Cisco has agreed to acquire Robust Intelligence, a security startup that provides a firewall to protect AI-based applications.
The move aims to satisfy Cisco’s enterprise customers that are eager to introduce new applications powered by generative AI (GenAI) but have stalled their deployments due to new security concerns.
Such concerns arise as AI applications are fundamentally different from conventional apps, and many organizations now understand that they cannot only rely on existing tools to prevent security breaches and privacy violations.
Enter Robust Intelligence. Its AI firewall evaluates all inputs and outputs into AI models to protect apps against real-time security threats.
Cisco has pumped funds into the company for two years via its investment arm and is now ready to snap it up for an undisclosed fee so customers can more securely build and deploy AI apps.
Tom Gillis, SVP & GM of Security at Cisco, revealed the news in a post on the company’s blog.
“Robust Intelligence’s purpose-built platform offers robust protection for AI models throughout their lifecycle, from development to production,” he said.
The combination of Cisco and Robust Intelligence means that we can deliver advanced AI security processing seamlessly into the existing data flows by inserting it into Cisco security and networking products.
Cisco may also insert the product across its Webex offering, which now sits alongside its security and networking portfolios in one central unit.
During a recent earnings call, the vendor announced the new business unit, highlighting the need to cross-integrate the portfolios to deliver on its platform strategy.
With the contact center a prime arena for GenAI innovation – and CPaaS a key vehicle to inject GenAI across customer and employee experiences – Robust Intelligence could also play a significant role within the Webex suite.
For example, consider a customer-facing Webex bot. Malicious users may attempt a prompt injection attack to coerce the AI application to behave badly. Robust Intelligence can further protect the bot against such threats.
