GenAI security questions: short answers with sources

Controls that see, limit or record how employees and AI agents use generative AI: which tools are used, what data goes into prompts, what agents do, and how AI apps you build resist attack. Explainers

AI use the security team has not approved or cannot see, such as personal accounts on chat tools or AI features switched on inside SaaS apps. What is shadow AI, and how do security teams find it?

SASE combines networking, such as SD-WAN, with security delivered from a cloud. SSE is the security half on its own. GenAI security glossary

The Model Context Protocol lets AI agents reach tools and data through MCP servers. It turns AI from answering into acting, so controls need to see tool calls, not only prompts. MCP and AI agent risk: what changes when AI can act

As a first step, rarely. People find workarounds. Most teams watch first, coach and redact for approved tools, and block narrowly. Watch, coach, redact, block: choosing the first response

Inline controls sit in the path and can stop a request before it arrives; out-of-band controls read copies or logs and act afterwards. Inline versus out-of-band AI enforcement: why the position matters

If a SASE or SSE platform already carries your users' traffic and the main worry is employees using AI tools, it is a natural place to start. Agents on servers and AI apps you build usually need a gateway layer as well. AI controls in a SASE or SSE cloud

When you build AI apps or run agents that call models and tools from servers, outside the user traffic path. Standalone AI security layer

Some vendors describe self-hosted enforcement. Fortinet states FortiAIGate keeps data and logs on your infrastructure when self-hosted, and Cato describes on-prem protection of homegrown AI apps through Outposts. Firewall or self-hosted AI gateway

Source: Fortinet: FortiAIGate · Read 7 Oct 2026

In most cases, yes. A control enforces rules; the rules come first. AI usage policy checklist

Cato Networks, Cisco, Fortinet, Netskope, Palo Alto Networks and Zscaler: six vendors that sell cloud network security and publish AI security capabilities. Vendor profiles

On the pages we read: Cato Networks, Fortinet, Netskope and Zscaler. Agent controls without MCP mentioned: Cisco and Palo Alto Networks. MCP and AI agent risk: what changes when AI can act

Stated: Cato Networks. Partly: Zscaler. Prompt DLP: how sensitive data is caught before it reaches a model

Stated with the scope unclear or limited: Cisco, Netskope and Palo Alto Networks. None states that its AI controls are inside the authorized scope on the pages we read. Vendor profiles

No. None of the six publishes prices for these products on the pages we read. Vendor profiles

Stated: Cato Networks and Cisco. Partly: Fortinet, Netskope, Palo Alto Networks and Zscaler. Facts side by side

Cato states one AI-native engine and one console cover employee AI use, homegrown AI apps and AI agents, with Monitor, Anonymize and Block as policy actions. FedRAMP is not listed on its compliance page and user coaching is not described. Cato Networks profile

Source: Cato Networks: AI security · Read 7 Oct 2026

Only as each vendor states them, and they concern SASE platforms as a whole, not AI security features. Fortinet states a Challenger placement; Palo Alto Networks' own pages give different counts. How to read vendor AI security claims

Twelve questions cover discovery, inspection, responses, deployment, logging and assurance. Twelve questions to ask a GenAI security vendor

Long enough to see normal use and tune false positives, with success measures written down before it starts. Keep the scope to one or two heavy-use teams. How to run a GenAI security control pilot

No. Vendors count PoPs, data centers and regions on different bases. We quote each as written. How to read vendor AI security claims

By how many of the checks your answers trigger each vendor's pages meet, plus coverage of the approaches your answers point to. Equal fits are listed alphabetically. Finder rules

No. Facts come from the vendors' public pages, read on 7 October 2026. Finder rules

Use the contact page with the topic Correction and a public source. Contact