Cyber Week 2026 Wrap Up with Palo Alto Networks: Agents, Prisma AIRS and NGTS (Sponsored)

Why It Matters

Automated certificate management and AI‑focused security are becoming mandatory to avoid service disruptions and protect emerging AI workloads, making Palo Alto’s NGTS a critical tool for modern enterprise risk mitigation.

Key Takeaways

• AI security requires dedicated discovery, risk assessment, runtime protection.
• Palo Alto's NGTS automates certificate lifecycle amid shrinking validity windows.
• Shorter certificates (down to 47 days) demand automated renewal processes.
• NGTS provides network-wide visibility, including non‑Palo Alto assets.
• Integrated quantum‑ready cryptography checks help future‑proof enterprise security.

Summary

The podcast recaps Palo Alto Networks’ RSA 2026 announcements, spotlighting AI‑security guidance and the launch of Next‑Gen Trust Security (NGTS). Executives Ian Swanson and Rich Kana explain why enterprises must secure AI models, agents, and skills throughout the supply chain and at runtime, echoing CISO concerns about undiscovered threats. Key insights include the urgency of automating certificate lifecycle management as industry standards compress validity periods from 400 days to as low as 47 days by 2029. NGTS blends Palo Alto’s firewall and SASE sensors with a cloud‑based service (and on‑prem option) to discover, monitor, and remediate unmanaged, expiring, or non‑quantum‑ready certificates across any network asset. Swanson warned, “no enterprise should deploy AI in production without securing AI,” while Kana noted the “certificate lifetimes are shrinking” and highlighted past CA distrust events that forced painful migrations. The discussion also referenced real‑world outages caused by expired certificates and demonstrated how NGTS can act as an audit layer for post‑quantum cryptography readiness. For organizations, the rollout signals a shift from manual certificate tracking to continuous, automated hygiene, reducing outage risk and positioning firms for upcoming quantum‑safe mandates. Simultaneously, Palo Alto’s AI‑security framework offers a template for assessing and protecting emerging generative‑AI workloads.

Original Description

Palo Alto Networks released a slew of product news at the 2026 RSA conference around AI security, SASE, and a new certificate lifecycle management offering. On today’s Heavy Networking, sponsored by Palo Alto Networks, Ethan and Drew dig into these announcements to get details about how they work. They also talk about the risks of AI in the enterprise, as well as how AI can be used to support and improve your own security operations.

Our guests are Ian Swanson, VP, AI Security; and Rich Campagna, Senior Vice President of Product Management, both from Palo Alto Networks.

Links:

Palo Alto Networks - https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/

Palo Alto Networks Blog - https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/

Ian Swanson on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianswanson/

Rich Campagna on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richcampagna/

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