AT&T deepens Palo Alto Networks ties with souped up SASE and security

AT&T Business released two managed security solutions with Palo Alto Networks, integrating Prisma Access into its Dynamic Defense service and launching a new SASE solution. The Dynamic Defense update provides carrier-grade threat intelligence and AI-powered security for SMEs like Wellby Financial, which gained granular access control and zero trust footing. The AT&T SASE with Palo Alto Networks combines SD-WAN and Prisma Access through Prisma SASE, including post-quantum cryptography for a quantum-resilient fabric.

AT&T Business released a pair of managed security solutions with Palo Alto Networks. The carrier updated its burgeoning Dynamic Defense service https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/att-picks-palo-alto-networks-for-cybersecurity-ride-upmarket/ by integrating Palo Alto’s Prisma Access cloud security capabilities into AT&T’s global network. AT&T touted carrier-grade threat intelligence and AI-powered security with the customer study of Wellby Financial. According to CTO Wes Turner, Welby – a small medium enterprise SME of the sort Dynamic Defense is tailored to – needed a unified security model for “simplifying management, and reducing single points of failure.” With the Dynamic Defense/Palo Alto combo, the firm gained granular access control, zero trust footing, and improved visibility. A multi-pathing and redundancy boost was also claimed to be fitting in Welby’s home market of Houston, which is beset by connectivity issues during severe weather. “The value of AT&T Dynamic Defense with Palo Alto Networks is its defense-in-depth model, which provides multiple layers of protection across our environment,” Turner said. AT&T on the edge Alongside the Dynamic Defense release was the launch of a new secure access service edge SASE solution. AT&T SASE with Palo Alto Networks integrates the latter’s SD-WAN and Prisma Access features through Prisma SASE. AT&T touted a total security service edge SSE stack, including zero trust network access ZTNA and security as a service SaaS . It also boasts post-quantum cryptography PQC capability that found its way this month into Dynamic Defense for what was dubbed a “quantum-resilient SASE fabric.” The partnership broadens the Dynamic Defense proposition, which was launched in 2024 https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/att-embeds-easy-to-use-affordable-security-for-smbs/ to close the SME security gap. Palo Alto was named a main partner on the service last year with a soft launch of AT&T Dynamic Defense with Palo Alto Networks, with this week’s announcement seeming to position the solution as a new launch thanks to its new capabilities. “AT&T was already reselling and managing Palo Alto Networks products, including SASE/SD-WAN and firewalls. So, this is not a new channel relationship,” said Mauricio Sanchez, senior director for enterprise security and networking at Dell’Oro Group. The more important development is the deeper network integration. With Dynamic Defense, Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma Access is interconnected directly with AT&T’s private network, moving the offer beyond conventional resale toward network-integrated, comms service provider-delivered security. The milestone is not that AT&T can now sell Palo Alto Networks products. It is that AT&T is embedding Palo Alto Networks security more directly into its connectivity service.” Sanchez pointed to the refreshed SASE offer as more evolutionary, packaging Prisma SD-WAN and Prisma Access more tightly with AT&T connectivity and managed operations. While AT&T holds ties with Cisco https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/cisco-sase-snares-att-business-for-a-first/ and Fortinet https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/att-taps-fortinet-for-managed-sase/ , Palo Alto remains a “Leader” according to several Gartner SASE vendor rankings https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/fortinet-joins-palo-alto-cato-netskope-as-gartner-sase-leaders/ , and counts the likes of T-Mobile US https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/t-mobile-us-plugs-palo-alto-networks-into-its-sase-safari/ amongst its SASE customer base. The firm has continued to update its SASE tools, https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/palo-alto-networks-sase-updates-tackle-ai-shadows-and-agents/ with a recent Prisma SASE 4.0 update tailored to provide continuous, real-time insight into the behavior of SaaS-based AI agents, copilots, and plugins.