Cisco Systems Inc. today announced the launch of Cisco AI Defense, a new solution that safeguards artificial intelligence projects in enterprises against the misuse of AI tools, data leakage and sophisticated threats.

The new service has been designed to address new safety concerns and security threats that are emerging that existing solutions are unable or are unprepared to protect against. Cisco AI Defense was purpose-built for enterprises to develop, deploy and secure AI applications with confidence.

Cisco argues that the security challenges presented by AI are not only new and complex, but are also ones that most enterprises are unprepared for. With a move to training models in-house, the risk level, particularly when it involves proprietary data, only continues to grow, hence the need for a common layer of safety and security that protects every user and every application.

AI Defense addresses two urgent risks in enterprise AI adoption: developing secure AI applications and securing access to them. By providing a unified layer of safety, the service equips organizations to deploy AI confidently while mitigating threats that traditional security tools cannot address.

To develop and deploy secure AI, AI Defense offers tools including application discovery, automated model validation and runtime security. Combined, the functionality protects AI systems from vulnerabilities, safeguards model behavior and prevents threats such as prompt injection and data leakage across platforms.

For securing access to AI applications, AI Defense ensures visibility into sanctioned and shadow AI tools, enforces access controls and protects sensitive data. The measures allow organizations to prevent data leaks, maintain compliance and ensure safe use of AI tools in a rapidly evolving threat landscape.

Differing from model-specific safety guardrails, Cisco AI Defense also provides consistent, cross-platform controls for a multimodel environment. Powered by machine learning and threat intelligence from Cisco Talos, the service can adapt to evolving AI security concerns and enhances protection with enriched alerts for Splunk users.

“Business and technology leaders can’t afford to sacrifice safety for speed when embracing AI,” Jeetu Patel, executive vice president and chief product officer of Cisco, said in a statement. “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.”

Cisco AI Defense will be available to existing and new Cisco users starting in March.

Image: Cisco Systems