Cisco Launches AI Defense to Secure Enterprise AI Transformations

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Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), an security and networking company, has unveiled Cisco AI Defense, a new solution aimed at securing AI transformations within enterprises. As AI technology evolves at an unprecedented pace, new safety concerns and security threats are emerging, and traditional security solutions are unprepared to handle these risks. Cisco AI Defense is purpose-built to help businesses develop, deploy, and secure AI applications with confidence.

“Business and technology leaders can’t afford to sacrifice safety for speed when embracing AI,” said Jeetu Patel, Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer at Cisco. “In a competitive landscape, speed is key. Cisco AI Defense integrates seamlessly into the network, providing unmatched protection against emerging threats while enabling fast AI application development.”

A recent Cisco 2024 AI Readiness Index revealed that only 29% of organizations feel fully prepared to detect and prevent unauthorized tampering with AI. With AI applications becoming increasingly complex and operating across multi-cloud environments, vulnerabilities can emerge at both the model and application levels. As enterprises move toward proprietary data for AI model training, security risks are growing exponentially.

Cisco AI Defense is designed to address these critical challenges and unlock the potential of AI innovation. It provides a common layer of safety and security for enterprises, offering protection for both users and applications. Key features include:

  • AI Discovery: Cisco AI Defense helps security teams identify both sanctioned and shadow AI applications across public and private clouds, providing full visibility into AI use within an organization.
  • Model Validation: Automated testing checks AI models for potential security issues, ensuring safe and reliable model behavior across platforms.
  • Runtime Security: Continuous monitoring and validation protect against evolving threats like prompt injection, denial of service, and sensitive data leakage.

In addition to securing AI applications, Cisco AI Defense ensures that enterprises can safely manage access to AI tools. It provides security teams with:

  • Visibility: A comprehensive view of AI-enabled applications used by employees, whether authorized or not.
  • Access Control: Policies to prevent unauthorized use of AI tools, reducing the risk of data breaches and misuse.
  • Data Protection: Continuous safeguarding of sensitive data while ensuring compliance with industry regulations.

Unlike individual AI model guardrails, Cisco offers consistent and scalable security controls across a multi-cloud environment. Cisco AI Defense is self-optimizing, leveraging advanced machine learning models and threat intelligence from Cisco Talos to detect and address emerging security concerns. Customers using Splunk with AI Defense will benefit from enriched alerts and broader ecosystem visibility.

Built into Cisco’s Security Cloud, an AI-driven, unified security platform, Cisco AI Defense delivers network-level security for AI applications, a unique capability only available through Cisco’s expansive network enforcement points. Cisco has also been actively contributing to AI security standards with organizations like MITRE, OWASP, and NIST.

“The adoption of AI exposes companies to new risks that traditional cybersecurity solutions don’t address,” said Kent Noyes, Global Head of AI & Cyber Innovation at World Wide Technology. “Cisco AI Defense represents a significant leap forward in AI security, offering full visibility into an enterprise’s AI assets while protecting against new and evolving threats.”

Cisco AI Defense is set to launch in March, providing enterprises with the tools they need to safeguard their AI-driven transformations. For more information, visit cisco.com/go/ai-defense.