Cisco's AI security platform — network-level visibility, shadow AI discovery, model validation, and agentic runtime protection
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About Cisco AI Defense
Cisco AI Defense was evaluated by our editorial lab for workflow efficiency and practical value. Cisco AI Defense is Cisco\u2019s enterprise AI security platform, launched in January 2025 at the intersection of Cisco\u2019s global network infrastructure leadership and the emerging AI security market. Built on the technology acquired from Robust Intelligence (acquired August ...
Cisco AI Defense is Cisco\u2019s enterprise AI security platform, launched in January 2025 at the intersection of Cisco\u2019s global network infrastructure leadership and the emerging AI security market. Built on the technology acquired from Robust Intelligence (acquired August 2024), AI Defense delivers end-to-end security coverage for AI applications and agents \u2014 from discovery and model validation through runtime protection and agentic governance \u2014 all within the Cisco Security Cloud management plane. Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), with $57B+ in annual revenue and the world\u2019s largest enterprise networking installed base, brings a structural advantage no pure-play AI security vendor can replicate: network-level visibility into all AI traffic flowing through Cisco\u2019s SASE and networking infrastructure.
The platform covers four critical phases of enterprise AI security: discovery (Shadow AI identification of all sanctioned and unsanctioned AI applications across the network), validation (algorithmic red teaming and model scanning for vulnerabilities before deployment), runtime protection (real-time guardrails against prompt injection, data leakage, and safety violations), and governance (AI BOM tracking, MCP server catalog, NIST/OWASP/MITRE framework alignment). In its biggest expansion since launch at Cisco Live EMEA (February 10, 2026), AI Defense added AI BOM, MCP Catalog for governing Model Context Protocol servers, multi-turn red teaming for agentic workflows, intent-aware inspection, and NVIDIA NeMo Guardrails integration. AI Defense is also the security layer in the Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA \u2014 a validated enterprise reference architecture for securely deploying large-scale AI workloads.
Cisco AI Defense is the right choice for enterprises already running Cisco\u2019s SASE, networking, and security infrastructure who want AI security with unmatched network-level visibility, and for organizations that need MCP server governance, agentic AI security, and alignment with NIST/OWASP/MITRE frameworks within a single management plane they already operate.
Key Features
- Shadow AI discovery — inventories all sanctioned and unsanctioned AI applications across public and private clouds via network-level visibility
- AI model validation — automatically tests AI models and components for vulnerabilities using algorithmic red teaming before deployment
- Runtime guardrails — real-time protection against prompt injection, data leakage, denial of service, and safety violations during AI app runtime
- MCP Catalog — discovers, inventories, and manages risk across MCP servers and registries spanning public and private platforms (Feb 2026)
- Multi-turn red teaming — automated adversarial testing of agentic AI workflows and multi-step LLM interactions for safety and security
- AI BOM (bill-of-materials) — comprehensive inventory of AI models, datasets, MCP servers, and third-party AI dependencies
- Network-level AI security — leverages Cisco’s SASE infrastructure for AI traffic detection, inspection, and policy enforcement at the network layer
- Cisco Talos threat intelligence — integrates Cisco’s world-class threat research and Splunk data for AI-specific attack detection
- Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA — validated reference architecture with NVIDIA for securely powering AI workloads
- NIST/OWASP/MITRE framework mapping — built-in alignment to leading AI security frameworks for governance and compliance
Pros
- Network-level AI visibility is unique — only AI security platform leveraging Cisco’s network infrastructure to see ALL AI traffic, including shadow AI
- Cisco Talos + Splunk threat intelligence — deepest threat data feed in the market for AI-specific attack detection
- Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA — validated enterprise reference architecture backed by two of the world’s largest technology companies
- MCP governance is industry-first (Feb 2026) — the first enterprise security platform governing Model Context Protocol servers and agentic tool use
- Single management plane in Cisco Security Cloud — no additional point solution, integrates with existing Cisco security investments
- Built on Robust Intelligence technology — proven algorithmic red teaming engine from a specialized AI security acquisition
- NIST/OWASP/MITRE framework alignment built-in — accelerates compliance and governance reporting from day one
Cons
- Complex setup noted by G2 reviewers — steep learning curve for organizations without Cisco networking expertise
- Best value for existing Cisco customers — organizations without Cisco SASE or networking infrastructure lose the key network-level differentiator
- Launched January 2025 — shorter track record than established security vendors for production AI security deployments
- No published pricing — enterprise custom per AI application + usage + deployment model requires sales engagement
- Documentation complexity flagged by early reviewers — some powerful features difficult to configure correctly without specialist knowledge
Pricing & Plans
Cisco AI Defense uses custom enterprise pricing based on three variables: number of AI applications protected, usage volume, and deployment model. No public list pricing is available.
Reference pricing from third-party benchmarks estimates enterprise deployments at approximately $0 to $200,000/year. The lower end reflects smaller AI application footprints while larger deployments with extensive MCP governance, multi-cloud coverage, and agentic AI protection scale toward the upper range.
Cisco AI Defense is available through Cisco\u2019s standard enterprise sales and partner channel. Contact Cisco through cisco.com/go/security or your Cisco account team for a custom quote and proof-of-value deployment.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Cisco AI Defense was launched in January 2025, built primarily on the technology acquired from Robust Intelligence — an AI security company Cisco acquired in August 2024. Robust Intelligence had developed algorithmic AI red teaming and model validation technology. Post-acquisition, Cisco combined this with its own network-level visibility from Cisco SASE, Talos threat intelligence, and Splunk data to create a comprehensive enterprise AI security platform.
Cisco AI Defense’s unique differentiator is network-level AI security visibility. Because Cisco provides the underlying network infrastructure (SASE, firewalls, switches) for many enterprise environments, AI Defense can see and govern AI traffic at the network layer — detecting shadow AI applications that bypass application-layer security tools. No pure-play AI security vendor (Lakera, HiddenLayer, Protect AI) has this network-level vantage point.
The MCP Catalog, launched in February 2026, is Cisco AI Defense’s feature for discovering, inventorying, and governing Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers across public and private platforms. As organizations deploy agentic AI systems that use MCP to connect AI agents to tools and data sources, the MCP Catalog provides visibility into which MCP servers are in use, assesses their security risk, and enforces policies on agent-to-tool connectivity.
The Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA is a joint validated reference architecture between Cisco and NVIDIA for securely building and running AI workloads in enterprise environments. It combines Cisco’s network security and AI Defense capabilities with NVIDIA’s AI computing infrastructure (DGX, NIM, NeMo Guardrails) to provide a pre-validated, security-first foundation for organizations deploying large-scale AI applications and inference infrastructure.
Cisco AI Defense uses custom enterprise pricing based on the number of AI applications protected, usage volume, and deployment model. Reference pricing estimates range from approximately $0 to $200,000/year for enterprise deployments. All pricing requires direct engagement with Cisco’s sales team. Contact Cisco through cisco.com/go/security for a custom quote and demonstration.
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