Archive · 5 Sep 2026
Cisco Shifts Enterprise Security Strategy Toward Built-In Resilience
Cisco says companies have too many separate cybersecurity tools to manage.
This can make it harder to notice and stop attacks quickly.
The company wants security to be built into the systems businesses already use.
It calls this approach built-in resilience instead of bolt-in security.
The goal is to help businesses keep operating even when something goes wrong.
Cisco also wants security teams to see data from networks, applications and security systems in one place.
For AI systems, companies should first identify what models and data they use.
They should then test for weaknesses and keep checking the systems as they change.
Cisco says security teams are slowed by managing too many standalone tools and consoles.
The company is promoting platformisation, which combines security capabilities and reduces operational complexity.
Cisco wants organisations to embed security within infrastructure instead of adding it as a separate layer.
A unified data fabric would combine security, network, application and IT telemetry for shared visibility.
For enterprise AI, Cisco recommends inventorying systems, testing vulnerabilities and applying continuous security, privacy and safety controls.
- Who
- Sandeep Agarwal, CTO of Security at Cisco India & South Asia, described Cisco’s strategy.
- What
- Cisco is shifting from separate security products toward integrated, infrastructure-embedded security and resilience.
- Where
- The strategy applies to enterprise IT environments, including multicloud, hybrid-cloud and SaaS environments.
- Why
- Cisco says excessive tool complexity can slow threat detection and response, while integrated security can help organisations continue operating during disruptions.
- Strategy
- Moving from “bolt-in security” to “built-in resilience”.
- Reported finding
- Nearly 84% of organisations surveyed by Cisco said managing more than 10 point solutions slows threat detection and response.
- Platformisation
- Combining multiple security capabilities to reduce the number of tools and consoles teams manage.
- Unified data fabric
- A common view combining security, network, application and IT telemetry.
- AI security process
- Inventory AI models, applications and datasets; test for vulnerabilities; then apply security, privacy and safety guardrails.
- Ongoing monitoring
- Cisco says continuous observability is necessary because AI systems and their behaviour change over time.