Global open-source solutions company Red Hat said on Thursday it is working with Palo Alto Networks and IBM to help companies detect vulnerabilities early and quickly apply protective measures across open-source software, commercial applications, operational technology (OT) and healthcare technology.

The cooperation centres on linking Palo Alto Networks’ Virtual Patching capability with IBM-Red Hat Project Lightwell to combine network-level protection with software security patches.

The focus is on implementing a dual-defense system that performs vulnerability response and security patching at the same time by linking a $5 billion open-source security investment being pursued by IBM and Red Hat around Project Lightwell with Palo Alto Networks’ security platform.

Palo Alto Networks rapidly deploys virtual patches at the network layer to block attack attempts, while IBM and Red Hat’s Project Lightwell provides open-source software security patches that customers can test themselves and then apply to their own environments.

Nikesh Arora (니케시 아로라), chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, said, "AI has reduced the time from vulnerability discovery to actual exploitation from weeks to just minutes. Traditional patching methods struggle to keep up with this pace," and added, "Through cooperation with IBM and Red Hat, we want to help defenders regain the advantage. This cooperation will help quickly block threats on the network while supporting customers worldwide in maintaining business continuity."

Arvind Krishna (Arvind Krishna), chairman and CEO of IBM, said, "IBM launched Project Lightwell to protect the open-source software foundation that companies use every day," and added, "Through cooperation with Palo Alto Networks, we have expanded the scope of security from the source-code stage to the front lines of the network."