Cisco acquires Astrix Security to tackle growing AI agent security challenges

Cisco acquires cybersecurity firm Astrix to strengthen AI agent security

Cisco Systems Inc. announced its acquisition of the Israeli cybersecurity firm Astrix Security Ltd. to enhance the security of artificial intelligence agents. The terms of the deal remain undisclosed, but sources speculated it could be valued around $300 million. Peter Bailey, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco's Security Business Group, shared details in a blog post, highlighting Astrix's focus on securing "non-human identities" such as API keys, service accounts, and OAuth tokens. "Since its founding five years ago, Astrix Security has focused on securing the identities and credentials that power modern systems... the very credentials that AI agents are now using (and abusing)," Bailey stated. Astrix has developed a platform that enables organizations to identify, manage, and secure AI agents operating in production environments. The platform allows companies to maintain a real-time inventory of AI agents and non-human identities, providing contextual awareness of their activities. This capability is essential for security teams to understand and mitigate risks linked to AI agents. Cisco plans to integrate Astrix's technology into its Cisco Identity Intelligence platform to enhance visibility and context of identities within its security ecosystem. Bailey noted that customers will be able to authenticate and authorize agentic identities while responding to threats using tools like Cisco Secure Access and Duo. Astrix's tools also support agent lifecycle management and threat detection, vital for reducing attack surfaces and preventing compliance violations. Bailey cited Cisco's AI Readiness Index, which found that only 24% of businesses can effectively control AI agents. Additionally, just 31% of enterprises consider themselves fully capable of securing their AI deployments. Astrix co-founders Alon Jackson and Idan Gour emphasized that joining Cisco would provide the scaling and platform needed to advance agentic and non-human identity security globally. They noted that AI agents significantly outnumber human users, which poses a security blind spot for many organizations. This acquisition follows Cisco's recent purchase of observability startup Galileo Technologies Inc., aimed at enhancing the reliability and trustworthiness of AI models. At the RSAC 2026 Conference in March, Cisco introduced tools like Duo IAM for managing access and DefenseClaw for scanning AI vulnerabilities, furthering its commitment to achieving stronger security for AI agents.

Cisco To Acquire Astrix To Boost Identity Security For AI Agents

Astrix is a top specialist in securing identities and credentials used by modern systems such as API keys, OAuth tokens and service accounts, Cisco's Peter Bailey wrote in a post announcing the deal. Cisco Systems announced Monday it has reached an agreement to acquire identity protection startup Astrix Security, in a bid to bolster the tech giant's offerings for securing AI agents. Terms of the deal were not disclosed by Cisco. A report from Calcalist pegged the value of the deal at approximately $400 million. CRN has reached out to Cisco for comment. [Related: 10 Hot AI Security Startups To Know In 2025] In April, The Information had reported that Cisco was in "advanced talks" to acquire Astrix for between $250 million and $350 million. Founded in 2021, Astrix Security has been named to multiple CRN startup to watch lists in recent years and has raised $85 million in total funding from investors including Menlo Ventures and Anthropic. In a post announcing the deal Monday, Peter Bailey, general manager of Cisco's security business, wrote that Astrix is a top specialist in securing identities and credentials used by modern systems such as API keys, OAuth tokens and service accounts. These are "the very credentials that AI agents are now using (and abusing) to gain access and execute work at scale," Bailey wrote. The planned acquisition of Astrix will provide Cisco with "deep capability to discover and secure every AI agent and non-human identity (NHI), including excessive privileges and real-time threats, enabling organizations to adopt AI securely and at scale," Bailey wrote in the post. Key capabilities include AI agent discovery and governance, agentic access management and threat detection and response for agents, according to the post. The Astrix technology will be folded into the Cisco Identity Intelligence platform, and builds on the launch of Cisco's Zero Trust Access for AI agents offering in late March at RSAC. Astrix capabilities will also be extended to the Cisco Secure Access and Duo Identity and Access Management offerings, according to Bailey. Crucially, Cisco is highly differentiated in securing agents thanks to its "visibility across identity, network, application and infrastructure layers," he wrote. "We don't just know what an agent is, we understand how it behaves."