His research group, which focuses on systems security, has been funded by the EU and by NATO with different grants totaling €750,000. He is a regularly invited speaker at international events and conferences, including the popular Black Hat Briefings (where he now sits on the review committee). Zanero also cofounded Secure Network, a start-up that is one of Italy's leading penetration testing and security services companies. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed papers.