Palo Alto Networks launches AI-driven continuous cyber defense service

Palo Alto Networks, through its threat research arm Unit 42, has launched Continuous Frontier AI Defense, a subscription-based security service designed to provide around-the-clock protection against cyberattacks. The service utilizes a combination of advanced AI models, including Anthropic’s Claude Mythos 5 and OpenAI’s GPT-5. 6-Cyber, alongside open-weight models, to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in corporate networks.

Following an initial scan of a client's digital estate, the system continuously monitors web applications, APIs, cloud infrastructure, code repositories, and network resources. The platform simulates attacker behavior to prove exploitability, maps potential attack paths, and provides prioritized remediation advice or virtual patches.

The development of this service responds to a significant increase in the speed of cyberattacks. Palo Alto Networks reports that attackers have reduced their attack cycles by nearly 97 percent, moving from weeks to mere hours. The company spent six months and $17 million developing the approach, which aims to provide machine-speed defense to counter the asymmetric advantage currently held by threat actors.