Cisco joins ServiceNow alliance to connect AI security with governance

Cisco is linking its AI security tools more closely to the software companies use to assign responsibility and track fixes. On October 28, 2026, it joined ServiceNow’s Control Tower Alliance as a founding member. The arrangement builds on existing integrations, pairing Cisco AI Defense’s security findings with ServiceNow’s governance and remediation workflows.

From a security finding to an assigned fix

Cisco describes a division of labor: AI Defense supplies security insight and protection, while ServiceNow handles governance and the work of resolving problems. Finding a vulnerable AI component is one task; connecting it to an accountable owner and tracking the repair is another.

Two connectors already available on the ServiceNow Store provide the practical connection. AI Service Graph Connector for Cisco AI Defense brings assets discovered by Cisco into the Control Tower inventory. Cisco AI Defense Integration for AI Security Exposure Management sends security detections into ServiceNow, where teams can assign owners and track each fix.

Those connectors come from a partnership the companies expanded in April 2025. They are existing capabilities supporting the alliance announcement, not new integrations launched with Cisco’s membership.

What Cisco contributes to the security side

Cisco presents AI Defense as the security layer behind Control Tower’s oversight. Its discovery tools cover models, agents, datasets and Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers across cloud environments. Beyond discovery, Cisco describes three kinds of checks and protection:

• Supply-chain scanning inspects models and MCP servers before adoption for risks, including malicious code hidden in model files.
• Automated attack testing probes models and applications before launch and in production for risks such as manipulated instructions and sensitive-data leakage.
• Runtime Protection applies security, privacy and safety guardrails to AI applications and agents as they operate.

Membership adds a testing and support framework

The alliance brings together AI, cloud infrastructure, security and governance companies around ServiceNow’s Super Intelligence Control Tower. According to Cisco’s announcement, partners build integrated solutions that run on that platform and remain compatible with ServiceNow releases.

Cisco plans to contribute its AI threat research experience to those standards, starting with safety guardrails. Partners also align with ServiceNow on selling and supporting joint solutions. For customers considering the existing connectors, Cisco recommends a joint demonstration covering the entitlements and release compatibility their ServiceNow instance needs.