Broadcom Enhances VMware vDefend and Avi Load Balancer to Counter AI-Fueled Cyberattacks

Broadcom Fortifies Private Cloud Security Against AI-Assisted Attacks

Broadcom Inc. announced significant updates to VMware vDefend and Avi Load Balancer, delivering multi-layer cyber defense capabilities designed to protect private cloud infrastructure from AI-fueled cyberattacks1

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. The enhancements expand private cloud security capabilities, optimize infrastructure costs, and leverage AI-powered automation to simplify operations for overextended IT teams working with VMware Cloud Foundation2

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"As AI-fueled cyberattacks and vulnerability exploits redefine the threat landscape, a fragmented security approach is no longer an option," said Umesh Mahajan, vice president and general manager of Broadcom's application networking and security division1

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. The updates address the growing challenge of frontier AI models that enable attackers to discover vulnerabilities and launch sophisticated attacks at unprecedented scale and speed.

Advanced Threat Prevention Deployment Accelerated with vDefend 1-2-3 Workflow

The new vDefend 1-2-3 workflow introduces a streamlined, three-step deployment framework that accelerates time-to-value for Advanced Threat Prevention, enabling IT teams to rapidly deploy defenses in just a few weeks instead of many months2

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. The guided process first assesses an organization's threat posture, then applies recommended policies to shared infrastructure such as Active Directory and the Domain Name System before extending them across development, production and demilitarized zones1

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Working in conjunction with distributed firewall capabilities, the workflow leverages deep workload-level visibility to highlight security posture, recommend rules, and provide guided workflows to strengthen lateral security3

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. This approach enables organizations to deploy intrusion detection and prevention, network traffic analysis, and network detection and response capabilities more efficiently.

On-Premises Malware Prevention and Air-Gapped Environment Support

Broadcom is bringing malware sandboxing on-premises, allowing enterprises to analyze static and dynamic artifacts entirely within the local network without sending files to public cloud services1

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. All VMware vDefend capabilities are now fully supported on-premises, enabling enterprises to keep sensitive data in place and maintain control over their security protocols2

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Air-gapped environment support permits organizations to download threat-intelligence updates separately and manually transfer them into disconnected environments1

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. This deployment model enables secure, offline threat intelligence updates so highly sensitive environments can stay current on the latest threat vectors without ever connecting to the cloud3

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. These capabilities target organizations subject to strict privacy, sovereignty and regulatory requirements.

API Protection for AI Workloads Addresses Growing Attack Surface

Avi Load Balancer gains native API protection for virtual machines, vSphere Kubernetes Services, and AI workloads1

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. The combination of Web Application Firewall and API Protection protects vulnerable APIs and gives enterprises comprehensive visibility to close security gaps while reducing the high cost and complexity of multiple disconnected tools2

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APIs are increasingly exploited by attackers to infiltrate private cloud environments, making this enhanced protection critical for organizations running AI workloads3

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. The integrated approach identifies exposed interfaces and reduces reliance on separate security products, streamlining cyber defense operations.

Substantial Throughput Gains Deliver Performance at Scale

Broadcom reported significant performance improvements based on internal testing conducted in July. Distributed firewall throughput can reach 22 gigabits per second on servers with 25-gigabit network interface cards (up to 129% increase) and 75 gigabits per second on 100-gigabit systems (up to 241% increase)1

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. At the scale of a VMware Cloud Foundation instance, the company claims throughput of up to 75 terabits per second2

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The distributed intrusion detection systems can now deliver as much as 17 gigabits per second per server (up to 89% increase) and 17 terabits per second per VCF 9.1 instance3

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. Avi Load Balancer throughput has increased to as much as 12.25 terabits per second per controller instance (up to 88% increase)1

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. These throughput gains enable distributed virtual patching to block workload-level exploits in the hypervisor itself, buying time to roll out software patches.

Infrastructure Costs Reduced Through Optimized Hardware Requirements

A new two-node Security Services Platform configuration can reduce physical hardware requirements by up to 33% while delivering comprehensive lateral segmentation1

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. This leaner deployment model helps enterprises get more value from their existing infrastructure investment and counter rising server hardware expenses2

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The optimizations to VMware vDefend and Avi Load Balancer enable organizations to achieve cyber-resilience while lowering infrastructure costs3

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. Combined with the performance improvements, these updates deliver scale-out workload security and operational efficiency for modern private clouds built on VMware Cloud Foundation.

AI Assistants Streamline Operations and Automate Migration

AI assistants embedded in VMware vDefend and Avi Load Balancer provide configuration information, troubleshooting help and remediation guidance1

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. The vDefend assistant can identify duplicate firewall policies and help automate rule cleanup, removing operational complexity from load balancing operations2

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An updated vDefend and Avi Conversion Tool (vACT 3.0) automates the translation of rules from agent-based firewalls into native vDefend policies1

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. This enhancement simplifies and automates the migration process of legacy firewall solutions to distributed firewall, significantly reducing migration cost and speeding up security posture improvements3

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The capabilities are included in vDefend Security Services Platform 5.2, vDefend 9.1.1, Avi Load Balancer 32.1.4 and vACT 3.0, all compatible with VMware Cloud Foundation 9.11

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. Watch for how these AI-era threats continue to evolve and whether enterprises adopt multi-layer cyber defense strategies at the pace required to counter AI-assisted attacks.