Palo Alto Networks has completed its acquisition of CyberArk, formally positioning identity security as a central pillar of its long-term platform strategy. The deal brings CyberArk’s Identity Security Platform into Palo Alto Networks’ broader ecosystem, enabling the protection of human, machine and agentic identities across enterprise environments.

The move comes as identity has become the dominant attack surface in modern organisations. As enterprises expand their use of cloud, automation and artificial intelligence, the number of identities operating with elevated privileges has surged. Machine identities now outnumber human identities by more than 80 to one, while 75 per cent of organisations admit their human access models remain outdated and overly permissive. Nearly 90 per cent report experiencing an identity-related breach, underscoring how credential abuse and excessive privileges have become primary threat vectors.

By integrating CyberArk’s capabilities, Palo Alto Networks aims to extend privileged access controls beyond a limited group of administrators to every identity within an enterprise. The strategy seeks to reduce standing privileges, restrict lateral movement and accelerate the containment of breaches. Companies adopting identity-driven security controls can shorten breach response times by up to 80 per cent by preventing misuse of credentials and access rights.

CyberArk’s platform will continue to operate independently, while deeper product integration across Palo Alto Networks’ security portfolio is already underway. Existing customers are not expected to face disruption and will see an accelerated product roadmap focused on resilience, efficiency and improved protection outcomes.

Nikesh Arora, Chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, said: "The emerging wave of AI agents will require us to secure every identity—human, machine, and agent. This is why we moved decisively by announcing our intent to acquire CyberArk last July and am excited to have product integration begin. For our customers, this means the end of 'identity silos.' They can now manage privileged access across their entire hybrid cloud environment from the same company they trust for Network Security and Security Operations—to ensure they are secure in the AI era."

Matt Cohen, CEO of CyberArk, said: "Joining forces with Palo Alto Networks creates the definitive cyber guardian for the modern enterprise. This is a win-win: our customers gain access to the world's most comprehensive security portfolio, and our employees join a global innovation engine. Together, we are creating the most robust combination of proven technologies to stop identity-driven breaches."