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Cybersecurity · head to head

Baffle vs Silent Eight

Baffle logo

Baffle

Cybersecurity

Transparent proxy that encrypts, tokenises and masks database fields without application code changes

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Silent Eight logo

Silent Eight

Cybersecurity

AI adjudication of sanctions screening and AML alerts

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Baffle the proxy sits in the production data path, so it becomes a latency contributor and a failure domain, and any deployment needs load and failover testing that customers routinely underestimate.; Silent Eight automated disposition has to clear model risk governance and a regulator, and the shadow running period before auto-close is permitted can consume most of the first year of the contract.
  • They diverge on capability: Baffle covers Transparent proxy deployment, Silent Eight covers Alert adjudication.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Baffle and Silent Eight actually diverge.

Attributes where Baffle and Silent Eight differ
AttributeBaffleSilent Eight
PlatformsLinux, WebWeb, Linux

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Baffle

  • Transparent proxy deployment
  • Field-level encryption
  • Tokenisation
  • Format-preserving de-identification
  • Dynamic data masking
  • Bring your own key
  • Analytics and pipeline support
  • AI pipeline protection

Only in Silent Eight

  • Alert adjudication
  • Narrative generation
  • Name screening automation
  • Quality assurance
  • Shadow mode
  • Model transparency reporting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Baffle

  • A bank with a legacy application it cannot safely refactor that has an audit finding requiring field-level encryption of account datanot Silent Eight
  • A company wanting to take a reporting database out of PCI scope by tokenising card fields before they landnot Silent Eight
  • A healthcare organisation that must ensure database administrators and cloud operators cannot read patient identifiers in the tables they administernot Silent Eight
  • A team moving regulated data into a warehouse or an AI retrieval pipeline that needs identifiers de-identified in transit without rewriting the ingest jobsnot Silent Eight

Silent Eight

  • A bank whose level one screening team spends most of its time closing obvious false name matchesnot Baffle
  • A payments institution with alert volumes growing faster than it can recruit and train analystsnot Baffle
  • A compliance function asked by a regulator to demonstrate consistency of alert decisions across offshore teamsnot Baffle
  • An institution that has just tightened screening thresholds after an enforcement action and cannot staff the resulting alert increasenot Baffle

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Baffle

  • The proxy sits in the production data path, so it becomes a latency contributor and a failure domain, and any deployment needs load and failover testing that customers routinely underestimate.
  • What you can still do in SQL depends on the protection mode chosen, and stronger modes restrict comparisons, joins and aggregations on protected columns, which can quietly break existing reports and analytics.
  • Database and driver coverage is finite, so an organisation with an unusual engine, an old driver or heavy use of stored procedures may find its most important system is exactly the one not supported.
  • Pricing is unpublished and scales with protected data stores, which means an enterprise trying to protect a long tail of small databases pays disproportionately compared with protecting a handful of large ones.
  • Key management is your responsibility under bring your own key, and while that is the correct security posture, it moves a real operational burden and a genuine data-loss risk onto the customer.

Silent Eight

  • Automated disposition has to clear model risk governance and a regulator, and the shadow running period before auto-close is permitted can consume most of the first year of the contract.
  • It does not improve detection, so an institution with a poorly tuned monitoring system automates the handling of bad alerts rather than fixing why they exist.
  • Pricing is tied to alert volume, which means efficiency gains elsewhere that reduce alerts also reduce the vendor bill in a way sales teams structure minimums against.
  • The headcount saving is only realised if the institution actually reduces the analyst pool, and many banks redeploy rather than cut, leaving the business case unrealised on paper.
  • As a mid-sized private vendor serving tier one banks, concentration risk cuts both ways; the loss of one large client materially affects the company, and buyers should ask about financial stability during diligence.

Pricing, plan by plan

Baffle

On request
  • Baffle Data Protection Services$undefined/year
    • Quoted by protected data stores and deployment scale
    • Self-managed and cloud marketplace deployment options
    • Annual subscription

Silent Eight

On request
  • Iris$undefined/year
    • Priced by alert volume adjudicated
    • Deploys against existing screening and monitoring systems
    • Shadow mode evaluation period

Which should you pick?

Choose Baffle if

  • You need transparent proxy deployment.
  • You work on Linux, Web.
  • You also want field-level encryption.
Baffle review

Choose Silent Eight if

  • You need alert adjudication.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want narrative generation.
Silent Eight review

Questions people ask

Is Baffle or Silent Eight better?
Neither clearly leads. Baffle starts at On request and Silent Eight at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Baffle or Silent Eight?
Baffle starts at On request and Silent Eight at On request.
Does Baffle or Silent Eight run on more platforms?
Baffle runs on Linux, Web. Silent Eight runs on Web, Linux.
What is Baffle best used for?
Baffle is most often used for a bank with a legacy application it cannot safely refactor that has an audit finding requiring field-level encryption of account data, a company wanting to take a reporting database out of pci scope by tokenising card fields before they land, a healthcare organisation that must ensure database administrators and cloud operators cannot read patient identifiers in the tables they administer, a team moving regulated data into a warehouse or an ai retrieval pipeline that needs identifiers de-identified in transit without rewriting the ingest jobs. Of those, a bank with a legacy application it cannot safely refactor that has an audit finding requiring field-level encryption of account data and a company wanting to take a reporting database out of pci scope by tokenising card fields before they land are not what Silent Eight is typically brought in for.
What can Baffle do that Silent Eight cannot?
Baffle covers Transparent proxy deployment, Field-level encryption, Tokenisation, Format-preserving de-identification. Silent Eight covers Alert adjudication, Narrative generation, Name screening automation, Quality assurance.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Baffle: Do applications need code changes?

No. That is the central design choice. Baffle intercepts traffic as a proxy rather than requiring an SDK call at every read and write.

Silent Eight: Does Silent Eight replace our screening system?

No. It consumes alerts from your existing screening and monitoring systems and decides them. The detection layer stays where it is.

Baffle: Can you still query encrypted columns?

Partly, and it depends on the protection mode. Some modes preserve equality matching and format, stronger modes restrict what SQL operations remain possible, so this must be tested against your actual queries.

Silent Eight: Will a regulator accept AI closing alerts?

It depends on your jurisdiction and your model governance evidence. Banks typically run extended shadow mode first and phase auto-closure by alert type.

Baffle: Does it take systems out of PCI scope?

Tokenisation can reduce scope by ensuring card data never lands in the protected system, but scope reduction is an assessor judgement, not a product setting.

Silent Eight: Where is the company based?

Singapore, with offices in New York, London and Warsaw.

Baffle: Who holds the encryption keys?

You do, through your own key management service. Baffle supports bring your own key rather than holding customer keys itself.

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