AI Segmentation Is Here: Control AI Agents, Simplify Security Operations, and Stop AI-Driven Lateral Movement

Modern enterprises are facing a wholly new threat landscape where AI agents operate with unchecked network access, AI-driven lateral movement (AILM) spreads faster than any human can respond, and shadow AI proliferates in the gaps between policy and employee behavior. Worst of all, business uptime is increasingly at risk from rapidly spreading disruptions.  

But as AI hype prompts vendors to rebrand legacy detection tools as AI-native platforms, marketing promises are growing more misaligned with real-world outcomes in the AI era, while security teams struggle to get a handle on emerging risks.  

Zero Networks is cutting through the noise with AI Segmentation – a new set of capabilities that give enterprises real-time visibility and deterministic control over AI, not just a dashboard to watch it. The capabilities span three core areas:

• AI Visibility + Control governs every AI entity in your environment across three capabilities: SaaS AI Control enforces which cloud AI services users and devices can reach at the network layer. AI Agent Control applies identity-based least-privilege controls to every agent running in your environment. LLM Protection segments your model infrastructure so only authorized systems can reach it – because your LLM code can’t be tampered with if it can’t be reached. 
• AI Lateral Movement Control (AILM) eliminates lateral movement at the source by enforcing identity- and network-based least privilege controls. No unnecessary connectivity across the environment, only authorized and authenticated identities can access critical resources.  
• AI-Powered Compliance & Risk Engine enables teams to quickly investigate and continuously prove compliance. Teams can query live network activity and instantly analyze behavior across billions of connections, evaluate activity against major cyber frameworks, and identify critical gaps in real-time.  

Most vendors out there are selling AI hype. We’re not. Zero Networks puts enterprises in control of AI – full stop. This isn’t just visibility. It’s real control. Real-time, deterministic control over AI agents, combined with AI-driven visibility and an integrated Compliance and Risk Engine that continuously scores risk, maps activity to frameworks like NSI2 and CIS, and flags what actually matters. While others are still watching dashboards, Zero is enforcing outcomes – stopping lateral movement and preventing threats from becoming business problems.

- Benny Lakunishok, CEO and Co-Founder, Zero Networks

The Problem No One Is Actually Solving: AI Adoption Has Outpaced Control 

Almost every organization today is grappling with a massive shadow AI gap: nearly 90% of organizations use AI in at least one business function, yet only 22% of U.S. workers rely exclusively on AI tools provided by their employers. But this isn’t news to security leaders – most senior cybersecurity pros are aware of unsanctioned AI use in their organizations, according to Gartner’s Cybersecurity Innovations in AI Risk Management and Use Survey. Nearly 80% of security leaders suspect or have evidence of public gen AI tool use that’s misaligned with established policies; roughly 70% suspect or have evidence of employees using embedded AI features without going through the necessary cybersecurity risk management processes. 

At the same time, businesses are pushing AI adoption to boost efficiency – oftentimes, expanding access paths faster than governance can mature. Autonomous AI agents operate with unconstrained connectivity across environments, and most organizations have no clear picture of what those agents are doing, where they are communicating, or what they can reach. 

The result? Nearly two-thirds of organizations don’t have the necessary policies to manage AI or detect shadow AI.  

So, sanctioned or not, AI leaves defenders with a structural security gap that’s far bigger than a detection problem. Seeing anomalous AI activity after the fact does not contain it. What enterprises need is enforcement: identity-based, network-layer control over what AI agents can access, where they can move, and what they can do by default. 

Introducing AI Segmentation: Control, Containment, and Compliance 

Zero Networks’ AI Segmentation capabilities address the three most pressing AI security challenges enterprises face today: overprivileged AI agents, AI-driven lateral movement outpacing human response, and compliance and risk operations that can’t keep up with the environment.  

AI Lateral Movement Control: Stopping AI-Driven Attacks at the Source 

The window for containment is narrower than ever; attackers now begin moving laterally in as little as 27 seconds. Zero’s AI lateral movement control stops the spread of both AI-driven attacks and autonomous agent activity by eliminating lateral movement at its source. Zero Networks enforces identity- and network-based least privilege, removing unnecessary connectivity across the environment and ensuring that unauthorized users, systems, or AI agents cannot access critical resources – regardless of how the attack was initiated.  

AI Agent Control: Visibility and Enforcement for Every Agent in Your Environment 

Effective AI agent security requires end-to-end visibility and granular control. Zero Networks gives organizations a complete picture of which AI agents are active across the environment, what systems and data they are accessing, and how they are communicating – including connections to external and unsanctioned shadow AI tools – while enforcing strict least-privilege boundaries on every interaction. 

AI-Powered Compliance and Risk Engine: Continuous Proof, Not Periodic Reporting 

Alert volumes have grown beyond what human staff can meaningfully process, while compliance reporting remains a manual, point-in-time exercise that does not reflect continuous risk exposure in most organizations. Zero Networks embeds AI directly into security operations to simplify investigation and continuously prove compliance. With this capability, teams can query live network activity in natural language and analyze behavior across billions of connections while the platform evaluates activity against frameworks such as the NIS2 Directive and CIS Benchmarks, assigning dynamic risk scores and identifying the most critical gaps in real time.  

SaaS AI Control: Governing Cloud AI Service Access 

Not every AI tool your employees can reach is one you've approved. Zero governs which cloud AI services – like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot – users and devices can access at the network layer. If you're paying for Copilot, nothing on your network should be reaching ChatGPT. Zero enforces that automatically. 

LLM Protection: Preventing Code Tampering by Design 

LLMs, like any code, can be tampered with. Bad data, invisible backdoors installed, behavior quietly poisoned. Zero segments your model infrastructure at the network layer so only authorized systems can reach it. You can't tamper with what you can't reach – and a compromised model can't act on what it can't access. 

Strengthening Cyber Resilience in the AI Era  

Boards and investors are turning up the pressure to adopt AI across the business, leading even highly resilient organizations to rate AI vulnerabilities as their greatest cyber risk. Zero Networks’ AI Segmentation capabilities make it easy to manage this push-pull – controlling AI without blocking innovation.  

Zero Networks customers have confidently embraced and safely scaled AI thanks to Zero’s comprehensive microsegmentation. Now, they can apply the same level of control they have on every asset and identity to every agent operating in the environment – regardless of where it came from or what it’s trying to access.  

By delivering complete AI visibility, deterministic control, and built-in containment, AI Segmentation enables security leaders to demonstrate true cyber resilience and prove that even emerging threats won’t escalate into business crises. For a firsthand look at how these capabilities work inside the Zero Networks platform, request a demo.