The landscape of cybersecurity is shifting rapidly as frontier AI models empower attackers to execute complex campaigns with unprecedented speed. In response, Armadin, an AI-native cybersecurity firm, has announced a strategic partnership with Palo Alto Networks. This collaboration integrates Armadin’s autonomous offensive capabilities with the Unit 42 Frontier AI Defense service, offering organizations a way to validate their external perimeters against the same caliber of AI used by modern adversaries.
Armadin and Palo Alto Networks have partnered to enhance Unit 42 Frontier AI Defense with autonomous attack assessments.
The system utilizes a swarm of AI agents to perform passive discovery and active reconnaissance in parallel across internet-facing assets.
The platform simulates post-exploitation behavior to provide decision-grade evidence of real-world exploitable risk.
Machine-speed assessments compress weeks of traditional human-led testing into a rapid, real-time validation process.
Findings from Armadin’s offensive layer are used by Unit 42 to deliver precise remediation guidance and accelerate enterprise protection.
The External AI Hyperattack Assessment is currently available through Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42.
The partnership introduces an autonomous, AI-driven offensive assessment designed to pressure-test an organization's external attack surface. Armadin’s technology begins with passive discovery across cloud resources and exposed secrets before deploying AI agents to execute exploitation maneuvers. Unlike traditional vulnerability scanners that identify potential weaknesses, this agentic layer proves whether an exposure can actually be turned into a successful attack. Every successful attack chain is logged to provide security leaders with validated evidence of risk.
By mimicking the tactics of the most capable AI-equipped threat actors, the assessment allows organizations to move beyond theoretical risk. The speed of the machine-led assessment ensures that security teams can identify vulnerabilities at the same pace that attackers exploit them. Following the assessment, Unit 42 leverages these insights to harden the enterprise perimeter and ensure that identified risks are neutralized before they can be leveraged by malicious actors.
"Frontier AI is changing what is possible for attackers. Our partnership with Armadin validates security against actual attacks and ensures our customers are defended by the same caliber of AI that will be used against them. This partnership enables us to rapidly identify and remediate AI-driven vulnerabilities, accelerating protection across the enterprise to meet threats in real-time." Nikesh Arora, Chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks
"This partnership propels customers into the age of AI-driven attacks. Armadin shows exactly what an AI-powered adversary would exploit across an organization's internet-facing attack surface, and Palo Alto Networks leading platform addresses and remediates any identified risks. This partnership ensures a learning system that offers an answer different from what the industry has seen before." Kevin Mandia, Chief Executive Officer, Armadin
The integration of these capabilities represents a proactive shift in defensive strategy. By building what the company describes as the "ultimate attacker," Armadin provides Palo Alto Networks' customers with a relentless system for uncovering kill chains that require immediate action, ensuring that organizations remain resilient in the age of AI-powered hyperattacks.
About Armadin
Armadin is an AI-native cybersecurity company building the ultimate attacker. With AI-powered hyperattacks looming on the horizon, Armadin's customers leverage our platform to proactively identify and eliminate exploitable risk. Armadin's swarm of AI agents operates relentlessly across the entire attack surface, uncovering real kill chains that require immediate action. Armadin is led by CEO Kevin Mandia and Founders Travis Lanham, Evan Pena, and David Slater. Together, they lead an elite collective of red team specialists and AI researchers and engineers dedicated to protecting democracy by ensuring Western superiority in cyberspace.
