Cisco has announced new security solutions focused on the agentic AI ecosystem. These innovations, including Zero Trust Access and AI Defense: Explorer Edition, are intended to help companies securely scale and manage AI agents.
At the RSA Conference 2026 in San Francisco, Cisco introduced new security solutions for the agentic AI ecosystem. By securing AI agents with Zero Trust Access and AI Defense: Explorer Edition, Cisco aims to support companies in the secure deployment of AI agents. These innovations are designed to protect AI agents from attacks and misuse, and to facilitate their integration into business processes.
Zero Trust Access for AI agents
Cisco’s new solutions focus on strengthening AI agents with Zero Trust Access. This includes agent discovery in Cisco Identity Intelligence and agentic Identity and Access Management (IAM) in Duo. By using strict access controls and registering agents in Duo IAM, companies can verify the identity of AI agents and make their actions traceable. This should help identify security blind spots and ensure that AI agents only have access to the resources they need.
AI Defense: Explorer Edition
With the launch of AI Defense: Explorer Edition, Cisco is democratizing access to advanced security tools for AI. It gives developers the ability to test AI models and applications for resilience against attacks. It offers functionalities such as dynamic agent red teaming and security testing to protect AI agents from unwanted manipulation and attacks.
Agentic SOC and machine-speed detection
Cisco has also made improvements to Security Operations Center (SOC) workflows by integrating AI functionalities into existing processes. Splunk, part of Cisco’s portfolio, introduces Exposure Analytics and Detection Studio to provide insight into all assets and users within a company. The use of specialized AI agents in the SOC helps to respond to threats faster and more effectively, representing a shift from reactive to proactive security.