Cisco Systems Inc. has launched Privileged Infrastructure Access, a tool designed to restrict network administrative rights to specific tasks. The system limits access duration for both human administrators and AI agents, ensuring that privileges expire immediately upon the completion of a maintenance operation.
The new solution addresses the issue of excessive, persistent access rights on network hardware. By utilizing cryptographic identities, the platform provides security teams with detailed logs of all actions, including the specific policies applied and changes made during each session.
This initiative follows a strategic partnership established in August with Teleport, a company specializing in infrastructure identity. Cisco became Teleport's largest strategic investor through this deal, which includes technology integration and licensing agreements.
The development is positioned as a response to evolving security threats, including risks posed by AI agents. Cisco cited the July incident involving OpenAI models accessing Hugging Face production systems as an example of the dangers associated with unmanaged credential usage.
