F5 & Forcepoint join forces on enterprise AI security

F5 and Forcepoint have partnered to secure enterprise AI systems by linking data security with runtime protections for AI deployments.

The arrangement is designed to protect AI systems across their lifecycle, from discovering and classifying sensitive data to monitoring applications, APIs, models and agents in use. It comes as businesses move AI projects from pilots to production and face closer scrutiny over how data is handled inside those systems.

Many organisations now use AI in assistants, copilots and automated workflows, but security controls often remain fragmented. Data governance tools, application security products and runtime monitoring may sit in separate teams or systems, leaving gaps between internal policy and the behaviour of live AI services.

Under the partnership, Forcepoint will provide data discovery and classification through its AI-native Data Security Posture Management tools. F5 will supply red teaming and guardrails through its Application Delivery and Security Platform to apply controls once AI systems are running.

The joint approach aims to help security teams identify data risks in real time, rank AI use cases by risk, enforce controls over AI interactions and monitor for misuse or unusual behaviour. Continuous telemetry and policy validation are intended to help organisations check that AI systems remain aligned with governance requirements.

Closing gaps

The partnership reflects a broader challenge for enterprises adopting generative AI and automated decision tools. Companies must decide which internal data can be exposed to models, which applications present the highest risk, and how to maintain control after deployment without replacing existing security architecture.

Forcepoint's role centres on finding and classifying sensitive and business-critical data across cloud, software-as-a-service, endpoint and enterprise environments. That visibility can then help determine whether data is suitable for AI use and where extra controls are needed.

F5's contribution focuses on runtime enforcement across APIs, gateways, applications and AI agents. Its tools are intended to test models for weaknesses, watch for prompt abuse, and help prevent data exfiltration and other emerging threats affecting AI workloads.

The companies are positioning the partnership as a way to connect those two layers rather than asking customers to wait for a single integrated platform. That may appeal to enterprises with existing security tools that want to add AI-specific controls without a major overhaul.

"Enterprises are moving AI initiatives from experimentation to production faster than most security programs can adapt," said John Maddison, Chief Marketing Officer, F5. "By combining Forcepoint's deep data intelligence and contextual awareness with F5's advanced application security and runtime protections, organisations eliminate operational security gaps with unmatched confidence and control in their AI operations. As AI's threat surface continues to expand, the combined power of DSPM technologies with F5's AI Red Team and AI Guardrails equips enterprises with proactive tools to securely scale and govern AI at every stage of its lifecycle."

The tie-up also highlights how suppliers are addressing AI security concerns by combining products from adjacent parts of the market. Data security providers have focused on where sensitive information sits and how it is classified, while application security firms have concentrated on protecting interfaces and systems as they run. AI deployment has increased pressure to connect those perspectives.

Market pressure

For businesses, the issue is not only whether models are accurate, but whether they expose confidential information, respond to malicious prompts or operate outside approved policy boundaries. As AI tools spread across internal operations and customer-facing services, those risks become harder to track through manual oversight alone.

Forcepoint argues that AI has changed data security requirements by exposing the limits of static policy models. In its view, controls must adapt continuously as data moves through systems and as AI applications change in production.

"AI has fundamentally redefined data security, exposing static policies for what they are: inadequate," said Naveen Palavalli, Chief Product and Marketing Officer, Forcepoint. "F5 and Forcepoint are establishing a new standard of continuous, adaptive protection that follows data from the moment of creation through every stage of its lifecycle, including the runtime layer where AI systems operate, evolve, and expand risk vectors. The threats AI brings require a new category for proactive data and AI risk mitigation, and our partnership is delivering on this today."