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.
