Check Point expands Illumio tie-up to tackle AI attacks

Check Point has expanded its partnership with Illumio, focusing on cyber attacks carried out with frontier AI models.

Under the agreement, customers can buy Illumio products directly through Check Point. The broader tie-up also includes deeper integration between Check Point's network security tools and Illumio's segmentation technology.

The move addresses what security vendors describe as a growing problem: AI tools are shortening the time needed to identify targets, exploit weaknesses and move through networks. In response, the partnership aims to combine network-edge defences with controls that limit how far an intruder can travel after gaining access.

The expanded relationship builds on an earlier integration with Illumio Insights, which linked Check Point threat intelligence with workload visibility to help identify lateral movement risk. The latest phase adds integration with Illumio Segmentation, allowing security teams to align firewall policy with workload models across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Broader scope

The integration is designed to reduce unnecessary connections between systems and make it harder for attackers to move undetected once inside a network. The combined approach gives security teams both prevention and containment measures, rather than relying on perimeter controls alone.

For customers, the commercial change may be as significant as the technical one. Direct procurement through Check Point gives buyers a way to consolidate suppliers at a time when many large organisations are trying to simplify security stacks built up through years of point-product purchases.

Paul Barbosa outlined the rationale for the expansion in a statement.

"Security teams are being asked to defend environments that are moving faster and are more complex - against attackers who are using AI to do in minutes what used to take weeks," said Paul Barbosa, Vice President of Cloud & SASE at Check Point. "Expanding our partnership both in terms of joint product development and go-to-market with Illumio gives our customers something attackers don't want them to have: a coordinated defence that works on both sides of the perimeter. Check Point prevents threats from getting in. Illumio ensures they can't run free if they do. Together, we are working to close the gap that every attacker is looking to exploit."

The partnership reflects a broader shift in cyber security strategy toward limiting the effects of breaches that cannot be prevented outright. Security teams have increasingly adopted segmentation and zero trust models to control east-west traffic inside networks, particularly in hybrid estates where applications and workloads span on-premise infrastructure and multiple cloud providers.

Illumio's role in the partnership centres on visibility into communications between workloads, identifying attack paths and applying microsegmentation controls around critical systems. Check Point's contribution remains focused on prevention at the perimeter, in the data centre and across networks.

Market demand

Industry analysts have also pointed to growing demand for tighter links between microsegmentation and broader network security platforms. Organisations that have invested in firewalls, SASE and zero trust technologies often want more consistent policy enforcement across those layers.

IDC Research Manager Pete Finalle said buyer preferences were moving in that direction.

"IDC forecasts microsegmentation to grow at 23.5% CAGR as organisations shift from evaluation to scaled deployment, with 96% of buyers experiencing a noticeable improvement in security posture, cyber resiliency, and ransomware preparedness. However, customers today are often overburdened with disparate tools and products, and IDC research shows that 98.3% of microsegmentation buyers prefer their solution to have tight integration with SASE, firewall, or other zero trust technologies," said Pete Finalle, Research Manager at IDC. "This partnership directly addresses these concerns, as microsegmentation and the broader network security stack are integrated as a coherent platform that simplifies limiting lateral movement and enforcing zero trust at scale."

Andrew Rubin, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Illumio, framed the issue as the shrinking gap between an initial intrusion and its consequences.

"AI is compressing the time between intrusion and impact, fundamentally changing the math for defenders," said Andrew Rubin, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Illumio. "Cyber security now has two jobs: prevent what you can, and for everything else, find it fast and stop it from spreading. That's exactly why Illumio and Check Point are working together-to help organizations change that math and contain attacks before they become disasters."

The expanded integration is available now for joint customers of Check Point and Illumio.