Kuala Lumpur, 16 January, 2025 — Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), a global leader in security and networking, today unveiled Cisco AI Defense, a groundbreaking solution designed to enable and safeguard AI transformation across enterprises. As AI technology reshapes industries, its rapid advancement introduces unprecedented safety concerns and security threats, which traditional solutions are ill-equipped to address. Cisco AI Defense empowers enterprises to confidently develop, deploy, and secure AI applications, ensuring innovation without compromise.
“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, Cisco. “In a dynamic landscape where competition is fierce, speed decides the winners. Fused into the fabric of the network, Cisco AI Defense combines the unique ability to detect and protect against threats when developing and accessing AI applications without tradeoffs.”
Addressing the High Stakes of AI Security
The risks associated with AI are significant. According to Cisco’s 2024 AI Readiness Index, only 30% of survey respondents in Malaysia feel adequately equipped to detect and prevent unauthorized tampering with AI. The security challenges are also new and complex, with AI applications being multi-model and multi-cloud. Vulnerabilities can occur at model or app level, while responsibility lies with different owners including developers, end users and vendors. As enterprises move beyond public data and begin training models on proprietary data, the risks only grow.
To unlock the full potential of AI, enterprises require a robust, unified layer of safety and security for every user and application. Cisco AI Defense tackles this challenge by addressing two critical areas:
1. Securing AI Development and Deployment
Enterprises are poised to create and use hundreds—if not thousands—of AI applications. To navigate this complexity, developers need a universal set of security guardrails. AI Defense offers:
- AI Discovery: Identifies both sanctioned and shadow AI applications across public and private clouds.
- Model Validation: Automated testing detects and mitigates vulnerabilities, ensuring model behavior aligns with safety and security standards.
- Runtime Security: Continuously monitors for threats like data leaks, prompt injections, and denial-of-service attacks.
2. Safeguarding Access to AI Applications
As employees increasingly adopt AI-driven tools, the risk of data leakage and poisoning grows. AI Defense equips security teams with:
- Visibility: Comprehensive insights into shadow and sanctioned AI-enabled apps.
- Access Control: Policies to restrict unauthorized use of AI tools.
- Data and Threat Protection: Continuous safeguards against threats and confidential data loss while ensuring regulatory compliance.
Unified Controls for a Multi-Model World
Unlike model-specific safety mechanisms, Cisco AI Defense provides consistent, cross-platform controls. Powered by proprietary machine learning models and threat intelligence from Cisco Talos, it adapts to evolving threats with self-optimizing capabilities. Its integration with the Cisco Security Cloud delivers unparalleled visibility and enforcement at the network level, ensuring a seamless user experience while maintaining trust and accuracy.
Industry Leadership in AI Security
“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, providing full visibility of an enterprise’s AI assets and protection against evolving threats.”
