F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV), a global leader in application delivery and security, has introduced new AI-driven features for its F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP), aiming to enhance sensitive data protection and manage AI-powered applications within hybrid multicloud environments.
These updates include expanded capabilities in F5 AI Gateway, designed to prevent data leaks and provide advanced AI data protection. Additionally, new functionality for F5 BIG-IP SSL Orchestrator is being introduced to classify and defend encrypted data in transit and block unauthorized AI usage.
As businesses integrate AI and hybrid cloud technologies, the movement of sensitive data across encrypted traffic and unapproved AI tools creates security vulnerabilities, challenging traditional security methods. F5’s enhanced tools address these issues by enabling organizations to detect, classify, and halt real-time data leaks in encrypted and AI-driven traffic, prevent risks from unauthorized AI use (referred to as Shadow AI), and apply consistent policies across applications, APIs, and AI services to maintain security and compliance.
Kunal Anand, Chief Innovation Officer at F5, commented, “The core tension in every boardroom today is the race to adopt AI versus the mandate to protect the firm’s data. Forcing a choice between the two is a losing strategy. We’re eliminating that choice. By providing deep visibility into encrypted AI conversations, we’re giving leaders the controls to stop data leakage and govern AI use, effectively turning the CISO from a gatekeeper into the primary enabler of secure innovation.”
Planned for release later this quarter, F5 AI Gateway will incorporate data leakage detection and prevention, powered by technology recently acquired from LeakSignal. This functionality will analyze AI prompts and responses to identify sensitive information, such as personal data, and apply customer-defined policies to redact, block, or log it. This integration aims to simplify compliance and mitigate risk across hybrid and multicloud deployments by inspecting in-transit data and securing sensitive information before it exits the network. Key features include real-time detection of sensitive data during AI interactions, policy enforcement for data protection, and detailed reports and audit logs integrated with SIEM tools.
To address Shadow AI risks, F5 plans to enhance BIG-IP SSL Orchestrator to offer AI data protection, providing real-time visibility into encrypted traffic flows. This enhancement, with planned availability in late 2025, will enable organizations to detect, classify, and block unauthorized AI use and sensitive data sharing in transit, while permitting authorized traffic and enforcing corporate acceptable use policies for AI technologies. The solution is designed to offer visibility into AI data flows by decrypting encrypted traffic at scale without performance degradation, and to provide centralized dashboards and reporting for audits and investigations.
F5, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) is a US-based company that delivers and secures applications. Its F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP) is designed to deliver and secure applications and APIs across on-premises, cloud, edge, and hybrid multicloud environments.
