Cisco eyes network security gains for agentic AI

Cisco has unveiled a raft of security-focused product updates as the networking giant delves further into agentic AI.

Announced at the 2025 Cisco Live event in San Diego this week, the company said it is “fusing security capabilities deeper into its networking infrastructure” in a bid to alleviate AI-related security concerns for enterprise leaders and cyber professionals alike.

These updates included new capabilities for Cisco’s Hybrid Mesh Firewall and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solutions. Cisco said the updates aim to simplify policy management, enhance network visibility, and reduce complexity for security practitioners.

“Safety and security are the defining challenges of the AI era – and agentic AI multiplies the risk, as every new agent is both a force multiplier and fresh attack surface,” said Jeetu Patel, president and CPO at Cisco.

“At the same time, threat actors are already leveraging AI tools to launch more sophisticated attacks than ever. To help IT and security teams fight back, Cisco is reimagining how we secure networks, protect AI apps and models, manage identity, and equip security teams with the AI tools they need to meet the moment.”

So what can customers expect from the updates?

Cisco targets firewalls for the age of agentic AI

Cisco’s Hybrid Mesh Firewall is set to receive a host of new hardware and policy management capabilities as part of the move.

This includes the launch of the Cisco Secure Firewall 6100 Series. This, the company said, will provide the “highest performance density” for data center firewalling, boasting a whopping 200 Gbps per rack unit.

Cisco noted that this will enable enterprises to address complexity and cost while providing the scalability required to match growing AI-related data center demands. Similarly, the Cisco Secure Firewall 200 Series, which the company said delivers “advanced on-box threat inspection”, offers integrated software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) capabilities.

In terms of cost, Cisco specifically highlighted that the Secure Firewall 200 series boasts a 3x price-performance guarantee compared to competitors.

ZTNA updates are inbound

The networking giant also touted new updates to its Universal ZTNA solutions, which are aimed primarily at enhancing visibility across hybrid environments and AI agents.

In a pre-event media briefing, executives at the company, including Patel, noted the rise of agentic AI is bringing fresh challenges for enterprises with regard to both identity management and network visibility.

The latest updates address these concerns directly, with all Cisco SD-WAN offerings – including Meraki – now fully integrated with Cisco Secure Access.

“This enables customers to choose the optimal branch connectivity while still enjoying a unified security service edge (SSE) policy and consistent enforcement,” the company said in an announcement.

New features aimed at addressing phishing risks are also coming, the company revealed. The Duo Identity and Access Management (IAM) solution will now act as an “identity broker”, Cisco said.

“With a new complete passwordless option and unique proximity verification capability, Duo layers end-to-end phishing resistance – without clunky hardware tokens – on top of existing identity infrastructure,” Cisco said in a statement.

Splunk updates complement new features

Elsewhere at Cisco Live, the networking giant also announced new updates for Splunk customers, with a particular focus on integration for enterprise users. For example, customers using the Cisco Secure Firewall service will now be able to glean “deeper threat insights” by combining firewall log data with Splunk.

“This enables advanced detections and helps security teams maximize the value of their Cisco and Splunk investments,” the company said.

Closer integration with Splunk AppDynamics was another key update highlighted by Cisco. Again aimed at network visibility, users can now forward secure application events into Splunk, meaning security teams can more efficiently identify application-layer vulnerabilities and threats.