Today, we’re releasing the HIPAA Security Rule on AWS: Technical Safeguards Implementation and Readiness Guidance. This helps covered entities and business associates configure, implement, and evidence compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule Technical Safeguard requirements (45 CFR §164.312) when building healthcare workloads on AWS.

The HIPAA Security Rule’s Technical Safeguards (§164.312) define five standards and nine implementation specifications covering access control, audit controls, integrity, authentication, and transmission security.

The guidance also covers the 2025 NPRM proposed changes, including encryption at rest and in transit becoming required, multi-factor authentication (MFA) becoming mandatory for all electronic Personal Health Information (ePHI) access, and new specifications for network segmentation, configuration management, anti-malware protection, patch management, software removal, incident response and breach notification.

Key topics included

• Shared responsibility for HIPAA on AWS – A responsibility matrix mapping each §164.312 specification to what AWS manages nd what the customer must configure and operate.
• ePHI boundary architecture – Guidance on establishing a defined ePHI boundary
• ePHI data flow and encryption – A reference architecture tracing ePHI with the applicable §164.312 specification
• Foundation checklist – Prerequisite recommendation before configuring individual Technical Safeguard controls.

This guidance is written for cloud architects, security engineers, CISOs, and compliance teams at covered entities and business associates building or operating AWS healthcare workloads. It assumes familiarity with AWS services and is intended as a practical implementation reference, not a legal or regulatory interpretation. This guidance focuses exclusively on Technical Safeguards.

HHS published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in January 2025, proposing significant updates to the HIPAA Security Rule—including eliminating the Addressable designation, making encryption, MFA, and asset inventory mandatory, and introducing new technical requirements not present in the current rule. As of June 2026, the final rule has not been published. This guidance covers both the current rule and the proposed changes and recommends treating all specifications as Required for new workloads.

Download HIPAA Security Rule on AWS: Technical Safeguards Implementation and Readiness Guidance.

For questions about HIPAA readiness on AWS, including Administrative Safeguards, Physical Safeguards, risk analysis, and assessment preparation, contact the AWS Security Assurance Services team or your AWS account representative.

This guidance is provided by AWS Security Assurance Services, LLC, a HITRUST External Assessor Firm and PCI-QSAC along with contribution from AWS HCLS, AWS Compliance teams. It is for informational and guidance purposes only and does not constitute legal, regulatory, or compliance advice. Recipients are solely responsible for determining applicability to their specific environments and legal obligations.

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Every modern enterprise is moving from an organization run by software to one orchestrated by AI, creating a tension between velocity and control. To resolve this tension, organizations require a unified architecture. Today, we are announcing the general availability of the Prisma AIRS AI Gateway, the AI control plane for the enterprise. 

Driven by the absolute conviction that an AI Gateway is foundational to the modern AI infrastructure stack, we are bringing AI innovations from the Portkey acquisition to Prisma AIRS just six weeks after closing. You can now scale AI at machine speed without compromising on enterprise-grade security and control.

Your AI Footprint is Outpacing Controls

Our next-generation firewall telemetry reveals that MCP activity climbed from 11% late last year to 41.4% by mid-2026. Monthly AI transaction volume grew twelve-fold over the same six months; some individual sessions moved hundreds of megabytes of enterprise data outbound. The AI footprint you can govern today is the smallest it will ever be.

Some of the most rapid AI adoption is happening with – coding assistants, enterprise agents and copilots.

• Coding agents access code repositories, file systems, configurations, and credentials. When this context, including source code and secrets, is sent to a frontier model, it risks exposing sensitive data, and a runaway loop could burn a fortune in tokens overnight.
• Enterprise agents run with broad access and standing privileges sharing context with each other. A single agent stretched beyond its scope can massively increase the risk of data breach, impact business reputation and customer trust.
• Copilots now sit inside the SaaS and productivity tools employees already use. Copilots with broad access can surface data an employee was never meant to see.

As this enterprise data leaves when an AI request goes out, it creates a security and governance challenge at an unprecedented scale and speed.

What breaks when every team adopts AI 

AI adoption rapidly outpaces the security and governance infrastructure meant to secure it:

• Shadow AI (Cost and usage are both hidden): You can't see the AI your teams already use or what it costs. 
• Data Exposure (Sensitive data leaves without a trace): AI interactions can expose sensitive data, bypass policy and trigger unsafe outputs.
• Agents Overstep (Actions run without accountability): Agents act across systems without clear identity, permission, or accountability. Keys get shared and agents run with broad, standing privileges, so no one can say which identity authorized a specific action or reverse it when an agent takes a wrong turn at machine speed.

Faced with this, most leaders either block traffic entirely or stay permissive and promise to govern later. Both approaches fail because they skip the critical step: seeing what agents do at runtime and controlling their actions while they happen.

Accelerate AI Adoption with Control

To scale AI adoption safely, you need a single control plane sitting between every AI interaction and the backend models. Prisma AIRS AI Gateway brings AI governance, identity and runtime controls together in one place. With the AI Gateway, you can:

• Discover AI usage: Know exactly which apps, models, users, teams and agents are active, what they are accessing, and what they cost in a single unified view.
• Govern AI interactions: Enforce central rules for model access, tool use and budgets while inspecting prompts and responses inline to prevent data leaks.
• Secure every agent: Verify agent identities and enforce just-in-time, least-privilege access so autonomous systems only touch what they need, when they need it.

How the AI Gateway works 

Prisma AIRS AI Gateway sits inline between every AI interaction, model provider, and agentic interaction (Agent/AI App to LLMs, MCP Tool Calls, and A2A). It acts as a unified LLM, MCP, and A2A Gateway with a single enforcement point for all operational and security controls. Your teams keep using their existing coding assistants, enterprise agents, and copilots, while enforcement moves to the infrastructure layer where the platform team can own it.

Capabilities delivered through this unified control plane are:

Observability

Every request maps to a single unified view: tracking usage, users, projects, token counts, latency and cost so you can retire shadow AI infrastructure immediately.

Governance

Centrally define approved models, tools, and access without touching developer configurations. To drive FinOps and usage management, track every request's cost, tokens, and latency by team or project. Answer cost questions instantly, shut down unsanctioned AI usage, and proactively enforce budgets and rate limits before access is granted.

Coding Assistant Security

Protect credentials, proprietary code and development systems from risky AI actions. The gateway replaces raw provider keys with scoped credentials per user and team.

Operational Controls

Apply data protection, usage limits and policy checks as AI interactions happen. Traffic distributes via a Universal API across providers ensuring quotas are enforced and outages never stall your pipeline.

Agent Identity Security

Establish trusted identities by binding a verifiable, ephemeral identity to agents at execution. The AI Gateway acts as an enforcement point to enable only authenticated agents to make approved calls.

Runtime Security 

Powered by Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security, the gateway inspects every prompt and response inline, stopping source code, secrets and customer data from leaving the network while neutralizing prompt injection attempts aligned with the OWASP LLM Top 10 and OWASP Top 10 for Agentic Applications.

Watch Anand Oswal break down why an AI gateway is foundational to this architecture.

The AI Control Plane for the Enterprise

Prisma AIRS AI Gateway brings AI governance, identity and runtime controls together in one place. Point products filter text strings or route a single API call and they buckle under real enterprise volume.
Most products fail at scale. Prisma AIRS AI Gateway is built on an architecture tested in the most demanding enterprises for their ever evolving AI workloads: 

• 68 Trillion+ tokens processed in the last month alone.
• Sub-millisecond routing latency and inline inspection secures AI interactions without degrading user experience.
• 99.999% availability helps ensure your AI operational pipeline does not experience a single point of failure.

Learn about Prisma AIRS AI Gateway and register for our webinar to see the AI Gateway in action. 

Your developers have already adopted their agents. The agentic enterprise is a reality. As the recently named "company to beat" in AI Security Platforms by Gartner, Palo Alto Networks is uniquely positioned to help you. Let’s build it securely, together.

The post Announcing the General Availability of Prisma AIRS AI Gateway appeared first on Palo Alto Networks Blog.

By Yogesh Ranade from Palo Alto Networks, and Senthil Ramakrishnan from AT&T

The digital world is currently navigating a dual-speed revolution. Acceleration of AI and hyperconnectivity is unlocking unprecedented economic value. The silent but rapid progress of quantum computing is fundamentally threatening the cryptographic foundation upon which that value is built.

As leaders in global networking and cybersecurity, Palo Alto Networks and AT&T Business launched Secure Connectivity solutions for Business Customers. We recognize that quantum-readiness is no longer a distant milestone; it is now a strategic imperative. With threatening data longevity and Trust Now, Forge Later targeting digital identities, the risks are already looming. 

By integrating Prisma SD-WAN’s cryptographic innovation with AT&T’s global network, Palo Alto Networks and AT&T Business are proud to deliver the Quantum-Resilient SASE Fabric.

The Quantum Shift Towards Building Resilience for Tomorrow’s Reality

For over 30 years, the difficulty of mathematics has been our primary defense. Classical algorithms, like RSA and Diffie-Hellman, provided the shield for our global economy because they were computationally impossible for classical machines to solve. However, quantum computing fundamentally changes this landscape by providing an exponential speed-up. By leveraging Shor’s Algorithm, quantum computers can break these classical cryptographic foundations, turning a decryption process that would take a classic supercomputer millennia into a task of mere hours.

Neutralizing the Quantum Crisis

Palo Alto Networks is embedding Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) as a native pillar of the Prisma SASE fabric. We are moving beyond the forklift-upgrade model to a software-defined, standards-based foundation, which is built on strict separation of management and data plane components:

• Universal Control Plane Hardening (TLS 1.3): We have transitioned all control plane traffic to TLS 1.3 (Transport Layer Security 1.3), the global gold standard for Internet encryption. This secures the "brain" of the network (where routing configurations and security policies are managed), making it immune to quantum-enabled impersonation and credential theft.
• PQC-Hardened Data Plane (IETF Standards): We are operationalizing PQC across the entire fabric by adopting official standards published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), specifically RFC 9370, 9242, and 8784. In plain terms, these standards allow us to use "hybrid key exchanges." This means we wrap your data in two layers of protection at once: a classical mathematical shield for immediate compatibility, and a quantum-resistant shield to protect against future decryption threats, all without causing packet fragmentation or network slowdowns.
• Logs and Telemetry Plane: All network telemetry and metadata (the automated operational logs and traffic pattern data generated by the network, rather than the actual content of your business files) are encrypted in transit via TLS 1.3. This architecture guarantees that even this secondary network metadata is geofenced to your chosen region with no cross-region aggregation, satisfying the most stringent data residency mandates.
• Crypto-Agility as a Standard: "Crypto-agility" is natively built into our systems, which means the software is designed to adopt new mathematical algorithms. As the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) refines its guidelines, our systems can be upgraded seamlessly via simple, automated cloud updates without requiring expensive hardware replacements to ensure our customers’ security posture.
• Secure Boot Support: Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN ION hardware supports Secure Boot to ensure that only cryptographically signed bootloaders, kernels, and trusted applications are executed during the boot process. This establishes a chain of trust from the BIOS firmware to the operating system, preventing the execution of unauthorized or tampered software. ION hardware appliances ship with an integrated, dedicated Trusted Platform Module (TPM), which provides hardware-level root-of-trust by securely storing cryptographic keys, certificates, and sensitive data to prevent unauthorized physical tampering and ensure secure device authentication. The OS/software layers use PQC algorithms to negotiate and secure the management, control plane and data plane tunnels. This ensures quantum readiness without requiring an immediate, widespread rip-and-replace of physical branch hardware.

The AT&T Perspective Views Security at Global Scale

From the perspective of a global leader like AT&T, PQC is an operational mandate. Providing connectivity to the world’s most regulated industries means that security cannot be bolted on. Security must be an inherent property of the transport layer and the connectivity infrastructure itself.

Turning Complexity into a Strategic Advantage

Managing a global footprint that spans across 5G, fiber, and legacy underlays requires an institutional expertise that few can match. For AT&T, the move to a more secure quantum-ready fabric with Dynamic Defense is about providing security where it matters most: the network. Our customers shouldn't have to worry about whether their data is traveling over an MPLS circuit or the public internet.

Through this collaboration, AT&T expands the delivery of Dynamic Defense:

• Cross-Underlay Consistency: We enable PQC protection to be applied uniformly across all transport mediums, eliminating the "weak links" that often exist in hybrid environments where data moves between private and public circuits.
• Automated PQC Policy Orchestration: New branch locations are seamlessly integrated into the quantum-ready fabric through automated policy distribution. The moment a device is activated via zero touch provisioning, the branch is enabled to be protected against HNDL threats from the first packet without requiring manual site-by-site intervention.
• Compliance: With mandates like NIS2/DORA in Europe and NORA/CNSA 2.0 in the U.S., our clients face a closing window for compliance. AT&T provides the verifiable chain of trust required to prove "Quantum Readiness" across the entire circuit path, ensuring your fabric is audit-ready and compliant with global standards.

The Power of the Post-Quantum Secure Fabric

The true value of this relationship lies in the synergy between the network and the security stack. By combining our strengths, we have built a solution that is significantly more resilient than the sum of its parts.

The SPI Advantage Is Performance Without Compromise

Through Service Provider Interconnect (SPI), Palo Alto Networks' security platforms natively integrate with AT&T’s private network core to deliver a seamless quantum-safe on-ramp. This means business traffic can connect directly to a secure AT&T network without having to build slow, complex software tunnels over the public internet, preserving high performance while delivering next-generation encryption. Historically, high-level encryption meant a "performance tax" on latency and throughput. Our combined architecture allows quantum-safe traffic to flow over AT&T’s network backbone, enabling organizations to modernize their security without sacrificing the user experience.

Securing the Decentralized Perimeter (The Branch as the Edge)

In today’s highly distributed business landscape, the traditional corporate "headquarters" is no longer the center of gravity. The network perimeter has shifted to the branch (decentralized edge locations like retail storefronts, remote clinics, regional bank offices, and warehouse hubs) and the individual 5G-connected devices employees use. Securing these remote, local edge points is critical because they represent the primary gateway where sensitive company data first enters the network. 

By utilizing AT&T’s leadership in WAN, 5G and cellular technologies, we leverage Hybrid Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to secure these edge locations. Hybrid PKI is a digital identity framework that issues dual security credentials to every device: one "classical" identity to ensure compatibility with existing networks today, and one "quantum-resistant" identity. This double-verification guarantees that a cellular-connected remote branch or a mobile site is just as immune to quantum decryption or identity spoofing as a fortified corporate data center.

The Path Forward Is a Vision for Long-Term Trust

The transition to a quantum-ready future is a marathon, not a sprint, and the first steps must be taken now. Palo Alto Networks and AT&T Business are offering a clear, practical path to quantum resilience.

We are delivering more than a simple software update as we prepare customers for the next generation of digital commerce. Together, we are designing our network to help ensure the data of today remains protected against the threats of tomorrow, securing the digital integrity of every enterprise we serve.

As we redefine the boundaries of security in connectivity, we invite you to join us in helping secure your organization’s digital future. Contact your or Palo Alto Networks account representative today to begin a strategic Quantum-Readiness Assessment and experience the power of the Quantum-Resilient SASE Fabric.

The post Palo Alto Networks and AT&T - Delivering Quantum-Resilient SASE Fabric appeared first on Palo Alto Networks Blog.

Microsoft Corp. today released software updates to plug at least 570 security holes in its Windows operating systems and other software, almost triple the number of vulnerabilities the software giant fixed in its record-smashing Patch Tuesday release last month. Microsoft attributed the burgeoning patch counts to vulnerability discoveries aided by artificial intelligence.

Nearly 60 of the bugs quashed in July’s Patch Tuesday earned a “critical” severity rating, meaning miscreants or malware could use them to seize remote control over a Windows device with little or no help from the user. Microsoft also addressed three zero-day flaws, including two that are already being exploited in the wild.

Two of the zero-day weaknesses allow an attacker to elevate their user rights on a Windows system, as do approximately 250 other elevation of privilege flaws fixed this month; they include CVE-2026-56155 — an Active Directory Federation Services bug — and CVE-2026-56164, a Microsoft Sharepoint vulnerability.

CVE-2026-50661 is a security feature bypass in Windows BitLocker that could allow attackers to gain access to encrypted data if they have physical access to the device. Microsoft said this bug has been detailed publicly, but that it is not aware of any active exploitation.

In a blog post on July 9, Microsoft Executive Vice President Pavan Davuluri wrote that Windows users will notice “a higher volume of security updates included in each security release” as a result of AI aiding in the discovery of vulnerabilities.

“The pace of vulnerability discovery is changing with advances in AI making it possible to find more issues, faster, across more code, with new mechanisms that can accelerate both discovery and analysis,” Davuluri wrote.

Jack Bicer, director of vulnerability research at Action1, called attention to CVE-2026-48561, a remote code execution flaw in Microsoft Copilot (with a 9.6 CVSS threat score) that allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over the network. Microsoft says an attacker could exploit this bug by hosting a malicious website that causes Microsoft Edge for Android to automatically send crafted prompts to Copilot when a user visits the site.

As AI advances the state of vulnerability discovery and remediation, it is also making it easier for attackers to quickly devise working exploits for known software flaws. Microsoft has long labeled security bugs using its “exploitability index,” which is Redmond’s best guess as to how likely it is that attackers will be able to figure out a reliable way to exploit a given vulnerability.

But Satnam Narang, senior staff research engineer at Tenable, argues that Microsoft’s exploitability index needs to do a better job of shifting with the machine speed of discovery. For example, Microsoft originally gave this month’s SharePoint zero-day an exploitability rating of “less likely,” although the flaw was added to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list on July 1.

“Anthropic’s Red Team’s own findings for known vulnerabilities (n-days) revealed how fragile this system has become, with its Mythos Preview model being able to produce proof-of-concept exploits for 13 of 14 vulnerabilities that were rated ‘Exploitation Less Likely’ or ‘Exploitation Unlikely,'” Narang said. “What this means is that our way of looking at Patch Tuesday has changed, because the exploitability index is centered around humans, not AI tools, and as these tools continue to improve, defense needs to improve alongside it.”

Chris Goettl at Ivanti observed that the record patch numbers from Microsoft come as a number of other major software makers are increasing their patch cadence, including Adobe which announced today it is moving to twice-monthly security bulletins published on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month (Adobe also cited AI for accelerating their patch cycles). Cisco, Mozilla and Oracle also are shipping updates more frequently, while Google’s patch batches in June 2026 totaled more than 900 security fixes, Goettl noted.

Backing up your Windows system and/or data is always a good idea before applying operating system updates. Given the volume of patches addressed this month it may be wise for end users to wait a few days before applying these fixes. It’s not uncommon for security patches to introduce system stability issues, and those chances probably increase quite a bit with the gigantic patch count released today.

Further reading:

Action1’s Patch Tuesday blog

Automox’s rundown