Security industry consolidation is accelerating as the market reshapes around AI, with companies pursuing mergers and acquisitions. The Wall Street Journal reported that Proofpoint, owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, is in late-stage talks to buy cybersecurity firm Varonis Systems. Separately, Palo Alto Networks bought AI agent startup Console for $500 million in cash and stock and plans to integrate the technology into its Cortex security platform.

Akamai Technologies on Tuesday unveiled Akamai Workforce Protector, a platform security layer designed to protect applications, APIs and infrastructure. The company said the solution targets security threats that arise when interacting with AI and provides visibility, AI use controls, secure enterprise browser functions and real-time data loss prevention. It also supports real-time AI governance, zero-disruption deployment and real-time data protection at user interaction points.