See Also: AI Agents Introduce a New Insider Threat Model

Patel said early access to advanced models from Anthropic and OpenAI gives Cisco a timing advantage to harden systems before threats scale. Defenders may gain ground for the first time if they move faster than adversaries, but it requires real-time detection, automated enforcement and continuous feedback loops across the ecosystem.

“Vulnerabilities are getting found at machine speed, and the time to exploit once these models get out in the wild is not going to be a matter of days, weeks or months, it’s going to be a matter of hours and minutes,” Patel said.

AI tools are also playing a major role in software development, where automated coding changes traditional workflows, requiring continuous validation and customer insight. Patel said organizations must build AI fluency and adapt quickly as bottlenecks move across the development life cycle.

In this video interview with ISMG, Patel also discussed:

• How machine-speed AI compresses vulnerability discovery and exploit timelines;
• The impact of real-time detection and enforcement in today’s cyber defense strategies;
• What security teams need to consider as their organizations move to AI-driven coding.

Patel oversees product strategy, engineering and platform innovation across networking, security and collaboration offerings. He aligns product road maps with business growth, drives AI-focused development and helps shape enterprise technology direction, drawing on leadership experience at Box, EMC and Syncplicity.