Harness & Kong Unveil AI‑Focused Gateway Security, Adding Automated Discovery and Runtime Protection – the two firms announced an expanded partnership that embeds Harness’s AI‑security intelligence into Kong’s AI Gateway, giving enterprises real‑time visibility and protection for LLM‑powered services, autonomous agents and Model Context Protocol (MCP) traffic.
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Harness & Kong Unveil AI‑Focused Gateway Security, Adding Automated Discovery and Runtime Protection – the two firms announced an expanded partnership that embeds Harness’s AI‑security intelligence into Kong’s AI Gateway, giving enterprises real‑time visibility and protection for LLM‑powered services, autonomous agents and Model Context Protocol (MCP) traffic.
What’s New
On July 23, 2026, Harness, the AI Software Delivery Platform™ company, and Kong Inc., the API‑connectivity specialist, revealed that their joint solution now covers Kong’s AI Gateway in addition to the long‑standing Kong API Gateway integration. The upgrade introduces two core capabilities: AI Discovery, which continuously inventories every AI asset, prompt, MCP server and tool that passes through the gateway; and AI Protection, which applies behavioral analytics to detect prompt‑injection, jailbreak, data‑exfiltration and other AI‑specific threats in real time.
How the Technology Works
The integration taps into Harness’s AI‑security engine, feeding it telemetry from Kong’s gateway layer. As traffic flows, the system builds a dynamic catalog of AI workloads, mapping relationships between LLM endpoints, micro‑services and agent‑to‑agent communications. Machine‑learning models then compare each request and response against baseline behavior, flagging anomalies such as unexpected token usage or suspicious output patterns. When a threat is identified, policies enforced at the gateway can block, quarantine, or reroute the request, while detailed logs—including the full prompt and response—are stored for forensic analysis.
Why It Matters for Enterprises
A recent *State of AI‑Native Application Security 2025* study found that **62 % of organizations lack visibility into LLM usage** and **74 % expect AI sprawl to outpace API risk**. As enterprises embed generative AI into core processes—customer support bots, code‑generation assistants, autonomous supply‑chain agents—the attack surface expands beyond traditional APIs. Traditional security tools, built for static code, struggle to handle the non‑deterministic nature of AI agents. By moving security to the connectivity layer, the Harness‑Kong solution offers a unified view of both API and AI traffic, reducing blind spots and enabling compliance teams to enforce data‑privacy policies across AI workloads.
Competitive Landscape
Most API‑security vendors, such as Imperva and Akamai, focus on OWASP API Top 10 threats but have yet to address AI‑specific vectors. Meanwhile, AI‑security startups like Snyk and Axonius provide code‑level scanning or asset‑inventory services but lack real‑time runtime protection at the network edge. Kong’s AI Gateway, already positioned as the entry point for LLM‑driven micro‑services, gains a differentiating layer of defense that many rivals cannot match without custom integrations. The combined offering therefore closes a gap between API management and AI governance, a space where Gartner predicts **a 45 % CAGR through 2028** for AI‑security solutions.
Implications for Marketing Teams
For B2B marketers, the announcement signals a shift in messaging from “API protection” to “AI‑first security.” Campaigns will need to highlight the ability to secure autonomous agents, MCP‑enabled workflows and prompt‑level data leakage—topics that resonate with CIOs and CDOs grappling with AI compliance. Case studies that demonstrate reduced incident response times and measurable risk reduction will become essential proof points.
Availability and Pricing
Both the enhanced Kong API Gateway integration and the new AI Gateway module are generally available today. Existing Harness‑Kong customers can enable the features through their account portals; new prospects are invited to request a demo. Pricing follows the standard subscription models of each vendor, with volume discounts for joint deployments.
Market Landscape
The convergence of API management and AI governance is reshaping the security market. IDC forecasts that **AI‑related cyber‑attacks will increase by 30 % annually**, prompting enterprises to seek integrated solutions that protect data both in transit and at the model level. Cloud providers—Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure—are rolling out native AI‑security services, but they often operate in isolation from third‑party API gateways. By embedding AI security directly into Kong’s gateway, Harness offers a vendor‑agnostic layer that can sit in front of any cloud or on‑premise deployment, positioning the partnership as a bridge between heterogeneous environments and the emerging AI‑risk management standards championed by the Cloud Security Alliance.
Top Insights
- Unified visibility: The integration creates a single catalog of API and AI assets, eliminating the “shadow AI” blind spots that 62 % of firms currently face.
- Real‑time protection: Behavioral analytics at the gateway stop prompt‑injection and jailbreak attacks before they reach downstream services.
- Competitive edge: Few rivals combine API‑gateway performance with AI‑runtime security, giving Harness and Kong a distinct market advantage.
- Enterprise compliance: Detailed logs of prompts and responses simplify audits for GDPR, CCPA and emerging AI‑governance frameworks.
- Marketing shift: B2B messaging must evolve from “API security” to “AI‑first protection” to align with buyer priorities.
