Cisco revolutionizes enterprise cybersecurity for the AI era with zero-trust architectures, advanced threat protection, and deep Splunk integrations—announced at Cisco Live in San Diego.
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| Cisco transforms cybersecurity for the AI era with deeply integrated zero-trust frameworks, protecting users, networks, and autonomous AI agents, as unveiled at Cisco Live 2025 in San Diego, USA. Image: CH |
SAN DIEGO, USA – June 12, 2025:
Cisco has unveiled a bold new vision for cybersecurity in the AI era, introducing an integrated approach that embeds advanced protections directly into network infrastructure. Announced at Cisco Live 2025 in San Diego, the initiative reimagines enterprise security to counter increasingly sophisticated threats driven by artificial intelligence, while enabling businesses to scale securely with zero-trust architecture at their core.
As AI tools become more pervasive across industries, cybercriminals are using them to launch faster, cheaper, and more complex attacks. At the same time, organizations are under pressure to adopt AI technologies safely and efficiently. Cisco's response is a new generation of solutions that deeply fuse security into the digital fabric of enterprises, protecting users, applications, networks, and AI models with a unified policy framework.
Central to this transformation are two major technologies: the Cisco Hybrid Mesh Firewall and Universal Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). These systems offer a flexible, comprehensive zero-trust security framework that simplifies policy enforcement and boosts visibility without adding operational complexity. Cisco’s latest firewall platforms—such as the high-performance Secure Firewall 6100 Series for data centers and the cost-effective 200 Series for branch offices—are designed to meet the unique demands of AI-ready environments. Together, these firewalls provide a distributed security mesh capable of protecting data centers, IoT environments, and remote networks with advanced threat inspection and zero-trust segmentation.
Universal ZTNA extends identity-based access policies to all users, devices, and even AI agents, regardless of location. This enables seamless and secure access to enterprise resources while enforcing consistent policy controls across managed and unmanaged environments. The solution unifies policy management and enhances observability using Cisco’s Security Cloud Control platform, delivering AI-powered insights to reduce response times and operational burden.
To address the security challenges of agentic AI—where autonomous agents act on behalf of users—Cisco has introduced safeguards that verify agent identities, control resource access, and provide full traceability of agent actions. These protections are powered by integrated solutions including Cisco Duo IAM, Identity Intelligence, and AI Defense. With native support for the emerging Model Context Protocol (MCP), Cisco is preparing enterprises for secure adoption of AI-driven automation across every layer of the business.
In addition to securing networks and AI agents, Cisco is simplifying the deployment of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) by integrating all SD-WAN offerings, including Meraki, with Cisco Secure Access. This enables consistent security enforcement at the edge while giving customers the flexibility to choose optimal branch connectivity. Duo IAM, now functioning as a full identity broker, introduces a passwordless experience with phishing-resistant authentication based on proximity verification—removing the need for clunky hardware tokens and streamlining the user experience.
Cisco also announced significant advancements in its partnership with Splunk. The integration of Cisco Secure Firewall log data into Splunk enables security teams to unlock deeper threat insights, enrich detections, and streamline incident response. The Security Cloud App for Splunk now supports enhanced Threat Detection, Investigation and Response (TDIR) workflows by correlating telemetry from Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense, AI Defense, Talos, and Multicloud Defense. Expanded SOAR integrations further automate policy enforcement and incident response through pre-built playbooks, while integration with Splunk AppDynamics enables application-layer risk analysis tied to business impact.
Industry experts have endorsed Cisco’s unified approach. Jeetu Patel, Cisco’s President and Chief Product Officer, emphasized the urgency of rethinking security as AI evolves: “The AI era is here, and every AI agent adds both opportunity and new attack surfaces. We are embedding security directly into the network to help enterprises manage identity, protect applications, and maintain zero trust in a world of distributed AI.” Analysts like John Grady from Enterprise Strategy Group echoed that Cisco is uniquely positioned to secure today’s hyper-connected, AI-powered enterprise landscape.
With these innovations, Cisco is not just enhancing cybersecurity—it is redefining it for a future shaped by intelligent systems, autonomous agents, and dynamic global threats. The company’s deep integration of security, networking, and AI will help organizations stay secure and resilient as they navigate the next chapter of digital transformation.