Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming cybersecurity. It’s creating new opportunities for innovation, but also a wider and more complex attack surface that enterprises must defend. For Palo Alto Networks, AI is both a challenge and a catalyst pushing the company to expand its platforms and rethink what enterprise security looks like in the AI era.
The AI-Driven Threat Landscape
AI is rewriting the rules of cyber offense. Threat actors are leveraging it to launch faster, more sophisticated attacks while exploiting new vulnerabilities that emerge from AI-driven workflows. Key trends include:
- New and complex attack surface: As AI gets embedded into business processes, it redefines the attack surface, opening up fresh entry points for adversaries.
- Rising incident volume: Data security incidents tied to Generative AI more than doubled in the last year.
- Speed of attacks: AI-powered breaches are measured in minutes, not days—some occur in as little as 25 minutes making traditional detection-and-response models insufficient.
- AI agents as attackers: Malicious AI agents can be deployed to probe and infiltrate enterprises, requiring stronger consolidation of security defenses.
- Browsers as a frontline: With browsers now acting as the interface for AI and cloud apps—and soon to host “agentic-AI” they’ve become a prime target. If not controlled, they could serve as a back door into enterprises.
- Identity under pressure: As agentic-AI adoption accelerates, identity is becoming the real-time enforcement point, pushing the identity market into a critical inflection phase.
Palo Alto Networks’ Response: Building Security for the AI Era
Palo Alto Networks has long followed a strategy of anticipating market shifts and building ahead of demand. In the AI era, that means reshaping its platforms to secure every layer of the enterprise, from cloud applications to AI agents to user identities.
Prisma Airs: The Industry’s Most Comprehensive AI Security Platform
Launched in early Q4, Prisma Airs is designed to give organizations confidence to deploy AI at scale. It provides:
- End-to-end security across apps, models, agents, and datasets.
- Visibility and granular control for safe use of third-party AI services.
- Integrated DLP controls to secure both in-house and external AI.
- Coverage for critical blind spots to ensure compliance and resilience.
Early demand is strong, with Prisma Airs generating a robust pipeline for AI security solutions.
Cortex Cloud + ASPM: Redefining App Security for AI Workflows
Within Cortex Cloud, Palo Alto Networks has introduced Application Security Posture Management (ASPM), which centralizes data from scanners and third-party tools into a single source of truth. This is essential for protecting the full AI developer lifecycle, from experimentation to deployment.
XSIAM: An AI-Powered SOC
With XSIAM, Palo Alto Networks is modernizing the Security Operations Center. By applying AI to detection and response, XSIAM reduces mean time to respond from weeks to minutes—60% of customers already report response times under 10 minutes.
Software Firewalls and SASE: Securing Hybrid, Cloud-First Environments
As enterprises move deeper into hybrid and multi-cloud deployments, Palo Alto Networks’ investments in software firewalls and SASE are paying off. Key developments include:
- Cloud NGFW and PAN-OS Orion tailored for cloud-native deployments.
- Nearly 20% YoY ARR growth in the software firewall business.
- Prisma Access Browser as part of SASE, securing browsers as they become the new “OS” for AI and cloud apps.
Data-Centric Innovation Engine
By harnessing contextual data across network, cloud, and security operations, Palo Alto Networks is building a data-centric innovation engine. This foundation enables expansion into areas like exposure management and email security, representing an $18B opportunity by FY26.
Strategic Moves in Identity
Recognizing identity as the next security battleground, Palo Alto Networks is entering the market via the proposed acquisition of CyberArk. The goal: combine CyberArk’s identity leadership with Palo Alto’s AI-driven platforms to deliver a truly integrated, security-first identity solution.
The Bottom Line
AI is both a disruptor and an enabler in cybersecurity. Attackers are using it to move faster and smarter, but companies like Palo Alto Networks are harnessing it to build platforms that defend against tomorrow’s threats. From Prisma Airs to XSIAM to strategic bets in identity, Palo Alto Networks is positioning itself as the go-to partner for enterprises that want to adopt AI boldly and securely.