The rapid enterprise adoption of AI is creating a perfect storm for cloud security. Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW), a global cybersecurity leader, released its “State of Cloud Security Report 2025”, revealing how AI workloads and generative coding practices are exponentially expanding the cloud attack surface.
According to the report, 99% of surveyed organizations experienced at least one attack on their AI systems in the past year. Generative AI-assisted coding—used by 99% of respondents—is accelerating code production faster than teams can secure it. Among the 52% of organizations that ship code weekly, only 18% can remediate vulnerabilities at that pace, leaving unaddressed risks to compound rapidly across cloud environments.
AI Is Shaping New Cloud Threat Vectors
Elad Koren, VP of Product Management at Cortex, emphasizes the urgency:
“As organizations scale cloud investments for AI, they inadvertently open doors to sophisticated new attack vectors. Traditional cloud security approaches are inadequate—teams need agentic-first platforms that span code, cloud, and SOC to operate faster than adversaries.”
The report, based on a survey of 2,800 security executives across 10 countries, highlights critical AI-driven shifts in cloud security:
- API attacks up 41%: Heavy reliance on APIs for AI operations has made them prime targets for attackers.
- Identity is the weakest link: 53% cite lax IAM practices as a top risk, fueling credential theft and data exfiltration.
- Lateral movement threats grow: 28% report unrestricted network access between cloud workloads, letting attackers pivot across environments.
- Tool sprawl creates blind spots: Organizations manage an average of 17 cloud security tools from five vendors, creating fragmented data and slowing incident response.
- Siloed workflows slow remediation: 30% of teams take more than a full day to resolve incidents.
The report’s overarching message: security teams must merge cloud and SOC operations. 89% of respondents agree that effective protection requires full integration between cloud, application security, and SOC.
Building End-to-End Cloud Defense
As AI accelerates attacks, static tools and fragmented workflows are no longer sufficient. Palo Alto Networks advocates an end-to-end, agentic-first approach—merging proactive risk reduction with rapid incident response. Its Cortex® Cloud™ platform unifies CNAPP (cloud-native application protection) with best-in-class CDR (cloud detection and response), spanning from code to cloud to SOC.
In short, AI may be powering innovation—but it’s also forcing organizations to rethink how they secure cloud environments at machine speed. Consolidation, integration, and automation are no longer optional; they’re the frontline of defense in an era where attacks evolve as fast as AI itself.
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