Byos Secure Embedded Edge vs Cilium: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
Byos Secure Embedded Edge is a commercial network access control tool by Byos. Cilium is a free network access control tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best network access control fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, company size fit, deployment model, here is our conclusion:
Teams managing IoT and edge devices in classified or high-security environments should evaluate Byos Secure Embedded Edge for its hardware-enforced microsegmentation that works independent of OS or cloud dependencies, eliminating a major attack surface at the network layer. The M.2 module holds FIPS 140-2 certification and meets NSA CSfC requirements, which matters if your compliance posture or customer contracts demand it. Skip this if you need centralized visibility across mixed cloud and on-prem infrastructure; the strength here is hardened perimeter control for edge devices, not broad asset inventory or detection workflows.
Platform teams running Kubernetes on-premises or in hybrid clouds will get the most from Cilium because its eBPF kernel-level enforcement eliminates the latency and blind spots of traditional overlay networking. With 23,959 GitHub stars and active deployments at scale across financial services and public sector organizations, Cilium's approach to policy enforcement at the dataplane level is proven; it also handles observability without requiring sidecar injection, which keeps resource overhead predictable. Not the right fit for teams needing a managed SaaS experience or those prioritizing CSPM and infrastructure compliance scanning over network microsegmentation.
