Horizon3 launches Sydney sovereign cloud for NodeZero

Horizon3 has launched a sovereign cloud instance in Sydney for its NodeZero security testing platform, its first sovereign deployment in Asia-Pacific.

The Sydney-based service keeps customer data in Australia and is aimed at organisations that need local control over sensitive security information. The setup allows users to conduct continuous autonomous penetration testing while maintaining in-country data residency.

The move targets government bodies, critical infrastructure operators, defence suppliers, banks and other regulated organisations. It comes as more Australian entities face tighter scrutiny over where cyber security data is stored and who can access it.

The local instance is intended to help customers address requirements under the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act, APRA CPS 234 and the ASD Essential Eight, alongside related frameworks. It is designed to reduce operational and data sovereignty risk for customers with strict compliance obligations.

NodeZero identifies exploitable attack paths across internal systems, external networks, cloud environments, identity systems and web applications. The platform is designed to validate exposures continuously and test whether remediation steps have worked.

Local control

For Australian organisations, data residency has become more prominent as cyber incidents and geopolitical tensions push security teams to examine not only defensive tools but also the location and governance of the data those tools generate. Vendors serving heavily regulated sectors have increasingly responded with local hosting or sovereign deployment models.

Gareth Cox outlined the rationale for the local rollout.

"Australian organisations face the same AI-accelerated threat landscape as the rest of the world, but they rightly demand that the tools they use to defend themselves meet the highest standards of data residency and national control," said Gareth Cox, vice president of sales, Asia Pacific and Japan, Horizon3.

"With the Sydney Sovereign Instance, customers can now run the World's Best AI Hacker continuously and safely, knowing their data never leaves Australia. This enables them to move beyond assumptions and continuously prove which exposures actually matter-and that remediation works," Cox said.

The expansion in Australia forms part of a broader international growth push. The Sydney location complements Horizon3's existing points of presence in the United States and Germany.

It also follows a recent funding round in which the company raised USD $250 million at a valuation of more than USD $2 billion. That capital is being used to support further international expansion, including additional investment in Australia, New Zealand and the wider Asia-Pacific market.

Growth push

The cyber security sector has seen strong investor interest in companies applying automation and artificial intelligence to defensive testing, particularly as businesses seek more frequent and measurable ways to assess resilience. Regular penetration testing has often been limited by cost, staffing and scheduling, prompting demand for tools that can run more continuously.

NodeZero has carried out more than 310,000 autonomous security tests for more than 7,500 organisations worldwide. Its customer base includes banks, healthcare networks, large corporates and national security agencies, according to Horizon3.

Snehal Antani said the local instance reflects a wider shift in how sensitive cyber security services are expected to be delivered.

"Data sovereignty is no longer a compliance checkbox, it is a strategic requirement for any platform trusted with critical infrastructure and national security workloads," said Snehal Antani, co-founder and CEO, Horizon3.

"As AI-powered attacks accelerate, countries will only allow continuous, autonomous security validation on their most sensitive networks if they know the data remains under their control and is accessed by cleared nationals. The Sydney Sovereign Instance is the first step in making NodeZero available as a true national-scale capability for Australia," Antani said.

Horizon3 said the Sydney service is now generally available to Australian customers that require security testing with data held under Australian sovereign control.