Proofpoint buys Acuvity to secure AI agents at work

Proofpoint has acquired AI security and governance specialist Acuvity, adding new controls for organisations rolling out generative AI tools, autonomous agents and model-connected applications.

The deal brings Acuvity into Proofpoint's cybersecurity and compliance business as companies expand the use of AI copilots and agent-driven workflows across software development, customer support, finance and legal work.

Security teams warn that widespread adoption of generative AI has introduced new risks, including unsanctioned "shadow AI" use, exposure of sensitive data, intellectual property loss and regulatory breaches. AI-specific attack methods have also gained attention, including prompt injection and model manipulation.

Agentic workflows

Proofpoint describes the combined offering as protection for the "agentic workspace"-environments where employees and AI agents work together on business workflows.

The acquisition extends Proofpoint's human-centric security focus into systems where AI agents may access data, execute tasks and make decisions. It adds visibility, governance and runtime protection across AI usage and AI-driven workflows.

Ryan Kalember, Proofpoint's chief strategy officer, said enterprises need to rethink security controls as software agents begin taking actions on behalf of employees.

"AI agents are becoming active participants in the enterprise, accessing data, executing tasks and making decisions alongside people. Securing this new model of work requires understanding human intent, agentic behavior and risk in real time," Kalember said.

"Together, Proofpoint and Acuvity enable organisations to confidently adopt AI tools and agents with the governance, visibility and control required to manage risk. By securing humans, defending data and governing AI through a unified platform, Proofpoint is uniquely positioned to protect the agentic workspace end to end-something no other cybersecurity company delivers today," he added.

New control points

Acuvity's technology focuses on monitoring and enforcing how people and systems use AI services. It adds inspection and policy controls across employee endpoints and web browsers, and extends to emerging AI infrastructure that enterprises are beginning to deploy and connect to their tools.

One area the companies highlighted is Model Context Protocol servers, which connect models to tools and data sources. The announcement also referenced locally installed AI tools, including OpenClaw and Ollama, as examples of software that can run on user machines and fall outside traditional centralised controls.

Acuvity also includes detection models designed to assess context and intent in AI interactions. These techniques aim to identify risky use of external AI services and control how employees share data with third-party tools. They also cover custom AI models and applications developed or deployed inside an organisation.

Portfolio fit

Acuvity's products will sit alongside Proofpoint's existing collaboration security and data security offerings. Proofpoint outlined three focus areas for the broader portfolio: collaboration security for human-targeted threats; data security and governance for sensitive information; and AI security for governing AI usage and protecting AI models and applications.

The acquisition reflects a broader shift in the cybersecurity market as vendors adapt products for AI adoption. Security buyers are asking for policy controls that match how employees use large language models, how agents act across multiple systems, and where data moves during AI-driven work.

Satyam Sinha, co-founder and CEO of Acuvity, said organisations are struggling with the pace of change and the breadth of new controls required.

"AI is fundamentally reshaping how work gets done and enterprises are overwhelmed by the pace of AI adoption and the complexity of securing it. In an AI-accelerated world, intelligence is no longer confined to applications or infrastructure; it lives in interactions, decisions and autonomous agents acting on our behalf. Securing that future requires a new approach-one that governs how AI thinks, acts and learns in real time," Sinha said.

Proofpoint plans to use Acuvity's capabilities across its product set to secure how people and AI agents work, communicate and interact with data. The combined portfolio is intended to address governance requirements as organisations adopt generative AI across more business processes.