F5 and Forcepoint announce a partnership focused on data discovery, data classification, runtime protection, and continuous monitoring. The initiative targets enterprises rapidly deploying AI, such as through copilots, assistants, and automated workflows.
As part of the partnership, Forcepoint provides the data security posture management (DSPM) component. This focuses on discovering, classifying, and prioritizing sensitive data in cloud, SaaS, endpoint, and enterprise environments. F5 handles the runtime aspect via the Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP), which enforces policies across APIs, gateways, applications, and AI agents.
F5 had already expanded its AI security offerings in January 2026 with AI Guardrails and AI Red Team. AI Guardrails provides a model-agnostic runtime security layer, while AI Red Team conducts adversarial testing using a database of over 10,000 attack techniques per month. In March, F5 further expanded these capabilities by enhancing the ADSP platform.
Data Reality to Runtime Trust
This combination enables security teams to remediate data vulnerabilities in real time, prioritize AI use cases based on risk, enforce runtime controls over AI interactions, and monitor systems for abuse or anomalous behavior. Telemetry and policy validation must provide continuous assurance in this process.
Naveen Palavalli, Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Forcepoint, states that AI has redefined data security and that static policies are no longer sufficient. Through this collaboration, both companies aim to establish a new category of proactive AI risk management.