With AI platforms shaking up the industry and opening new doors for discoveries, comes some headaches on their own, some of these include security—as if we aren’t already being challenged to stay on our toes. The addition of AI will make things far more sophisticated. So, keeping up with the times, Cisco introduces Hypershield. 

Simply put, Cisco Hypershield is a new product for securing data centers and clouds, tailored for the AI era. Its mission? To protect applications, devices, and data across public and private spaces, wherever they may be.  

In our increasingly connected world, the window between identifying a vulnerability and exploitation is shrinking. Defending against these sophisticated threats at the scale of data centers is a monumental task. But with Hypershield, Cisco aims to tilt the balance in favor of defenders, offering a solution that adapts and evolves alongside the ever-changing threat landscape. 

Here are main features of Hypershield: 

1. AI-Native Security: Hypershield is built from the ground up with AI in mind. This means it can autonomously manage security tasks, from network segmentation to exploit protection, without constant human intervention. 
2. Cloud-Native Architecture: Leveraging open-source technology like eBPF (extended Berkeley Packet Filter), Hypershield seamlessly integrates with cloud-native workloads, extending its protective reach across diverse environments. 
3. Hyper-Distributed Protection: Unlike traditional security measures that rely on centralized defenses, Hypershield spreads security enforcement across every nook and cranny of the network. From cloud servers to factory floors, it's everywhere you need it. 

Here's a breakdown:

• Distributed Exploit Protection: With attackers constantly on the prowl for vulnerabilities, Hypershield steps in with rapid response capabilities. It can detect and neutralize threats in minutes, preventing widespread damage. 
• Autonomous Segmentation: Once a threat breaches the network, stopping its lateral movement is crucial. Hypershield automatically adjusts network segmentation to contain the threat, minimizing potential damage. 
• Self-Qualifying Upgrades: Upgrading software and policies can be a logistical nightmare. Hypershield streamlines this process with a dual data plane architecture, allowing updates to be tested and deployed seamlessly, without downtime. 

"AI is not just a force for good but also a tool used for nefarious purposes, allowing hackers to reverse engineer patches and create exploits in record time. Cisco looks to address an AI enabled problem with an AI solution as Cisco Hypershield aims to tip the scales back in favor of the defender by shielding new vulnerabilities against exploit in minutes - rather than the days, weeks or even months as we wait for patches to actually get deployed,” said Frank Dickson, Group Vice President, Security & Trust at IDC. “With the number of vulnerabilities ever increasing and the time for attackers to exploit them at scale ever decreasing, it's clear that patching alone can't keep up. Tools like Hypershield are necessary to combat an increasingly clever malicious cyber adversary." 

“Cisco Hypershield takes aim at the complex security challenges of modern, AI-scale data centers. Cisco's vision of a self-managing fabric that seamlessly integrates from the network to the endpoint will help redefine what's possible for security at scale,” said Zeus Kerravala, Founder and Principal Analyst of ZK Research. “For instance, this level of visibility and control across a hyper-distributed environment prevents lateral movement of attackers, enabled through a unique approach to segmentation that's autonomous and highly effective. While this may seem fantastical, the time is right given recent AI advances combined with the maturity of cloud-native technologies like eBPF." 

"At AHEAD we believe cybersecurity should be integrated into everything we do. Bolted-on security is more expensive and less effective,” said Steven Aiello, Field Chief Information Security Officer at AHEAD. “Cisco Hypershield ensures that cyber protections are included into the fabric of the enterprise. Distributed Exploit Protection will be a massive win for blue teams - legacy synthetic patching was primarily limited to edge devices, allowing lateral movement once an attacker breached the perimeter. It’s a great day for cyber-defenders!"