Zscaler IBM Red Hat Team Up to Shield Private Applications from AI Threats

Zscaler has teamed up with IBM and Red Hat to bolster defenses for private applications against emerging AI-driven cyber threats. The collaboration integrates Zscaler's Autonomous Application Shield with IBM and Red Hat's Lightwell to provide adaptive protection and validated remediation during the critical gap between vulnerability disclosure and patch deployment.

The partnership addresses the accelerating pace of cyber threats, where attackers now exploit vulnerabilities faster than enterprises can respond. According to Mandiant's M-Trends 2026 report, the mean time to exploit has fallen below zero, meaning vulnerabilities are often exploited before patches are available. This collaboration aims to bridge that gap by offering immediate, application-specific protection while remediation efforts are underway.

Zscaler's solution involves hiding applications with Zscaler Private Access, segmenting access, and shielding reachable applications. Lightwell from IBM and Red Hat provides validated software remediations, enabling customers to fix underlying flaws. The collaboration ensures that protections are applied inline and in real time, informed by global threat intelligence.

Joby Menon, Senior Vice President of Product Management at Zscaler, emphasized the need for immediate protection during the remediation window. Gunnar Hellekson, Vice President and General Manager of Lightwell at Red Hat, highlighted how AI is shrinking the time between vulnerability discovery and exploitation, making machine-speed responses essential.