Partnership to help organizations respond to software vulnerabilities
Palo Alto Networks, IBM and Red Hat have announced a collaboration to help organizations identify vulnerabilities early and deploy protections fast across open-source software, commercial applications, operational technology (OT) and healthcare technologies, according to joint press communication.
By integrating Palo Alto Networks Virtual Patching capability with Project Lightwell from IBM and Red Hat, the collaboration combines rapid network-level protection with software remediation to help organizations reduce exposure to emerging threats.
AI has supercharged vulnerability discovery, enabling flaws to be identified at unprecedented speed and scale. AI-driven threats can uncover security gaps across codebases far faster than defenders can patch them, exposing organizations to systemic supply-chain risks.
Neutralising threats
“By collaborating with IBM and Red Hat, we are shifting the advantage back to defenders. This powerful combination allows us to neutralize threats in the network while providing uninterrupted business continuity for our global clients,” affirmed Nikesh Arora, CEO and Chairman, Palo Alto Networks.
“This joint solution gives our clients exactly what they need to thrive in the AI era: immediate, automated resilience against emerging threats, combined with the rigorous validation required to safely update their core systems,” asserted Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO, IBM.
A seamless ‘Shield-and-Fix’ workflow
The collaboration connects IBM and Red Hat’s US$ 5bn commitment to open-source security via Project Lightwell with Palo Alto Networks’ security platform.
This creates a dual-action defense: Palo Alto Networks rapidly deploys a virtual patch at the network layer to block exploit attempts, while IBM and Red Hat’s Project Lightwell offers remediation software for open-source software that customers can test and deploy in their environments.
The collaboration combines vulnerability intelligence, software remediation and network-based protections to help organizations respond quickly to newly discovered vulnerabilities. Key capabilities include:
Broader Vulnerability Coverage: Protection across open-source software, commercial applications, operational technology (OT) environments and connected devices.
Preemptive Coverage: Organizations can receive virtual patch protections before official software patches become available, helping reduce exposure while remediation is underway.
Rapid Protection: When a new vulnerability is discovered, network-level protections can be deployed the same day, with a long-term goal of reducing the time from validated discovery to protection.
