Gartner Updated Hybrid Mesh Firewall Criteria for AI
The latest evaluation incorporates specific security requirements for AI agents as vendors rush to govern machine-to-machine traffic.
Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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Gartner has officially updated its criteria for hybrid mesh firewalls to include mandatory security features for AI agents. This update, reflected in its latest evaluation of 12 vendors, addresses the growing necessity for security teams to govern machine-to-machine traffic generated by autonomous systems.
Why it matters
The rise of agentic systems has created new traffic patterns that traditional firewalls were not designed to monitor or restrict. This shift marks a transition toward enforcing governance over AI-to-AI communications, which is now considered a standard operational requirement for enterprise security.
All 12 vendors evaluated by Gartner currently offer natural-language chat assistants for administrative tasks. The criteria now emphasize tools for monitoring agent communications, restricting application access, and deploying runtime security features.
The players
Gartner
A global research and advisory firm known for its Magic Quadrant reports that benchmark technology vendors.
Check Point
A cybersecurity company providing unified security architecture that recently integrated technology from its Lakera AI acquisition.
Cisco
A networking and security hardware provider that now includes AI Runtime Protection features in its security stack.
Palo Alto Networks
A provider of enterprise security platforms that recently launched the Prisma AIRS offering for AI runtime security.
Fortinet
A global security vendor specializing in high-performance firewalls and integrated security fabric solutions.
The details
Security vendors are evolving their stacks by integrating capabilities to manage agentic systems — programs that autonomously perform tasks and communicate with other machines. This involves deploying AI runtime protection, a defensive layer that identifies and blocks anomalous agent behavior, alongside policy management interfaces. Companies like Check Point have moved to integrate technology from their Lakera AI acquisition, while Cisco and Palo Alto Networks have rolled out specialized defense offerings for AI runtime security.
Timeline
September 21, 2026: The Gartner report was published.
Over the next 12 months: Fortinet plans to introduce a unified MCP framework for agent-based automation.
The Tech Race
Gartner's move reflects a shift in the competitive landscape where firewall vendors must now differentiate their capabilities based on AI agent governance rather than just standard threat prevention. This update forces the industry to align with the new benchmarking requirements for AI-centric enterprise security.
Security administrators will see more natural-language tools appearing in their firewall interfaces for policy management and threat response. Despite these features, organizations are currently in the early stages of adoption, and fully automated AI-driven administration is not yet standard practice.
The takeaway
Security leaders should evaluate how their current firewall vendors handle the machine-to-machine traffic generated by their internal AI agents. Watch for the forthcoming release of Fortinet's unified MCP framework, which will serve as a bellwether for the industry's adoption of automated agent governance.
What happens next
Fortinet is expected to release a unified MCP framework for AI agent-based automation within the next 12 months.
Further reading
For broader trends in security automation, explore the latest research in Artificial Intelligence.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Redmond Channel Partner.
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