included is not detailed on the public product page |
| Pricing | Published tiers: €79 / €349 / €999 per month | Quote-only, bundled into the Falcon platform; 15-day free trial |
| Buying motion | Standalone product, self-serve signup, no platform prerequisite | Sold within the CrowdStrike Falcon platform — evaluation and purchase typically run through the CrowdStrike sales motion |
| AI governance | Two customer-authorable CEL rule engines (AI apps + AI agents) | AI-agent module documented via CrowdStrike; described as visibility/containment rather than a customer-authorable policy engine |
| Identity threat detection (ITDR) | Not offered — posture-first; pair with your SIEM/ITDR | Offered, and CrowdStrike is deepening identity capability via its pending acquisition of SGNL (identity security, ~$740M, announced 2026-01-08) |
Where Falcon Shield is a good fit
Falcon Shield is a strong option for organizations already standardized on the CrowdStrike Falcon platform, or evaluating a single vendor for SaaS posture, identity threat detection, and broader endpoint/identity security together. Its raw connector and check counts (200+ apps, 3,500+ checks) are the largest publicly published in the field.
Where Black Cat SSPM is a good fit
Black Cat is built for teams that want an independent SSPM without a platform prerequisite — self-serve signup, published pricing, and no requirement to buy into the broader CrowdStrike Falcon suite. It's also the stronger fit for EU and financial-sector buyers who need NIS2 and DORA named explicitly in the compliance catalog, not folded into an unlabeled count of 23 frameworks.
Where we're honest about the gap
Falcon Shield offers identity threat detection (ITDR); Black Cat does not. We run scheduled policy evaluation of configuration state, not live activity-stream monitoring or UEBA. If real-time threat detection is a must-have, that's a genuine reason to weigh Falcon Shield or run Black Cat alongside a SIEM/ITDR tool.
Frequently asked questions
Is Adaptive Shield still a separate product?
No. CrowdStrike acquired Adaptive Shield (announced 2024-11-06, reported at roughly $300M) and the product is now sold as CrowdStrike Falcon Shield inside the Falcon platform. adaptive-shield.com redirects to crowdstrike.com.
What changed for buyers after the CrowdStrike acquisition?
Falcon Shield is quote-only and sold within the broader Falcon platform, which typically means an enterprise sales motion rather than self-serve signup. Black Cat SSPM remains an independent, standalone product with published pricing and a self-serve free posture scan.
How does Black Cat's policy count compare to Falcon Shield's 3,500+ checks?
Falcon Shield publishes 3,500+ built-in security checks across 200+ integrations. Black Cat runs 1,814 documented OPA/Rego policies across 62 connectors — fewer checks, but every policy is auditable and tenant-customizable, and the catalog is built specifically around NIS2 and DORA depth for EU and regulated buyers.
Does Falcon Shield support NIS2 and DORA?
Falcon Shield publishes support for 23 compliance frameworks, but its public product page does not name which frameworks are included, so NIS2 and DORA coverage could not be independently confirmed as of 2026-06. Black Cat ships both explicitly: NIS2 (40 mapped controls) and DORA (58 mapped controls).
Can I evaluate Black Cat before switching from Falcon Shield?
Yes — run a free posture scan with read-only-by-default, revocable OAuth access. No credit card and no CrowdStrike platform relationship required.